DStv takes steps to normalise ad volume

When I got a fright from a loud ad it usually meant I fell asleep on the couch and should go to bed.
 
bwana said:
Really? Because I stream SkyTV and have yet to notice this phenomenon on any of their channels.
Click to expand...
It's actually true but not that common anymore.

In the States they ban loud commercials with what they call the CALM aCT.
LINK
Dubbed the CALM Act -- Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act - the law authored by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., was passed in 2010 but only implemented by the FCC on Dec. 13, 2012. "Since our rules became effective, the Commission has received nearly 20,000 complaints involving excessively loud commercials,"
Click to expand...

With dstv it sounds more like they limit the sound of the normal program to a lower volume causing you to increase the volume. I have noticed my acceptable level of volume on the tv has increased. When a quick loud sound comes after a silence or low volume in normal programming, you can hear the limiter kicks in, "pushing the sound back to a set level".

What ponder was talking about is high compression on the audio tracks, completely destroy the dynamic range, leaving you with a loud,distorted ad. This method works the other way around, where the softer parts are being amplified.This is also one way they do it.

EDM "music" for example is another culprit. Itunes have also warned musicians about that.
 
I just can't believe that this a "technical" problem. Did the technology decide by itself to favour the volume of ads over the volume of programming?

The complete industry with all their tricks pushed their luck for far too long. I'm sorry, but you're not getting a cent from me.
 
One consistent big culprit on Discovery is the male voice that announces some of the upcoming shows. It suddenly blurts out in the middle of a program. My 8 year old could solve this - DSTV must just turn the volume down for that video feed!
 
BS! No change over the past decade.

I mostly watch a local channel and have to mute the advertisements every single evening.
 
When I watch a movies on my USB the sound effects are 99999999999999dB and the voices are -0.1dB any one know how to fix this?

PS: Series are fine.
 
"Many people continue to complain about high ad volumes, and often blame MultiChoice for this frustration. This blame, though, may be misplaced."

hmmm, such companies like making claims like, "out of their hands", "can't do it", "not our fault" etc. Until it suddenly becomes law in certain places and its like someone suddenly waved a magic wand and guess what, the impossible is suddenly being done.

Any claims they make about not being able to normalise the audio is likewise utter nonsense. Even ignoring how it suddenly gets miraculously solved in places once the law mandates it, there even are free open source applications and media players that can do it on the fly on a simple low end desktop PC.

The blame is only misplaced as long as you believe MutiChoice "can't" do anything about it. You sure can't expect the advertising agencies not to try catch your attention with volume rather than trying to keep the same level of volume with a show they know nothing about (and how could they without a global standard), the buck stops at MutiChoice. Period.
 
“We are able to normalise audio levels but we need to monitor the channel first. We also only control the audio on local channels,” the company said.

BS. Kyknet is a prime example.
 
Rickster said:
When I watch a movies on my USB the sound effects are 99999999999999dB and the voices are -0.1dB any one know how to fix this?

PS: Series are fine.
Click to expand...

If the sound effects are too loud and the voices are too soft you can ummmm...make the voices louder?
 
Rickster said:
When I watch a movies on my USB the sound effects are 99999999999999dB and the voices are -0.1dB any one know how to fix this?

PS: Series are fine.
Click to expand...

You might have it set to 5.1 (or 7.1) when you don't have 5.1?
 
atomcrusher said:
I reckon it's standard industry practise to broadcast ads at a higher volume
Click to expand...

Kuck. SABC doesn't do it. Even SABC as carried by DSTV doesn't do it. If that bunch of incompetent fools can get it right then DSTV with their billions of $$$'s worth of hi-tech equipment can get it right to normalise volume levels.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X