volume for adverts

D

doggy

Regular Member
is there a reason why when your watching sky and an advert comes on the volume increases? surely it cant be just to grab your attention?
 
That's exactly what it's for.

What they actually do is to increase the compression so that there is less difference between the loud and soft sections.

If you want to listen to some decently non-compressed speach/music try Radio 4 or even Radio 3. It can be done.

PaulR
 
Now you're talking - I would go further and say that I actuallty prefer the AM LW broadcast to the FM one with R4, particularly as background. Must be old age. O-no


L. :)
 
It's not only commpression they use to try to grab your attention. allmost all adverts these day's (and most of the run of the mill programmes) use noise in the form of shouting ,loud music bytes and rapidly changing picture content to attract our attention.It's almost impossible to sit down in the living room with the tv switched on and running in the backround AND have a conversation at the same time,without some bugle blowing or a dramatic confrontation occurring on the tv. This is made worse by a lot of the new tv's with HI-Fi capabilities. Take the BBC News for example...., when this comes on there is usually a very loud bleeping tune and a booming noise that will frighten the life out of anyone who hear's it on a surround sound tv.
Anyway ....thats enough moaning for now :)
Has anyone else noticed any other subliminal techniques they use to attract our attention??
 
yep, compression is much greater on adverts, to make them "more effective", but in fact is just irritating, when you quickly have to reach for the remote.

Many commercial channels (radio and tv) "play games" with the regulations, going rather above the compression allowed, because usually nobody will notice!

For BBC radio, last I heard was Optimpod compression is used on all fm channels, including radios 3 and 4 (it might not sound compressed, but it is, in order to increase transmitter coverage!). I'm not sure about the digital versions (DAB/Sky/Freeview).
 
Someone got a rap on the knuckles this week:-

"Commercial breaks broke sound rules.


It is a practice that has viewers lunging across the room for the remote but has been long denied by the TV networks; finally there was proof yesterday that broadcasters manipulate commercial breaks to make them sound louder.
Television channels have maintained that they do not turn up the volume on advertisements and always play by the rules, namely the Committee of Advertising Practice (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code.

But yesterday the advertising watchdog found Five had broken the rules and made commercials shown during the broadcast of Groundhog Day in March sound louder than the Bill Murray comedy.
"The film contained several scenes of quiet dialogue, some of which immediately preceded advertising breaks," the Advertising Standards Authority said in an adjudication prompted by a viewer complaint.

"Advertisement soundtracks featuring highly compressed sound played during these breaks appeared particularly strident."

After Five checked its transmission tapes and denied it had breached the rules, the ASA asked the technical department of the media watchdog, Ofcom, to investigate.

It concluded that almost all the advertisements "sounded subjectively louder than the main content of the surrounding film" because Five had used audio compression. This resulted in "almost constant loudness".

The ASA warned the channel to monitor its broadcasts".

The Guardian July 14


Llew
 
Interesting, but not surprising, the commercial channels do this constantly!
 
I've always found this annoying and even more annoying when the broadcasters infer that it is my/our imagination.
 
There's also a longstanding problem with sound level balance on BBC networks, particularly radio 4, causing constant complaints, but always "dismissed" whenever the subject is aired on "Feedback". However, that's another topic ......
 
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