Dolby Volume set to eliminate loud commercials
by Matt Burns 
posted Sep 5th 2007 at 10:35AM
Those mad scientists at Dolby Labs think they have a solution for senior citizens everywhere. Dolby Volume sets to eliminate your grandfather's cursing when the loud and obnoxious car salesman commercial hits by utilizing two patented processes. The Volume Leveler equalizes the high and low volumes, and then, the Volume Modeler dynamically adjust the bass and treble as the volume increases/decreases. Best of all, this system can be incorporated into any TV or A/V. No word on when you will see the Dolby Volume logo on your equipment just yet, but hopefully soon as it isn't just old folks complaining -- we have too.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mojo_Yugen @ Sep 5th 2007 11:38AM
People still watch commercials?
Tim @ Sep 5th 2007 11:41AM
Hopefully, they are planning on this being something that can be turned on and off so the dynamics of a movie can be left in tact or that they can somehow make your television recognize what is a commercial and what isn't so it only affects commercials. There have been similar things such as Magnavox's Smart Volume for a while now, though.
aaron @ Sep 5th 2007 11:54AM
isnt there a law bythe FCC that says commercials are not supposed to be any louder than the general talking that appears in the program you are watching??
go engadget go @ Sep 5th 2007 12:17PM
Yes! I hate how commercials are louder than programs.
zargon @ Sep 5th 2007 12:19PM
This has been fixed for normal broadcast for sometime, like aaron said, I think it was a FCC rule.
I however have noticed this on digital and HD broadcasts now. I have not noted if this is just on OTA broadcasts via cable (for me) or all including cable/satellite only channels... but it has been a problem.
Shane Walker @ Sep 5th 2007 12:50PM
When I first heard about the new Dolby technology some months ago via the HTguys podcast, I almost literally threw my hands up in the air and yelled "Hallelujah!" We've needed a high-quality (read perceptibly lossless in mix distortion) volume regulator for sooooo long. And it's NOT for just commercials, folks.
Think of it this way...how many times have you changed channels (digital, satellite, cable, OTA, you name it) and the variance in volume level is astounding, right? So this will really change surfing, for one.
And also, my BIG pet peeve: how many "action" or "thrillers" or "horror" or "sci-fi" etc movies have soundtrack mixes where they seem to rely on blasting sound effects as a way to 'surprise' the audience (an ANNOYING cheat, as it should be quality filmmaking that does this, not cheap shots like this)? They have the dialogue volume really low so you crank up the volume to hear what the hell the actors are saying, then WHAM!!! a window shatters or a machine gun suddenly rattles off. It's not shocking or exhilerating in any substantive manner and it really only ends up annoying the crap out of me (and I know I'm not alone). A loud battle scene I can understand, but the filmic equivalent of a fireside sudden "BOO!!" is way, way, way overused.
I said it when I first heard of this Dolby Volume and I'll say it again--the SECOND it shows up in an A/V reciever, I'm buying it. Money well spent and I think it will prove to be about as groundbreaking/transformative to a quality, user-empowering HT experience as the commercial skip button on DVRs and macro-programmable remotes have proven to be.
Bring it one, Dolby! Hoorah!
Big Sam @ Sep 5th 2007 1:24PM
I've noticed it on my HD locals and on HD cable channels. Its especially bad on ESPN-HD, which sucks because sports (mainly football) is the only thing I absolutely have to watch live, so commercial skipping is not an option. And sometimes I'll leave it on for background noise until I get the screaming lawyer or car salesman.
Paul @ Sep 6th 2007 4:21AM
I haven't noticed any loud commercials in a while. Although if it does happen I'll be the first to bitch up a storm.
Has anyone else noticed that HD channel volumes seem to be much lower than SD channels?
JSM @ Sep 5th 2007 1:39PM
Guys, just saw your previous post on this and this one, and I hate to tell you but those FCC regulations do not apply to cable, even rebroadcast cable (as the FCC only has jurisdiction over broadcast) this is why your cable specific channels (ESPN, comedy central) seem to be much worse on this issue than the broadcast channels. Add to that the HD problem (many receivers when they switch from 5.1 to 2 channel will play the 2 at a much higher level) and you have the reason for these dolby folks working so hard. One would hope it becomes standard issue in short order.
LJKelley @ Sep 5th 2007 4:14PM
I wish my TV and Home Theatre System had this... as I hate movies that are unbalanced or even skipping thru commercials on my DVR and have a real loud one... Dolby really is a fantastic company that keeps going forward with innovation!
Rich @ Dec 2nd 2007 10:23AM
I doubt big business will allow any interference in the volume of their commercials. The FCC won't help as I believe they were paid off. These loud commercials are really bothersome, you can't even talk while they are advertising Charter cable.