What's with loud commercials?

**smokey the elder** · 03-30-2009, 07:19 AM

The Sham Wow thread got me thinking...do you notice that some commercials are much louder than the programming? I especially notice it on TNT and Spike, which carry assorted CSI: reruns. I have DirecTV; they don't need to shout at me in their commercials!

**BitsyNaceyDog** · 03-30-2009, 07:48 AM

It's true, they are actually louder, kind of... There is a maximum loudness (I don't know the technical terms) that a show or commercial are allowed to be. Shows want more depth to their sound so the show as a whole is quieter so it can have louder more dramatic parts. The commercials are usually only 30 seconds long and they don't need the vast range that the shows need so they just make the whole 30 second commercial the loudest they're allowed.

**happylabs** · 03-30-2009, 08:17 AM

Yes, the commercials are definitely louder. My old television died last year and I was forced to buy a new one. The new television has a half mute button which is really nice for when the commercials come on. I click it and the sounds goes down but doesn't mute it competely. I don't know why the advertisers think their commercials have to be so loud. It is a total turn off for me.

**RICHARD** · 03-30-2009, 09:14 AM

The scientific reason for commercials being louder is called the bathroom and the kitchen.

I had heard that the volume was made louder becuase people would go out of the room during the breaks. I seem to remember hearing about this a few years ago.

BIlly Mays loves you all. He really doesn't mean to yell....

**Taz_Zoee** · 03-30-2009, 09:18 AM

Yes, I've also heard they make the commercials louder on purpose. But I didn't realize it was for the reason Richard stated. But I guess it makes sense. If I happen to be watching something in real time I usually mute it during commercials. Otherwise I am able to fast forward through them.

That half mute button sounds like a great invention. I'd never heard of that before.

**Randi** · 03-30-2009, 09:28 AM

There's no doubt that they do it on purpose, and it's SO ANNOYING!!! However, I have no clue what they're showing these days. I turn down the sound, go to the bathroom and/or kitchen - actually John and I timed it years ago, and we found that there was just enough time to make a fresh pot of tea and go for a pee.

**kokopup** · 03-30-2009, 09:30 AM

Because of the loud commercials there is a new technology coming out on a lot of the latest AUDIO/VIDEO products that maintains a constant audio level during commercials.

I hate being blasted during commercials. Because of this I record all the shows that I watch so I can fast forward through commercials. I have found that if I wait 20 minutes after an hour long show starts I can watch the entire show in the remaining 40 minutes. Most of the time though I wait a day or two before watching what I have recorded.

The technology I would like to see is a program that would scan a recorded show and delete the commercials.

**smokey the elder** · 03-30-2009, 09:46 AM

I have two channels in my DVR so I can watch one show live while recording another, or watch a recorded show and record two at once. Very handy, since Lost and Ghosthunters conflict! I can "dit" through the commercials, then. Really handy when I was watching the Worlds yesterday.

**mruffruff** · 03-30-2009, 10:19 AM

I have found the commercials are both louder and ---(honestly!) quieter than the programs. When there's almost silence from the TV, I'll look up from my book and see a barely audible commercial. They should all be that way!

I also find that shows vary in volume. Not just from station to station, but on the same channel. At first I thought my hearing was going. Surely there is a control room that can tell when the volume changes. Isn't that what all those dials and 'controls' are for?

I get aggravated too when a program runs a tape during an interview and the volume of the tape is so loud I can't hear what they are saying on the live show.

**BitsyNaceyDog** · 03-30-2009, 11:03 AM

Here's an article on what I was trying to explain:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17229281/

Ask any TV station this question and you’ll get the same answer, “the commercials are no louder than any of the other programming we broadcast — they just sound louder.”

It’s true, the station isn’t turning up the volume when the commercials run, but that’s not the complete answer. Otherwise, you wouldn’t need to reach for the remote to turn down the volume during the commercial break. So what’s really going on here? This gets a little complicated, so stick with me on this. he Federal Communications Commission does not specifically regulate the volume of TV programs or TV commercials. However, broadcasters are required to have equipment that limits the peak power they can use to send out their audio and video signals. That means the loudest TV commercial will never be any louder than the loudest part of any TV program.

A TV program has a mix of audio levels. There are loud parts and soft parts. Nuance is used to build the dramatic effect.

Most advertisers don’t want nuance. They want to grab your attention. To do that, the audio track is electronically processed to make every part of it as loud as possible within legal limits. “Nothing is allowed to be subtle,” says Brian Dooley, Editor-At-Large for CNET.com. “Everything is loud – the voices, the music and the sound effects.”

Spencer Critchley, writing in Digital Audio last month, explained it this way: “The peak levels of commercials are no higher than the peak levels of program content. But the average level is way, way higher, and that’s the level your ears care about. If someone sets off a camera flash every now and then it’s one thing; if they aim a steady spot light into your eyes it’s another, even if the peak brightness is no higher.”

There’s also what Brian Dooley of CNET.com calls “perceived loudness.” If you’re watching a drama with soft music and quiet dialogue and the station slams into a commercial for the July 4th Blow Out Sale, it’s going to be jarring. If you happen to go from the program into a commercial for a sleeping pill, one with a subtle soundtrack, it probably won’t bother you.

**sparks19** · 03-30-2009, 12:45 PM

Doesn't that drive you crazy. Yes some commercials are cranked up and it's really annoying. it especially drives me nuts at night when hannah is asleep and we are watching a show that has a lot of quiet dialogue parts and then suddenly the TV is BLARING.

**Daisy and Delilah** · 03-30-2009, 02:15 PM

A long time ago, I read that it's called "sound amplification" and the product company pays extra for it. It is definitely a real thing.

**carole** · 03-30-2009, 04:48 PM

It must be the same world wide, as we have the same problem here in NZ, yes we always have to turn the volume down for the commercials and up for the programmes,darn it all.

**wolflady** · 03-30-2009, 05:08 PM

Yes, I've noticed this too, and it seems it has actually gotten worse over the past year or two. I swear the programs seem to be getting softer and softer, so I have to crank up the volume just to hear, and then the commercials absolutely BLAST on. I hate that! It's a constant battle for me with the remote: turn it up, turn it down, turn it up, turn it down....rinse/repeat.