Audio volume setting to maintain constant

[Lady]

I had a setting that I used on both TV's that kept the sound constant when the commercials would come on to avoid blasting us out. When using the 2 Tivos I lost that feature on both sets.

Is there a work around or is this feature going to be added in the future?
Thank you.

[lrhorer]

Not if it is to maintain THX certification. Of course, the THD does not claim THX certification, but I suspect they only have one engineering standard, and only apply the certification to their upper valued DVRs, but this feature would most definitely be a violation of THX requirements.

[Lady]

Not if it is to maintain THX certification. Of course, the THD does not claim THX certification, but I suspect they only have one engineering standard, and only apply the certification to their upper valued DVRs, but this feature would most definitely be a violation of THX requirements.

Not surprisingly, you are over my head ;) .

I have 2 Tivos that are the HD. I purchased one in July and one just one week ago. I think my Tivos are upper valued. Is it possible to have some of the TV features over-ride the Tivos? Are you saying this is against some law?

Thanks for your kind response.

[bkdtv]

Both of your TVs have a digital (ATSC/QAM) tuner? Generally, we don't have the same issues with commercial volume on analog that we do with digital.

If both your TVs have digital tuners, then it sounds like they offer a form of dynamic range compression, which reduces the difference between lows and highs. The downside is that you lose much of the detail in the audio. It's sort of like converting a 256 color image to a 16 color image.

There is no way for TiVo to do what you want without significantly degrading audio quality. Adjusting commercial volume while maintaining dynamic range (ie. sound quality) requires a lot of processing power that no device like the TiVo has. Dolby has introduced such a feature, called Dolby Volume (http://www.dolby.com/consumer/technology/dolby-volume.html), that should become a standard feature in many A/V receivers over the next year.

[bkdtv]

Just to follow up on the above, Dolby Volume requires a high-performance DSP, which is why you don't see it in more receivers today.

[Lady]

Both of your TVs have a digital (ATSC/QAM) tuner? Generally, we don't have the same issues with commercial volume on analog that we do with digital.

If both your TVs have digital tuners, then it sounds like they offer a form of dynamic range compression, which reduces the difference between lows and highs. The downside is that you lose much of the detail in the audio. It's sort of like converting a 256 color image to a 16 color image.

There is no way for TiVo to do what you want without significantly degrading audio quality. Adjusting commercial volume while maintaining dynamic range (ie. sound quality) requires a lot of processing power that no device like the TiVo has. Dolby has introduced such a feature, called Dolby Volume (http://www.dolby.com/consumer/technology/dolby-volume.html), that should become a standard feature in many A/V receivers over the next year.

I believe they do have the tuners. When we want to take advantage of that feature is in the evening when others in the home are trying to rest. There is NO reasonable volume for the TV to hear the program and avoid blasting others awake from many rooms away when the ads come on :( The commercials over these sets anyway, are unbearable without muting the whole thing. One set has a soft mute on it that functions great if it can be snatched up quickly.

For these shows and respect for the family we gladly give up the fancy sound. We have no need for the feature of course with DVDs etc. Settings in the sound panel can be adjusted easily for the situation.

The latest TV is a Sony Bravia that is in a Bedroom that is wonderful for drifting off to with the sound setting on the constant level...but we've just added the TiVo to it and there is no drifting off to it after a hard day. The commercials will stand you up at the foot of the bed ;)

[Lady]

Just to follow up on the above, Dolby Volume requires a high-performance DSP, which is why you don't see it in more receivers today.

DSP? I'm not sure what you mean here.

Are you saying if we invest in a good sound system with the new Dolby feature that this would solve the problem?

[WayneCarter]

DSP = Digital Signal Processor - A DSP is a specialized and very powerful processor that can analyze and process audio and/or video signals. A DSP is a fairly pricey chip hence they don't usually appear except in high-end gear. While Dolby uses a DSP, it sounds as if Dolby Volume would require extra processing; a more specialized DSP that cost (you) more than "just" vanilla Dolby.

[bkdtv]

DSP? I'm not sure what you mean here.

Are you saying if we invest in a good sound system with the new Dolby feature that this would solve the problem?Most (but not all) inexpensive sound systems already have a "night time" listening mode that will do what your TV does. As alluded to above, this "night time" mode decreases the difference between the highs and lows. Whispers aren't as soft and explosions aren't as loud.

"Dolby Volume" is a much more sophisticated implementation to maintain a constant volume level across different channels and commercials, without degrading sound quality. This is a relatively new technology and requires a lot of processing power, so it is only found in a few higher-end products at this time. Over the next year, we should see "Dolby Volume" in many more products, and within a few years, it should be a standard feature in any new HTIB.

[lrhorer]

I think my Tivos are upper valued. Is it possible to have some of the TV features over-ride the Tivos?
Technically, surely. I suspect evcen adding a manual setting of thsi sort would violate THX specifications, however.

Are you saying this is against some law?
It's not any sort of law, no. THX requires all THX certified devices (like the TiVo S3 and TiVo HD XL) to meet certain standards, or else they will not be certified. It is in no way illegal not to be THX certified, but THX certification is a moderately valuable asset in the A/V industry, and the TiVo S3 and TiVo HD XL are the only two devices which currently are THX certified. Two of the specifications concerning audio are gain linearity and achieving the THX standard output level. A utility such as you request would require a non-linear gain response. It also would make it unlikely the TiVo would produce a THX standard output level in response to a THX standard audio input.

[Lady]

Thank you for your feedback on this. I appreciate your taking the time to answer my questions.