We have recently bought a new plasma Panasonic TV. While the sound from normal programmes is fine, it is impossible to watch feature films or DVDs because the sound effects and background music are so much louder than the dialog. So you're constantly on the remote, pressing the volume up and down, either missing what they're saying or getting deafened by explosions etc. None of the sound settings seem to do anything, e.g. SPDIF selection, V audio etc...Is it just me, or is this a common problem? Would one of those loudspeaker sets (? Home cinema system) improve it or make it worse?
Sound on feature films
- Thread starter JohnGriffiths
- Start date
How are you getting your feed for the film channels ?
Are you using sky ?
Freesat ?
Normal house aerial ?
Are you using sky ?
Freesat ?
Normal house aerial ?
We don't have any special film channels, just Freeview, but this problem exists even on the HD freeview, DVD and Blu-ray playback. Picture quality is excellent and so is the sound from say a documentary.
Is the Freeview built in to the tv ?
Or is it a seperate box ?
Is the dvd / BlueRay player seperate or built in ?
Or is it a seperate box ?
Is the dvd / BlueRay player seperate or built in ?
I can't speak from experience, but I understand on new TVs which are getting thinner and thinner the quality of the sound in relation to the picture quality leaves a lot to be desred. Therefore it is prudent to get better quality speakers as seperate items.
- Mar 14, 2005
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Hello John,
With so many different systems in the market it simply not possible to give exact instructions, but buried somewhere in the equipments menus will be some features that will allowyou to adjust variuous aspects of the sound.
Either get you 5 year old grandson to sort it for you or take the risk of being laughed at in the pub and look in theh instructions. Failing that talk to your supplier.
With so many different systems in the market it simply not possible to give exact instructions, but buried somewhere in the equipments menus will be some features that will allowyou to adjust variuous aspects of the sound.
Either get you 5 year old grandson to sort it for you or take the risk of being laughed at in the pub and look in theh instructions. Failing that talk to your supplier.
In December we bought a new Smart TV, after weeks of looking and listening to numerous TV's sound and picture quality in the £800 to £1100 region we found that Samsung offered the best picture quality and sound. I annoyed many store staff playing with the sound and settings and then walking away three rows from the set to check out how picture and sound was. My money so I only part with it when the product is up to scratch.
But Prof is correct you need to make sure you have got fully in to the setting for optimum performance. Our son bought a theatre sound system and took it back within the stores returns period after he found speakers that "fizzed and popped" ( ??) and then bought a better system elsewhere for less money.
But Prof is correct you need to make sure you have got fully in to the setting for optimum performance. Our son bought a theatre sound system and took it back within the stores returns period after he found speakers that "fizzed and popped" ( ??) and then bought a better system elsewhere for less money.
We had a Toshiba and the sound was crap. No amount of tweaking would correct and others tried as well. it was only 2 years old so gave it to our grandaughter and while reading reviews and looking at customer feedback online I went for the LG LED Smart TV. The sound quality is 100% better than the Toshiba and I haven't had to tweak it. Infact the whole system is more user friendly and the LED backlit picture is what persuaded me to buy it in the first place. Like someone else said, to get a perfect audio experience you will need a surround sound system.
Incidentally the salesman told me that the day before he had taken back in a Toshiba set that a customer had brought back because of the poor sound. I can only explain it as if people had buckets on their heads whilst talking. All the reviews and feedback I read about Toshiba mentioned the poor sound.
Last week there was an article in the Express saying about the poor sound quality on modern films compared to years gone by so maybe this is also a factor.
Incidentally the salesman told me that the day before he had taken back in a Toshiba set that a customer had brought back because of the poor sound. I can only explain it as if people had buckets on their heads whilst talking. All the reviews and feedback I read about Toshiba mentioned the poor sound.
Last week there was an article in the Express saying about the poor sound quality on modern films compared to years gone by so maybe this is also a factor.
Good "theatre" systems can actually make it worse - the sound is recorded at specific levels and transmitted digitally but because a good theatre system will have better speakers than TVs it's the mid-range and bass that will benefit most, but these are the very frequencies that film makers use to make things more dramatic.
I love listening to rock music programmes, eg Glastonbury, through our theatre system but for normal TV that would be unbearable so I just use it's normal speakers with the bass turned down.
I love listening to rock music programmes, eg Glastonbury, through our theatre system but for normal TV that would be unbearable so I just use it's normal speakers with the bass turned down.
Isn't the LG a rebranded Goodmans? We have a LG in the bedroom and no issues with it.Lord Braykewynde said:
Possibly the other way round !!Surfer said:
Wharfedale and Goodmans were both highly respected HiFi manufacturers in the mid-market but both went bust under the onslaught of cheap Asian electronics. Argos bought both brand names from their Receivers and uses them on cheap electronics made elsewhere.
There's no connection with the modern Goodmans or Wharfedale with their quality originators.
I'm not convinced it is adjustments needed, as I said none of them seem to do much except the graphic equalizer, which makes it worse, either tinny or too much bass. Its as if there is an imbalance of channels. After having another browse on the net it seems as if I'm not alone, some say modern films are just made that way, i.e. FX and music turned up high to make it more dramatic. Plus as Mr Past_it says, speakers have got thinner so they fit in the flat cabinets and they are less effective. Anyway, I've reserved a sound bar on Argos today so we'll see if that gives more control and I'll let you know.
At the risk of seeming impertinent, how old are you...?
Hearing deteriorates from the early 20s onwards, with the higher frequencies dropping faster than the lower end (for the audiophiles - the range from 4kHz upwards drops fastest). The effect of that is that as you get older it can be harder to pick out what people are saying against a general background noise, which is made worse if you've been exposed to high noise reasonably often during your life, even if only as a youngster going to loud clubs, etc. and then a life of quiet sobriety for 30 years afterwards.
In the English language, as in most languages, those 4 to 6kHz frequencies are where most of the meaning in speech is, with the lower end being all about volume and rhythm of the words rather than meaning. The effect of losing those higher frequencies is that speech can become a bit muffled - the classic example is sitting in a loud pub and you can hear perfectly clearly what's going on at the other side of the room or if a car has pulled up outside, but can't tell what the person sitting next to you is saying without really concentrating.
What you say about documentaries vs films makes sense. In documentaries there is usually very little background noise while people are talking, so the speech is nice and clear, while in films there is all kinds of music or sound effects going on and if people do have those high frequency losses then the speech gets buried in the whole noise and is harder to follow. Home cinema systems tend to be bass-heavy and can be harder to listen to than a normal stereo sound. The balance on modern TVs is also weighted towards the bottom end which again can make it harder to pick our speech above the general noise.
You don't have to be deaf to have this effect, it has nothing to do with poor hearing overall. As an example, not 30 minutes ago I had a lad in for a hearing test in his early 20s who has exactly the same problem and his hearing was excellent, just not quite as good at the higher frequencies than the lower.
As for solving it - no two people's hearing is the same and nobody over their mid-teens has perfect 'flat' hearing. That means the auto-settings on the system usually never suit a particular person but are a best-fit. Experiment with the sound settings to crank up the higher frequencies, just the treble if that's the only option, or everything from say 4kHz upwards if the system has fancier settings.
Probably just confuses everyone further but there you go!
Hearing deteriorates from the early 20s onwards, with the higher frequencies dropping faster than the lower end (for the audiophiles - the range from 4kHz upwards drops fastest). The effect of that is that as you get older it can be harder to pick out what people are saying against a general background noise, which is made worse if you've been exposed to high noise reasonably often during your life, even if only as a youngster going to loud clubs, etc. and then a life of quiet sobriety for 30 years afterwards.
In the English language, as in most languages, those 4 to 6kHz frequencies are where most of the meaning in speech is, with the lower end being all about volume and rhythm of the words rather than meaning. The effect of losing those higher frequencies is that speech can become a bit muffled - the classic example is sitting in a loud pub and you can hear perfectly clearly what's going on at the other side of the room or if a car has pulled up outside, but can't tell what the person sitting next to you is saying without really concentrating.
What you say about documentaries vs films makes sense. In documentaries there is usually very little background noise while people are talking, so the speech is nice and clear, while in films there is all kinds of music or sound effects going on and if people do have those high frequency losses then the speech gets buried in the whole noise and is harder to follow. Home cinema systems tend to be bass-heavy and can be harder to listen to than a normal stereo sound. The balance on modern TVs is also weighted towards the bottom end which again can make it harder to pick our speech above the general noise.
You don't have to be deaf to have this effect, it has nothing to do with poor hearing overall. As an example, not 30 minutes ago I had a lad in for a hearing test in his early 20s who has exactly the same problem and his hearing was excellent, just not quite as good at the higher frequencies than the lower.
As for solving it - no two people's hearing is the same and nobody over their mid-teens has perfect 'flat' hearing. That means the auto-settings on the system usually never suit a particular person but are a best-fit. Experiment with the sound settings to crank up the higher frequencies, just the treble if that's the only option, or everything from say 4kHz upwards if the system has fancier settings.
Probably just confuses everyone further but there you go!
Withdraw that post immediately! If I do say 25 hearing tests in a standard day, about 20 will say "what" or "pardon" when asked to sit down, and about 15 will say they have "selective hearing" or can't hear "but only when the wife's talking"! I grin manfully through it every time!
If I do say 25 hearing tests in a standard day, about 20 will say "what" or "pardon" when asked to sit down, and about 15 will say they have "selective hearing" or can't hear "but only when the wife's talking"! I grin manfully through it every time! wish you could do one for me and give me a note for the wife!! I am sure she thinks I ignore her on purposeShirker said:Withdraw that post immediately!
My hearing is poor after 30years working in a very noisy enviromenst 20 of that without ear defenders and your right about certain pitches disapearing over time, the titinitus doesnot help either as sometimes it drowns out all other sounds. many is the time I have sat in a quiet room and can distinctly hear the drone of the glass furnace ringing in my ears.
I can on a summers evening while sat on a campsite somewhere hear a skylark from miles away or hear a jumbo jet pass overhead at 40.000 feet, but hear someone speak with background noise forget it!!! I do have a pair of hearing aids but to be honest hardly ever wear them as they make the world sound tinny, and the sound of ones shoes on the floor while walking is very irritating.
you do however learn to lip read which helps a lot, this brings me to the sound on TV's and films. It is supprising how may programs and films have the sound out of sync with the action it seems worse when the programs are broadcast in HD I did try a home cinima set up but this made things worse fiddling around with the sound settings does help a bit but not much as when the program changes all the setting have to be changed as well.
Shirker, Yes my hearing is without doubt not as good as it was (I'm just coming up to 60 this year) but I still think the film makers are the main culprits. I suppose they're concentrating on their main market when it comes to action films, i.e. teenagers. However I can still hear minute sounds that others miss, even at high or very high frequencies, e.g. bats echo-locating.
The soundbar I mentioned earlier has made quiite a difference. It has very few setting, but there is a button called "Clear Dialog" that no doubt increases those 4-6 kHz frequencies you mentioned. My partner however thinks the whole set up has too much bass, you can't please all the people....
The soundbar I mentioned earlier has made quiite a difference. It has very few setting, but there is a button called "Clear Dialog" that no doubt increases those 4-6 kHz frequencies you mentioned. My partner however thinks the whole set up has too much bass, you can't please all the people....
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