Why are Commercials so Loud?

Commercials are not necessarily louder than the show you are already watching. However, due to the massive amount of talking and other noise that many of them have, they seem louder. If you walk out of your house and there’s a bunch of traffic outside, things didn’t get louder, there’s just a lot more noise.

So basically, commercials are just noisy. And like a noisy person, they can seem a bit annoying and you sometimes just want them to shut up. That’s why I love the mute button sometimes.

I notice this a lot more with my HDTV setup.

http://www.lockergnome.com/dabrace1984/2008/05/31/my-current-hdtv-setup/

I think part of the reason is because of surround sound. I think that when advertisements as are recorded and edited, they are putting more content in each channel. With my setup, I normally listen with the volume at 65/100. This is because I have windows open and traffic noise gets in. When commercials come on, I turn the volume to to about 55/100. It is ridiculous.

Thanks for the reference to the MSNBC article. It makes sense. Maybe something needs to be changed by the FCC.

Well, at least I know I’m not crazy and my stereo isn’t broke now.

Thats so true I’ve always noticed and wondered that same thing.
Interesting.

I think that’s BS about the nuances and amount of sounds and music in the mix. I watch shows like Southpark and Family Guy. Those shows are full of a lot of action, dialogue, effects, etc. and they have a lot of quick cuts. There aren’t a lot of tense or tender moments where the music is low and serene and people are just staring at each other or something. I have to turn the volume up way more to hear those particular shows than others. I notice this more on the cable channels than the traditional networks.

BTW, that MSNBC article says that TVs with Dolby will be out this or next year. It’s about time!

I’m not buying the explanation either. Some networks are worse than others, and some ads are worse than others. For example, watching TNT the shows are low in volume no matter what’s going on, even cop shows where there is a lot of action. Then a Vonage ad comes on and the windows start rattling. The peak for the ad is clearly higher than the peak for all the programs on TNT and even many other ads. I mean, an AT&T ad comes on right after Vonage, and it’s back down to the same overall level as the normal programming. Some ads are simply louder than others, there’s no doubt about it.