Film and television...I can't hear....

[Warped9]

This topic could go just about anywhere, put this seemed the most likely place.

Over the past few years I've noticed an evermore recurring issue. And from what I'm getting talking to others I'm far from being alone experience.

Television programs and films are getting harder to understand.

Allow me to clarify. It really came to a head (for me) some weeks ago when I rented the film Noah. There were parts I found completely unintelligible. If it wasn't obtrusive music at the right sound level and frequency to overcome what was being said it was actors (particularly Russell Crowe) who mumbled their lines such that I couldn't make anything out except the occasional word.

This is something I'm noticing evermore often with contemporary films and television programs. I really noticed it trying to watch Gotham these past two weeks. Either it's too obtrusive music or the characters are seemingly mumbling. I get frustrated and find myself thinking, "Speak the hell up and enunciate clearly, dammit!"

I don't have this issue with all programs. If I watch Murdoch Mysteries (a contemporary production) I hear everything. If I watch older films and television shows I hear everything. If I watch the news or sports broadcasts I hear everything. There are contemporary films I've watched where I heard everyuthing.

Yes, sometimes you can miss the odd thing where you can still get an idea of what was said in context of what happens before and after. But it's happening ever more often where whole passages of dialogue are lost to too loud music or actors mubling.

I know I've spoken to quite a few people who have experienced the same thing.

Anyone else?

 

[sojourner]

Your getting old? Gotham sounds fine to me.

 

[John Clark]

One recent example for me is Graceland (season 2) and in that case, it seems like they've got the background music way too loud compared to the voices. Other programs are fine.

 

[Warped9]

One recent example for me is Graceland (season 2) and in that case, it seems like they've got the background music way too loud compared to the voices. Other programs are fine.

That's what I'm talking about. Some things are fine and others aren't

 

[RoJoHen]

I notice this a lot with Blu-Rays. The first one that was particularly bad was The Dark Knight. The background music was just so much louder than everything else, especially in shots with no dialogue. I'd have the volume to a certain level to be able to hear the actors, and then the next scene would be, say, an establishing shot of the city with background music, and it would just blare out of my speakers.

 

[Melakon]

In the last 20 years or so, music and sound effects (which are almost always enhanced in some way) always seem to be mixed higher than the dialogue. Especially if the "soundtrack" is wall to wall rock songs.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

When you get older your ability to distinguish individual sounds diminishes.

 

[marillion]

I'm having this problem with Blu-rays too... And it seems to me that it has a lot to do with the built in sound system in modern TVs. In the family room, we have a sound system hooked up to the TV and never seem to have this issue. However, my wife and I sometimes like to put on a movie in our room after the kids go to bed. We have a smaller TV there with only the built in sound to go with.

This issue of dialog vs. FX and score was incredibly apparent with Captain America: TWS. We had to turn it off because we could not hear the dialog at all. We had the sound turned down to keep it from disturbing the kids, but had to keep turning it up to hear the talking.... Then we had to turn it down really quickly when the action started up again.

I need to delve into the TV sound menu and see if there is some sort of audio setting I can use that creates a better balance.

 

[Melakon]

When you get older your ability to distinguish individual sounds diminishes.

There are some frequencies that are lost as you get older. But I do all my viewing on an older television with only two speakers. Sound mixing in newer films is certainly different from 20 or 30 years ago. With newer films, I sometimes need to have captioning or subtitles on to understand what's being said. Less so with older films.

 

[Green Shirt]

I use captioning to tell what's being said. Drives my son crazy-he says its distracting.

 

[BeatleJWOL]

I've always felt this is an issue with surround mixes for films and a corresponding stereo mix not being created at the same time.

For anyone who doesn't know, when you take 5 (let's ignore the .1) channels and fold them into 2 (without significant processing), the two left channels (front and rear) combine, and the two right channels combine, and then you have the center channel (where most dialogue is placed) much less audible.

It can be alleviated by being sure to choose the stereo mix on any disc being played, but even that's no guarantee, if it was a quick and dirty mix, or a folddown (which is the same thing that happens when a surround mix is played on a stereo system). I personally have the center channel raised above the others on my home theater.

 

[marillion]

^^ Good info. Thanks!

 

[Random_Spock]

I have that happen with one of my tv's (2006 model -- Toshiba). The sound on some tv shows sounds incredible distorted. Like they're talking into a tin can or underwater. My older tv (I think it's either from the early 2000's or sometime in the 90's) doesn't run into that issue at all.

It's really frustrating. Anyone else run into this problem? And if so, what did you do to fix it?

 

[urbandefault]

I've always felt this is an issue with surround mixes for films and a corresponding stereo mix not being created at the same time.

For anyone who doesn't know, when you take 5 (let's ignore the .1) channels and fold them into 2 (without significant processing), the two left channels (front and rear) combine, and the two right channels combine, and then you have the center channel (where most dialogue is placed) much less audible.

It can be alleviated by being sure to choose the stereo mix on any disc being played, but even that's no guarantee, if it was a quick and dirty mix, or a folddown (which is the same thing that happens when a surround mix is played on a stereo system). I personally have the center channel raised above the others on my home theater.

This is what I suspected was the case, just never got around to really investigating.

What makes it worse is the chorus of locusts in my head (tinnitus) drowning out the dialogue.

 

[Agent Richard07]

I have the same problem. Not with music or sounds getting in the way but with actors mumbling their lines. Sometimes I'll even rewind something to try and catch what was said and I still can't make it out.

 

[MacLeod]

Can't say I've noticed really, aside from when it comes to TV and ad breaks seemingly louder than the programme. Fortunatly I DVR most things these days and just FF thru the ads.

 

[Masiral]

When you get older your ability to distinguish individual sounds diminishes.

I'm 21, and I've noticed the same problems - it is not just a "getting older" issue.

 

[Kemaiku]

I can still hear dialogue in television and movies just fine. My DVD catalogue runs from 1922 to present day and I don't have a problem with any era's "sound mix".

But I've noticed other people around me for example, wanting captions turned on when I watch one with them, or wanting a TV turned up until it's too loud for me.

My father being the main one, at mid 50's you'd expect that. Friends my age not so much, although one or two in particular are only 3-4 years older than me and always have captions on.

Seems to just be a small percentage of people with lower hearing capability, everyone else is fine.

 

[knowthyself]

I've noticed this before as well. From what little I know from some video editing I've done, the dialog that the actors say can be quite a bit different sound level from music or Fx. If it's not mixed right, they will be drowned out by the louder music or Fx. Personally, I've noticed this in random shows on TV. They will sound fine if I listen to it on my home theater (center channel is turned up a smidge) but if I view the same show on another TV in the house with its native speakers, they get drowned out.

So, most people (?) that are going to view an optical disc are going to do so on a home theater system. As such, the editors will make the kewl splosions louder and voices get lost.

Off hand, some actors also seem to whisper their dialog like Keifer Sutherland or Stewart in Generations immediately come to mind. Try viewing Dark City or Generations during the nephew died scene and with Data in astrometrics.

 

[Starbreaker]

Do you have a new TV or a TV that's getting ancient? It's possible that either the speakers are too poor to handle the sound mix properly whether it's failing or one of the crappy speakers you find on newer HDTVs.