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Have you noticed this strange audio artifact on these shows?
This thread has 2 replies. Displaying all posts.
Post 1 made on Monday November 29, 2021 at 23:40
Ernie Gilman
Yes, That Ernie!
Joined:
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December 2001
30,104
Tonight we were watching Dexter: New Blood, the episode was "H is for Hero." There is something drastically wrong with the sound from time to time, and I wonder if any of you know what causes it.

If you have DVRed that show and still have it, go to ten minutes in and just listen. There will be a normal scene, then a scene that should be quiet. A rushing sound will start. That sound is very much like an audio limiter letting go of limiting. This continues until someone says something, at which point there's a sound like a compressor coming on... and the sound doesn't go back up in volume after that.

I continued to listen after that and it happened maybe a half dozen more times.

I have heard this "effect" on different shows for a couple of years now, and frankly I thought it might be an issue with some shows that have, pardon me for saying so, lower budgets than other shows might. Queen Sugar has it regularly. So did Underground.

What's wrong with the audio in these shows? Why?
A good answer is easier with a clear question giving the make and model of everything.
"The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." -- G. “Bernie” Shaw
Post 2 made on Tuesday November 30, 2021 at 03:05
ErikU
Long Time Member
Joined:
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January 2015
151
This is simply broadcast audio processing that was poorly setup. I may have missed it, but it wasn't clear what the source was you were watching. Cable? Streaming?

For broadcast or cable there is a requirement to comply with the CALM act. This requires that audio be normalized so that commercials run at the same level as the show. Lazy broadcasters weren't careful with audio levels so congress passed the CALM act.

Content is now passed through various audio processors to ensure compliance. These processors are often poorly setup. Worse, sometimes there are multiple processors in the chain that interact. Often the source content files are processed, sometimes several times and show up on streaming sites.

This is just pure laziness and you are hearing layered audio processing that sounds terrible, but is CALM compliant.

You correctly diagnosed what was happening.
OP | Post 3 made on Tuesday November 30, 2021 at 12:46
Ernie Gilman
Yes, That Ernie!
Joined:
Posts:
December 2001
30,104
Yeah, thanks for the confirmation that I knew what I was hearing.

The source was DirecTV. The latest examples were the TV show Dexter: New Blood. It was on channel 546, which is called Showtime HD, so ultimately Showtime was involved in making it or they paid the money to run it. It is a Premium Subscription program on Hulu, YouTube TV, and Sling TV.
A good answer is easier with a clear question giving the make and model of everything.
"The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." -- G. “Bernie” Shaw


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