MP4 default volume

[Shadowflyer]

Hi all - please help!

When I select an MP4 video from my library it always begins at 75% volume - and since I have an awful lot of music videos, often it's deafening through my headphones!

How can I adjust what is presumably a default setting please?

Thanks for any advice.

Phil.

[butterw]

On windows the selected audio source (ex: motherboard audio, hdmi) has a global volume adjustment.

Your video player software may additionnally have a volume adjustment (ex: 20% Volume).

[abolibibelot]

You didn't specify which software player you are using.

Also, this might be in large part due to this :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war

[Shadowflyer]

Apologies...

The program I'm generally using access these MP4s is just the standard one on Windows 10 called 'Photos' I believe, although some of the vids (don't ask me why!) will only open if I use VLC media player... which is easy to adjust - the volume of the vid just stays at the same level of the previous vid viewed.

The generic volume output of the PC's speakers is set by clicking on the icon on the banner at the bottom of the screen - again, easy to adjust but it doesn't seem to apply to MP4 videos!

I know this sounds like I'm a dunce - and I probably am when it comes to the intricacies of my PC and Windows 10! Sorry.

Thanks again,

Phil.

[abolibibelot]

The program I'm generally using access these MP4s is just the standard one on Windows 10 called 'Photo' I believe, although some of the vids (don't ask me why!) will only open if I use VLC media player... which is easy to adjust - the volume of the vid just stays at the same level of the previous vid viewed.

Up until Windows 7 (I can't comment on later Windows editions, but generally speaking, based on the historical trend, each new edition tends to make it more difficult to use your “personal” computer as you “personally” want to use it, rather forcing you to conform to whatever new fancy way of doing things they oh-so-cleverly designed and decided would become the “new normal”), it was relatively easy to change the default program used to open each file type. I don't know if and how it is possible with Windows 10. Do a search with « "Windows 10" change file association ».
VLC Media Player allows to do this in its own settings : in the “Interface” tab, scroll down to see the “file associations” box — but I just tried : for most extensions the selection box is greyed out, meaning that the corresponding extension can not be disabled, only a few odd extensions which do not correspond to video formats (ISO, MPC, RAR, ZIP) can actually be enabled this way. No idea why.

[butterw]

mp4 isn't a special case. The default volume applies to all audio output in Win10.

If your system has multiple audio playback devices check whether you are changing the correct one (>> Right click on the speaker icon for further menus)

To be able to switch between audio volume, the easiest way would be to use an external video player with volume modifier (ex: vlc).

[Shadowflyer]

How I wish that you were right butterw! I've set the pc audio systems to 50% as an experiment and it's made absolutely no difference to the MP4 vids that I have. I fly a small aeroplane that is noisy in the cockpit and when I click on a GoPro video that I've made and it starts at 75% it's so loud that I feel it's in danger of blowing my headphones apart or busting my eardrums - or both, even when I turn it down within milliseconds cos I'm poised there, ready. about 10% is a comfortable level but there seems to be no way to change the default of 75%. It's very frustrating.

[Cornucopia]

The default out level, on Win10 as well as older OSes, is the downstream MASTER level. This is in series but is independent of each program's output level. For best quality, both/all should be optimized. IOW, highest level possible prior to introduction of distortion. Example: my VLC level is almost always at "100", while master out depends on which device I am using as output: 20-30 for usb headphones, 50 for local mic/speaker, 80 for HDMI to big TV.
For reference, you can google "optimal gain structure".

These are standard, reference levels, and then you need to adjust your playback to fit comforably in them. Replay gain is a good method of runtime conformity to ~normalized levels. However, this method, and normalizing, doesn't account for variations in general rms level or dynamic range, such as was mentioned in the loudness wars post above.

But it sounds like you have no way to adjust your headphones independent of pc output. To fix that, I recommend something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Inline-Control-3-5MM-Headphones-Black/dp/B008DJTB32.

You might still have an issue with some file(s) that were badly recorded/transferred/captured which may have clipping burnt in. There is little you can do for those, other than something like Audition's de-clip (which really only works on the light cases).


Scott

[butterw]

Set the volume in the video player (ex: vlc) to what you want (ex: 10%). This value is persistent.

Try applying replaygain normalization on your recordings.