very low volume when using DVD + TV + regular stereo

[cdechery]

I recently bought a 29" TV and a DVD player (Gradiente Compact D-10).

Well... I connected the DVD to the Tv via that regular three connections (two for audio and one for video) cable. And I also connected the TV to my stereo (a regular stereo) via that normal RCA cable.

When I watch TV using the stereo the sound is perfect, the voulme is very loud and powerfull. When watching cable-TV channles, the sound is almost like in a movie theather. But when I watch a DVD the volume is MUCH lower. I mean dramatically lower.

I bought "Twin Peaks" and when I play it, I can hardly hear the dialogs. Even if I turn the stereo volume WAY up the volume still sucks.

It doesn't happen with ALL movies though, I have "Baraka", and the sound is great.

Is this normal? How can I fix this?

Thanks

[sterno]

I know that my DVDs normally play at a lower volume than the TV signal. I have the DVD player connected to the digital input on my stereo, since I have a 5.1 surround system. I haven't had the problem of being unable to hear it, but in some cases I have had to turn the volume up quite a lot for good results.

When I create a VCD from VHS or TV source I can have the volume about the same as the TV signal. When I do a DVD rip and open the audio in an editor the amplitude is very low, so I'm guessing that DVDs are just normally made at a low volume.

Have you tried connecting your DVD player directly to the stereo to see if the volume is still the same? Some stereos have both high- and low-level inputs.

[cdechery]

Well... I would like to connect my DVD directly to my stereo, but it has only one A/V out. So if I wouldn't be able to connect it to the TV.

I guess I did a bad choice of player.

[sterno]

Well... I would like to connect my DVD directly to my stereo, but it has only one A/V out.

Your DVD player only has one set of RCA jacks, you mean? Just don't connect the audio to your TV, go straight to the stereo for the audio jacks and only connect the video to the TV. The TV doesn't care if it's getting an audio signal or not.

In any case, I meant just do it for 5-10 minutes while you check to see if the audio is the same volume as when it goes through the TV. It should be, but you never know....

[cdechery]

I think I figured it out.

I think the only thing that has a low volume are the dialogs. Is that possible?

This is what I did. First I played an MP3 CDRW (which by the way kicks-ass in this player... supporting MP3 ID tag and all) and the volume is waaaaaaay loud.... very cool, it took me by surprise. That made me think.

Then I watched this other DVD - Baraka - which is a movie without dialogs... it's a kind of documentary with a lot of background music and sounds, and the volume is pretty ok.

Then watching Papillon, all the sounds in the movie are loud EXCEPT the dialogs which is really low. That also happened with Twin Peaks, making it a pattern.

Is this possible, or am I just crazy? I'm gonna test the disc in a friend's house and check it out.

[Mirror_Image]

CD-Audio has a dynamic range of 96dB, but DVD-Audio has a dynamic range of 144dB. If they make use of this difference (which not all DVD movies do, just the well-engineered ones), the whispers are going to sound like whispers and the jets taking off are going to sound like jets taking off.

Just like real life.

However, if you want to make the quiet sounds louder and the loud sounds quieter (like a VHS tape), some DVD players have an option in the sound menu that will do this, but many do not.

p.s. If you had listed the make and model of your DVD player...

[cdechery]

Sorry to bother u all... it was just my imagination after all.

Well, not all of it. The movies really have VERY low volumes, I think they're bad quality DVDs.

But it has nothing to do with my player... I just tested it on a friend's player and it had the lowest volume too. His TV is even better than mine... a very good flat-screen Sony model. And I turned the volume to the max to get a good level.

I'm relieved! hehehe

Thanks anyway.