Compressor for watching DVDs

wedge · Post by **wedge** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 10:18 pm

This might not even be the proper messageboard for this thread, but I like you'se all so much...

I wanna hook an outboard compressor from the audio out of my DVD player, into the audio in of my TV/amp, because I'm sick and bloody tired of turning my TV's volume up and down when I watch a DVD.

Soundtracks for films are wildly dynamic, and that's great in a theatre, but fuck, why hasn't anybody in the DVD production side of the film industry realized that going from barely audible conversation, to thundering orchestral music in .05 seconds might not be so appropriate for living rooms, especially in a city?

Anyhoo, anyone done this? I imagine I could use a stereo compressor and then adapters from RCA to quarter inch, and back again? Are there any level matching issues? Would I need a REAMP box, too?

JGriffin · Post by **JGriffin** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 10:22 pm

We had a thread about this awhile back actually.

Personally, I think it's kind of silly that we complain about lack of dynamics on music CDs and then complain about how dynamic DVDs are...

Anyway, you have to set it carefully if you put a compressor in line. Comcast puts a compressor on its outgoing analog signal, and hoo boy does it sound like hardboiled ass with ketchup.

wedge · Post by **wedge** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 10:33 pm

I don't wanna squish the butt out of it... I just wanna be able to watch rented DVDs late at night, without having to ride the volume knob and wake up roommates and neighbors...

JGriffin · Post by **JGriffin** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 10:44 pm

You can use a device like this to change the level from -10 to +4. Then insert the compressor, then another converter to go back to -10...or just drop the output of the compressor about 14 dB.

farview · Post by **farview** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 10:46 pm

You can use any stereo compressor with some adapters. It will take some time playing with it to get it to sound decent, but it might be OK for what you are trying to do.

It still might not be enough. On the big stuff, you might need to be 20db into the reduction...

farview · Post by **farview** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 10:49 pm

dwlb wrote: or just drop the output of the compressor about 14 dB.

It would be 11db. +4 and 10 are using two different db scales with two different voltage references, so the difference isn't 14db.

JGriffin · Post by **JGriffin** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 10:51 pm

farview wrote:
dwlb wrote: or just drop the output of the compressor about 14 dB.
It would be 11db. +4 and 10 are using two different db scales with two different voltage references, so the difference isn't 14db.

righty-o.

rwc · Post by **rwc** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 11:25 pm

I tried this.

In the end, 20 dB volume changes being smashed sounded pretty shitty.

Now I watch all my movies and tv on the computer, hooked up to the TV. I use media player classic, which allows me to ride the volume with the mousewheel. I ride up up during dialog and down during explosions, at night.

I stopped watching network television to get around the commercials. it will go from -18 to -10 on the meters in the m-audio panel to a full on 0, on a commercial. when the commercial comes right after dialog that was low, around -24, this can really drive me fucking nuts.

0-it-hz · Post by **0-it-hz** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 11:52 pm

If you're playing back DTS through a decoder there's dynamic range compression in most decoders. It's usually called late-night mode or something like that, but it's built into most DTS decoders.

Snarl 12/8 · Post by **Snarl 12/8** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 12:10 am

This bugs the hell out of me too. The main problem for me is the kids sleeping in the next room. A lot of the loud stuff is violence and screams sometimes and I just think that's probably not a great sound track to their dreams. It seems like some sort of thingy that automatically rides a fader, so to speak, would be better than an actual compressor. I'm trying to remember if the [dirt cheap] behringer AutoCom might be a good choice for this. Or some sort of "auto-mixer" like I've seen used in a video conferencing setup [not dirt cheap] IIRC.

What do you more knowledgeable folks think about that?

Just did some googling -

(Nope, doesn't look like the autocom is the right animal)

Are there any affordable auto mixers? just a 2 channel? (not much of a mixer) It seems like most DVDs are sortof 2 volumes too loud and too quiet, so an fixed db attenuator that kicked in above a certain threshold might be enough to solve the problem as defined by the OP.

rwc · Post by **rwc** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 12:42 am

dwlb wrote:
farview wrote:
dwlb wrote: or just drop the output of the compressor about 14 dB.
It would be 11db. +4 and 10 are using two different db scales with two different voltage references, so the difference isn't 14db.

righty-o.

is it just me or does this sound retarded?

not retarded as in you are wrong, I believe you

but retarded as in, whoever came up with that.

sometimes reading things I think the people behind it came up with what they did in the way they did just to confuse us...

RoyMatthews · Post by **RoyMatthews** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 4:09 am

Kinda OT but I wish my Mac had some type of built in software compressor. It'd be nice for watching youtube videos with varying levels, ripped dvds, and/or games. It can't be that hard.

dino · Post by **dino** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 4:34 am

I've had this issue since movies were Beta or VHS Hi Fi. I also had several early CD's make me jump for the volume control before blowing a speaker. My low budget solution was two cheap stereo compressors.
One to gently squeeze. The other set to limit. It worked pretty darn well.. I doubt it would work well with a modern five channel surround mix, but it sounded fine on my stereo.
I don't do it any longer because the cheap Sony surround receiver I have has a compressor built in.

dino

firesine · Post by **firesine** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 11:00 am

rwc wrote: sometimes reading things I think the people behind it came up with what they did in the way they did just to confuse us...

Kinda like this sentence?

rwc · Post by **rwc** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 12:14 pm

That sentence is a result of my nearly-emptied Christmas present.

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Compressor for watching DVDs

Compressor for watching DVDs

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