No. Many digital systems are capable of carrying alternative soundtracks (even NICAM) could manage that if only in mono. What we need is to be able to be supplied with dialogue, FX and music on separate channels that we can set the volume independently for.
Similarly, if I've missed a programme and try to watch a later repeat, I find signed programmes very annoying. It should be feasible to transmit the original picture and the signer separately, allowing them to be combined or not at will - this would also allow far more signed programmes to be transmitted, without annoying the general population.
I'd say even those who think that a good idea would soon get fed up with that arrangement and never use it again, after a play with it. The vast majority simply wouldn't even bother trying it. And given how set makers save every farthing they can on TV set sound, it's something they're unlikely to provide. As I keep on saying, half decent speakers would sort the problem for most anyway.
I'd not thought of a separate FX channel, but I can see that advantage in that too. I know most computer games give these options, but I wasn't sure whether it was technically possible to do it with broadcast TV or DVD players.
I dunno without hearing it. A makerd name is no guarantee of audio quality these days. I recently heard a Tannoy central dialogue speaker which was truly awful. Extremely coloured sound. But would go very loud - often the main parameter for home cinema systems.
With any surround system you have the option of increasing the drive to the central speaker which should have the effect of altering the dialogue to music/FX balance. And, of course, if incorrectly set, f*ok up what is meant.
The actual level you listen at also has an effect on the subjective balance between such things. It really is a minefield. There have been complaints about background music being too loud from the very start of TV
- although this, at the start, mainly applied to feature films. And just what the TV companies could do about this didn't seem to be a satisfactory answer.
The sort of balance designed for exciting listening in a cinema may not be ideal for home listening late at night.
The same can apply to any TV prog. What is great for one who is listening on good equipment and concentrating on the content may not be so good for the casual viewer on a set with grotty sound. However, optimising for the latter will likely degrade the experience of the former.
If all you want is consistent sound levels regardless, get yourself a compressor from the likes of Behringer, and feed the sound through that. It won't sound pleasant to those who appreciate decent sound, but will be fine for many. Just listen to Talk Radio etc for the sort of thing you'd end up with. Some TVs have a similar device built in.
There are also age related issues. Older people have trouble picking out speech from background noise. People who edit soundtracks tend not to be old...
The real answer is to have a PVR and edit out the adverts. On most ITV channels this gets a one and a half hour programme down to 55-60 minutes. That's a worthwhile saving.
Edit out the post-advert recap for the dull witted and you can save even more time. Editing out the repeats and filler material from a recent dinosaur series got the entire lot down to 60 minutes from seven hours. A dam busters documentary given the same treatment ended up as 20 minutes.
It's clear that content providers are padding the minimal content in order to fill airtime.
Well, I had no problems all my working life. I'm still quite happy editing audio. The main difference from when I started doing it is any cut is instantly reversible. ;-)
But I do find difficulty in a noisy pub, etc. This doesn't seem to have effected my ability to find the correct edit point in audio quickly.
The ability to discriminate between wanted and unwanted noise in a pub is likely as much down to the brain as the ears. This is (or should be) done for you when listening via a speaker.
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