Pioneer 1014 volume question (1 Viewer)

[Mike Ki]

I have my digital box running through my receiver with a digital connection, and noticed some channels are louder than others, so I figured that it was just how the signal was being sent. I notice that when i change the channel, on the receiver it displays "Dial. Norm +4" or "Dial Norm -3" or "Dial Norm + or - whatever". I've looked through the manual and can find nothing that tells me about this. Can i change it for each channel or does the receiver automatically set it. Any help would be great.
Thanks Mike

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

"Dial Norm" is Dialogue Normalization. It's a level adjustment that's part of the incoming signal and can't be changed. This level can change for digital channels feeding Dolby Digital (usually HD channels or PPV movies). I've also noticed that DD channels are softer than analog stereo channels but i'm not sure the reason behind this.

 

[Mike Ki]

SO there's nothing I can do to change this? I used to leave the receiver volume at around -50 when I'm watching TV, now i've got it at -25, and for some channels I now need to turn it up even higher. When I watch movies through my DVD player I have it at -25 max. and that can easily shake the floor.
Thanks Mike

 

[John S]

Not anything I am aware of to fix this. Midnight mode / Compression can help but at the cost of dynamics.

 

[rob-h]

Back to "Dial Norm", this is not actually part of the incoming signal. Your reciever sets this automaticall depending on the signal format it detects. DTS, DD, and Stereo all have preset "Dial Norm" settings.

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

Dial norm isn't a function of the signal format. It's only a property of a Dolby Digital signal and is determined by the mixing engineer. DTS and Analog Stereo do not contain Dial Norm adjustments. Check it out on the Dolby website.

 

[Mike Ki]

After reading what dolby has to say, Dialogue Normalization is supposed to make all my channels sound like they are playing at the same volume level, even though it's not being sent at the same levels.

Somethings not right here and I'll give you and example:
I have rogers digital in Ontario, Canada. With the dial set to -40, watching Rogers sportsnet, the Dial Norm is at +4 and it is quite loud. Say I then switch to Leafs TV, the Dial Norm is at -10, and I can hardly hear it.??

Is this maybe because they're both not in Dolby Digital (not sure if they are).
Mike

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

Sounds more like a misemplimentation of Dial Norm. I've never seen ANY signal use the whole -10 offset (i think it's + or - 10 as the max adjustment). Nothing you can do about it either... DRC or Midnight mode if you want to kill your dynamic range... sorry for the bad news.

 

[JeremyErwin]

Some information on dialog normalization. It's supposed to relieve a listener of the need to constantly adjust volume. But it sounds as if the engineers routinely fall asleep at the switch.

 

[JeffLab]

Jeremy, nice find. Very well written article. I can go to sleep a little less stupid tonight!