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Please check volume levels

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  • EagerDragon

    Posted: 05 July 2006 04:40 PM

    To all podcasters

    I have a lot of problems with volume levels used by posdcasters I can only assume I am not the only one having these issues.

    1) When listening to several podcasts, the volumes between the podcasts are all over the dial. I constantly have to reach for the volume control, either you blast me or I cannot hear you and have to take my eyes off the road. It would be great if podcasters would get together to agree on a single clip to use for volume reference between all of you.

    2) Within almost any single podcast, volumes change all the time. Your jingles, advertisements, your callers, other podcasts you include, even separate sections of your podcasts have major differences in volume levels.

    Sorry guys, I don’t need an accident. idea

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  • geoduck

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    Posted: 11 July 2006 09:25 AM #1

    This isn’t just an issue with Podcasts. CDs are at different levels, Heck TV stations on my cable system are at different levels. It’s annoying as heck to be listening to one Beethoven Sonata and it’s fine and the next, from a different CD, is lots louder or quieter.

    You know there should be a way that the iPod could listen for average volume over, say a 15 second period and adjust itself up or down to compensate. It would be tricky, some music is supposed to be louder than others, but you’d think they could do it.

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  • EagerDragon

    Posted: 11 July 2006 04:44 PM #2

    You are absolutly correct, it is not just podcasts. But we have to start somewhere, LOL. Besides it may be easier to convince podcasters than ABC.

    Thanks for the post.
    :wink:

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  • Laurie Fleming

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    Posted: 17 July 2006 03:47 AM #3

    Have you looked at the Soundcheck check-box under iTunes*Preferences*Playback? That ensures that everything, including podcasts, gets normalised to a reasonable level, which you can then control further by the volume control.

    That’s why I clicked on “Don’t care”. Because, by using that, it’s never bothered me.

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  • EagerDragon

    Posted: 17 July 2006 05:35 PM #4

    [quote author=“LaurieF”]Have you looked at the Soundcheck check-box under iTunes*Preferences*Playback? That ensures that everything, including podcasts, gets normalised to a reasonable level, which you can then control further by the volume control.

    That’s why I clicked on “Don’t care”. Because, by using that, it’s never bothered me.

    Yes I tried that. Other people seem to have the same issue. I guess some people don’t check the finished product. It is not all podcast but a good number of them. I listen to about 12 of them.

    thanks

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  • geoduck

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    Posted: 19 July 2006 04:41 AM #5

    [quote author=“LaurieF”]Have you looked at the Soundcheck check-box under iTunes*Preferences*Playback? That ensures that everything, including podcasts, gets normalised to a reasonable level, which you can then control further by the volume control.

    Well I’ll be d**d. Never noticed that before. I’ll give it a shot.

    Thanks

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  • EagerDragon

    Posted: 20 July 2006 04:43 PM #6

    [quote author=“geoduck”][quote author=“LaurieF”]Have you looked at the Soundcheck check-box under iTunes*Preferences*Playback? That ensures that everything, including podcasts, gets normalised to a reasonable level, which you can then control further by the volume control.

    Well I’ll be d**d. Never noticed that before. I’ll give it a shot.

    Thanks

    Did it worked for you Geo?

    I have it on by default and does not seem to equalize it sufficiently. Unless it did but the volumes were so out of wack that it only could do so much.

    I guess I will have to go to each of the podcast web sites and let them know.

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  • Laurie Fleming

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    Posted: 21 July 2006 01:54 AM #7

    If you select Info for a podcast and click on the Summary tab, it will tell you for Volume how it has changed the volume. The Mac Observer Mac Geek Gab podcasts, for me, come in at around -12 - -14 dB modification.

    I think it is a moving average over all the music and podcasts you have on your iPod/iTunes library. I did know once how to reset it and start again - I’m sure there’s someone around who can enlighten us.

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  • geoduck

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    Posted: 21 July 2006 04:49 AM #8

    [quote author=“EagerDragon”]Did it worked for you Geo?

    Not sure. At work I keep the volume low and play mostly iTMS stuff which is fairly stable. It’s the podcasts in the car where I really notice the issue and it’ll be a few weeks at least before we take another road trip.

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  • EagerDragon

    Posted: 22 July 2006 09:17 AM #9

    [quote author=“LaurieF”]If you select Info for a podcast and click on the Summary tab, it will tell you for Volume how it has changed the volume. The Mac Observer Mac Geek Gab podcasts, for me, come in at around -12 - -14 dB modification.

    I think it is a moving average over all the music and podcasts you have on your iPod/iTunes library. I did know once how to reset it and start again - I’m sure there’s someone around who can enlighten us.

    Well that is something that did not occured to me…. looking at the info. This will be very helpful to document it, I plan to go to all the podcasters for the ones I listen to and let them know about the issue. Maybe they all will start to use a reference clip to set their levels about the same, if so that is half the battle, now we have the promo (same issue with television) where they are too loud, and their gingles between sections of their podcast and at hte begining of the podcasts. I started noticing my car stereo setting varyng between 12 and 47 to get something that i can hear confortably in the car. Big big difference between podcasters.

    BTW The Mac Observer Mac Geek Gab podcast is one of my favorites.

    Thanks

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  • Laurie Fleming

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    Posted: 22 July 2006 03:34 PM #10

    Remember of course, as I pointed out, that it’s a moving average against everything else in your library. If your reference volume is high, as I understand it, the dB change on a particular podcast may not change that much. If you have a lot of low-volumed Mantovani and his boring old strings, your podcasts otherwise will have big downwards dB changes.

    So saying to a podcaster that you have had a delta of -15dB may not mean anything particularly, because I may have the same podcast and my delta is +3dB.

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  • EagerDragon

    Posted: 22 July 2006 03:39 PM #11

    [quote author=“LaurieF”]So saying to a podcaster that you have had a delta of -15dB may not mean anything particularly, because I may have the same podcast and my delta is +3dB.

    LOL, so much for that idea, thanks

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