What you’re saying is like, “You complain about being sweaty??? So what, do you complain at the gym too?”
I’m not in a theater. I’m at home. I don’t want the TV crazy loud for a number of reasons which can include the fact that I’m not a terrible neighbor, the time of day, my partner may be asleep, etc.
If I wanted to go to the theater, then I go to the theater where I have certain expectations which includes well-mixed, loud sound. That’s fine, and I will hear both things that way.
Or… they can make a theater mix of the audio (full dynamic range) and a streaming/dvd mix (normalized volume levels) so that everyone gets the best experience.
Both me and my wife were both complaining about how loud the sound was last time we went to the movies (Dune part 2), so yes. I prefer immersion without shattered ear drums.
That seems like the only solid solution. I got a budget 5.1 with rear satellites because not only did I want a dedicated center channel for dialog but I wanted to avoid the 5.1 to stereo downmixing issues (such as in Plex) where the center channel gets incorrectly divided with a volume decrease (jellyfin didn't seem to have the issue), but this way I can just sidestep those issues by being able to directly play 5.1.
This has helped a ton but there are still some movies that don't cooperate, like dune part 1 during the Paul and his mother breakfast scene at the beginning. Even though I have the truehd 7.1 atmos and DD 5.1 (which direct plays without conversion), the only way to make that scene audible without blowing out the speakers the rest of the movie is to crank up the voice boost EQ which ruins the balance.
Sometimes, idk if dune is one…. Shows/movies have scenes with intentionally difficult to hear dialog. It’s like, sure, they’re talking… but we want you to just watch and don’t worry you’ll get everything from visuals
Yeah, Nolan decided dialouge is important enough to include but not important enough to be able to hear. Pick a damn lane. Either let me hear it or don't include it
they mix audio for cinemas with 5.1 or 7.1 speaker systems. And then they take that version and smoosh it into stereo :) which then comes out sounding absolutely terrible because the mix was simply not made for stereo
I think the issue is with volume levelling; your statement implies the issue is channel separation. Listening in surround sound won't mitigate the issue, unless you intentionally boost the center speaker
Someone sharing a solution for one platform doesn't obligate them to support every platform.
That said, this kind of functionality is sometimes called "noise compression" or "volume normalization". Guitar compressor pedals do this. So look for those in your TV audio settings or audio system settings, but I wouldn't hold my breath that it will be there on most TV models.
Also, sometimes it can be due to the way the sound is mixed to however many audio channels the media uses and then how your setup remixes them for how many audio channels you have available. Check your settings to see if the speaker setup matches what you have. Also make sure they are all properly plugged in and actually driving audio through them.
The most notorious example for me is Spanish cinema, it's like they're rapid-fire whispering, then suddenly they burst out screaming. No middle ground. And just what the hell are film sound editors and mixers in Spain smoking, to think that this is the proper way to mix a film's audio?
For anyone wondering why it is like that: I’ve read that movies nowadays are the same on disc and streaming service as they are in the theaters, meaning the voices are sitting on the central speaker. I’ve hat this a long time too and after I read that fact I went and bought a soundbar with center speaker and that solved this issue for me.