Syfy audio is quiet and doesn’t sound right
deminicus
Enthusiast - Level 2

Ch 680, Chester county pa. Noticed at least a couple of days ago. Sound it’s much lower than other channels and doesn’t sound right on my 5.1 system. I didn’t notice the other channels I watch have this problem. 

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Re: Syfy audio is quiet and doesn’t sound right
clem21
Community Leader
Community Leader

@deminicus wrote:

Ch 680, Chester county pa. Noticed at least a couple of days ago. Sound it’s much lower than other channels and doesn’t sound right on my 5.1 system. I didn’t notice the other channels I watch have this problem. 


There is a LOT of channel to channel variation in the audio quality from broadcasters. Some shows are stereo, some Dolby Digital and some DD5.1. Also the levels of compression vary from channel to channel, and Verizon adds their own compression to the mix. Some broadcasters use very high levels of compression on their commercials, making them sound FAR louder than program material even though they MEASURE legal. SiFy may have changed their processing to do exactly that, which results in low audio levels for programming and high levels for commercials.

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Re: Syfy audio is quiet and doesn’t sound right
clem21
Community Leader
Community Leader

@deminicus wrote:

Ch 680, Chester county pa. Noticed at least a couple of days ago. Sound it’s much lower than other channels and doesn’t sound right on my 5.1 system. I didn’t notice the other channels I watch have this problem. 


There is a LOT of channel to channel variation in the audio quality from broadcasters. Some shows are stereo, some Dolby Digital and some DD5.1. Also the levels of compression vary from channel to channel, and Verizon adds their own compression to the mix. Some broadcasters use very high levels of compression on their commercials, making them sound FAR louder than program material even though they MEASURE legal. SiFy may have changed their processing to do exactly that, which results in low audio levels for programming and high levels for commercials.

Re: Syfy audio is quiet and doesn’t sound right
deminicus
Enthusiast - Level 2

Thanks for the info. It’s almost like if they want to lose viewers. I’m really questioning why I buy tv these days. The hd picture is a compressed smeary mess and sound is all over the place. 

Re: Syfy audio is quiet and doesn’t sound right
clem21
Community Leader
Community Leader

@deminicus wrote:

Thanks for the info. It’s almost like if they want to lose viewers. I’m really questioning why I buy tv these days. The hd picture is a compressed smeary mess and sound is all over the place. 


State of the art these days unfortunately. I used to work in the industry and can't begin to tell you the hours spent in production to get stuff right, only to have it destroyed by the networks and cable providers. Streaming is hardly the solution. If you want quality, the shiny discs are the closest you're going to get to what it is supposed to look like.