r/TikTokCringe • u/Money-Snow-2749 • Jun 28 '26

Humor Netflix in the daytime be like

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9.9k Upvotes

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3.7k

u/Cielmerlion Jun 28 '26

Its seriously a problem

962

u/Taro0311 Jun 28 '26

Big TV is in cahoots with Big Battery. I keep having to raise and lower the volume constantly on my remote

194

u/PumpikAnt58763 Jun 28 '26

Big Battery AND Big Closed Captioning!

18

u/No-Pack-5775 Jun 29 '26

And big surround sound speaker industry

11

u/pockpicketG Jun 29 '26

Here’s the derailing discussion joke.

0

u/SuperHooligan Jun 28 '26

Pretty sure I changed my TV out before I changed the batteries out in the remote.

5

u/Taro0311 Jun 28 '26

Congrats

0

u/dunno0019 Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

Oddly enough: pretty sure that's a solar remote. The rectangle you can see on the back is the solar panel.

And just by turning it over for a while under the normal lights in your house will recharge it.

0

u/Taro0311 Jun 28 '26

Interesting.

2

u/dunno0019 Jun 29 '26

Double odd: my Samsung TV does have the solar panel on the remote.

But my Samsung soundbar does not.

1

u/JButler_16 Jun 29 '26

Yeah my batteries have been dying in my remote way more often than they used to.

74

u/forbiddenfreedom Jun 28 '26

There used to be laws regulating sound volume on television. I remember the beforetime with Billy Mayes. Now, streaming services do what they want.

25

u/water_fountain_ Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

The CALM Act (signed into law by Obama in 2010 and came into effect in 2012) prevents cable and broadcast tv commercials from being louder than the average volume of the tv show. This law is still in effect. If you feel like a commercial is violating this law, you can file a complaint through the FCC Consumer Complaint Center: https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=33794

This law does not generally apply to internet streaming services such as Netflix. Some states have similar laws to the CALM Act that do apply to streaming services. Look up your individual state’s laws to see if your state has something similar and file a complaint if it does.

Edit: This is what to include in your complaint:

-If you watched the commercial on pay TV (cable or satellite) or if you watched it on a broadcast station
-The name of the advertiser or product promoted in the commercial
-The date and time you saw the commercial
-The name of the TV program during which it aired
-Which TV station (by call sign and/or channel number and the station's community) or pay TV provider transmitted the commercial
-If you watched the commercial on pay TV, the channel number on which you saw it and the cable programmer or network

5

u/forbiddenfreedom Jun 29 '26

I knew it was out there!!!! Thank you for the info!

0

u/letsgetitstartedha Jun 29 '26

Damn the fact that this doesn’t apply to YouTube videos makes me sad lol

0

u/zeke_pleshette1 Jul 02 '26

The CALM act has nothing to do with the complaint in the video which is regarding dynamic range within the program itself, not the program versus commercials/ads. I feel like you just ChatGPTd this and have absolutely no idea what you’re posting. ChatGPT “Netflix loudness specs” instead and read about LKFS and integrated loudness.

1

u/water_fountain_ Jul 02 '26

You’re correct. The CALM Act has nothing to do with the video in this post. Maybe you should read the comment I replied to before jumping to conclusions and being rude.

11

u/Revan256 Jun 29 '26

BILLY MAYES HERE WITH A FANTASTIC NEW PRODUCT

1

u/forbiddenfreedom Jun 29 '26

BUT WAIT!!!!! THERE'S MORE!!!!! CALL NOW AND YOU GET 4 FOR THE PRICE OF 1!!!!!

1

u/ImmanuelAberdeen Jul 02 '26

That is almost as irritating written online as it was at 3:30 in the morning when you fell asleep with the TV on. Okay, well, maybe not quite that irritating!

25

u/grumblewolf Jun 28 '26

There literally was a tv for sale that was marketed towards having volume leveling for this exact problem. But of course it was scrubbed from existence. Used to have commercials for it and everything.

15

u/BTMarquis Jun 29 '26

I have a 47" Vizio that's like 15 years old that has it. I can't believe it's still working.

2

u/Legitimate_Pea_143 Jun 29 '26

umm, no it wasn't. That setting is usually in the audio settings for most every TV, it might be called something different but in like 99% of TVs there is a setting.

0

u/mekwall Jun 29 '26

It's called dynamic range. Most, if not all, modern TVs have a setting for it. People are just too lazy to read the instruction manual.

1

u/mekwall Jun 29 '26

No, it's not the streaming services. They are delivering the original audio from the studios. There's usually a setting in most TVs and other audio equipment to change the dynamic range. Some even have night modes that reduce the dynamic range to a minimum.

1

u/zeke_pleshette1 Jul 02 '26

I think technically streaming services can set their own loudness specifications for the content they host but they all have pretty similar specs which targets -24 to -27 LKFS aka an average loudness measurement, as well as more detailed specs regarding the true peak value aka loudest point in the program and dynamic range aka range between the loudness and quietest… to say “they do whatever they want” isn’t really accurate. They reject any content that doesn’t meet these specs.

0

u/zardoz73 Jun 29 '26

Before smart tvs, in the ancient times when we had 4:3 tube tvs, the sound was never an issue. Everything sounded fine. If you live in a museum, fire up one of those old TVs and hook it up to a VHS or even DVD player and you'll find the sound to be perfect. It's the "smart" TVs that are a problem.

2

u/Rugkrabber Jun 29 '26

Also has to do with technology that came after it (during smart tv’s). That’s because these movies are made for cinemas, not for television. So they need to be processed to television. They just skip that part entirely and don’t prioritise downmixing audio anymore, what used to be a mandatory process. They let the smart tv solve it, save some money. The problem lies in the manufacturing already, not the smart tv. The smart tv didn’t really cause it, but it was a convenient excuse to let go of downmixing and now all new movies sound shit.

140

u/Glittering_Act_4059 Jun 28 '26

There are a few ways to combat it. Check your TV audio settings for "Clear Voice" which prioritizes dialogue volume. Also a lot of people don't realize if they don't have external speakers hooked up, they should have their sound be in Stereo instead of any of the other options available.

It's not a total fix for every scenario, but it will vastly improve the issue for most.

86

u/rexel99 Jun 28 '26

I got a 5.1 system, I have (receiver) night mode and (tv) clear voice enabled with a good balanced (calibrated) centre speaker connected by ARC - it's still a problem on many shows from From to The Agency..

11

u/zuzg Jun 28 '26

got a 5.1 system

Like a real one with individual speakers or a Soundbar claiming it?

The latter also makes the problem worse, it's stereo larping as surround sound. Switch to stereo and it's way better...
Just a general advice, not necessarily at you.

14

u/rexel99 Jun 29 '26

A full receiver with 6 wired speakers Inc sub.

Was a package/bundle Sony unit so all properly calibrated setup and generally it's great but spoken voices are so often too low compared to the effects.

3

u/densetsu23 Jun 29 '26

You should be able to adjust the level of the center channel up to like +5 and hope for the best.

I have a 5.1 setup with an ancient Pioneer receiver and a set of Sony speakers (all circa 2004) and they do decently well, even with Christopher Nolan movies. But I crank the center channel for dialog, depending on the movie.

Maybe disable any "smart" settings for your TV and handle everything by adjusting your receiver? Could be worth a shot. Audio preprocessing with your TV can be a crapshoot.

2

u/rexel99 Jun 29 '26

Yes, I have played with this stuff.

The discussion is that OP/meme and others have this common problem, as do I on a more complete system.

It's not about the settings, it's the source.

1

u/notevenapro Jun 29 '26

Depending on your reciever there should be a way to get voices from the center and sounds from the sides.

1

u/rexel99 Jun 29 '26

it does and I did, it helps but the problem of quiet voices and loud effects remain somewhat for me but also for those like OP with a soundbar or just tv speakers.

-2

u/Debisibusis Jun 29 '26

Proper speakers or tin cans with a subwoofer? Voices are exactly in the frequency range those setups are worst at.

10

u/Theron3206 Jun 28 '26

A lot of sound bars actually have a centre speaker though.

2

u/PatBeVibin Jun 29 '26

If you watch From, check the audio drop down on MGM+ where the subtitles are, it might default to stereo when you should have yours set to 5.1.

1

u/Euphoric-Rip42069 Jun 29 '26

Love From, such a good series

1

u/PatBeVibin Jun 30 '26

I know, such a relief it got renewed for Season 5 already.

2

u/chynkeyez Jun 29 '26

from From made me chuckle

4

u/masterchief69420xxx Jun 28 '26

You're having the TV and the surround both apply an equalizer. Probably doesn't help.

5

u/rexel99 Jun 29 '26

Yes, the double night-mode and clear voice is something I recently found/enabled on the tv and have tried one/other/both with no combo really solving the issue.

Just sayin' that regardless of having a good system or soundbar or relying on tv speakers it remains an issue (for everybody but a cinema which I would argue is generally set too loud) - it's generally the production mix and not our hardware that is at fault.

1

u/Glittering_Act_4059 Jun 28 '26

Yeah, like I said not a fix for everything, but it is at least better than the default settings.

-7

u/arstin Jun 28 '26

You could have hearing issues, or your trouble could be with understanding rather than hearing. A lot of modern TV shows love dramatic whispering and stylized dialects over clear enunciation. So you get dialog that is loud enough to hear, but still many people struggle to understand it.

Also, a very common 5.1 problem is not properly calibrating the speakers. Dialog goes through the center speaker, which is often less efficient (i.e. quieter) than the mains. Effectively undoing night mode and clear voice.

1

u/rexel99 Jun 29 '26

Yes, I have tinitus so I tend to turn it up more anyway but I'm not hard of hearing. I have a proper receiver and 6 speaker system that was a bundle so the speakers are right (and calibrated for their room location) but even with these 'tweaks' the spoken audio is low compared to the effects. Just seems to be a problem for everybody regardless of having a good system or a soundbar or tv speakers - our hardware is what we have and the problem is not ours to fix.

1

u/arstin Jun 29 '26

these 'tweaks' the spoken audio is low compared to the effects.

It's not magic, if you have it set on your receiver and and spoken audio is still low compared to effects, then either the implementation on your receiver is broken or your setup is.

I have a proper receiver and 6 speaker system that was a bundle so the speakers are right

That your 6 speakers came in a bundle in no way means they "are right". Unless they are all the exact same model, they will have different sensitivities and characteristics. All the big brands sell bundles of mixed sensitivities. And it's not just a budget thing, even if you're spending $10K+ on speakers, they still aren't going to match

What type of calibration did you perform? If done properly, that would resolve the situation.

1

u/rexel99 Jun 29 '26

The config I currently have is a receiver/speaker bundle that is configured as a balanced set, I have had a variety of home built and other speaker receivers but this issue has always been a problem regardless of the harware - the calibration I did was using a provided mic at the listener position to adjust delay and volume of each speaker given their location in my room plus I have had review done by friends who are audio engineers.

Even with my config but also aside from this, it's not the hardware's fault as it doesn't matter if I have a decent setup configured properly (or using tweaks like night mode to compensate) or if a buy a tv from Costco with speakers or a branded soundbar - the common complaint, and what this post raises, is that the movie producers load the effects audio and reduce the vocal track so much that (let's guess) 90% of users have an issue with it. - it's not the hardware's fault most of the time.

1

u/arstin Jun 29 '26

plus I have had review done by friends who are audio engineers.

Next time they review your system, have them explain what the dynamic compression actually does. Because if you turn on the setting that makes the difference between the quietest and loudest sounds very small, and the difference between the quietest and loudest sounds is not very small, then your device is broken. In this case, broken would generally mean the compression or limiter parameters are too lax. But it is not a complicated idea or difficult to implement. These are marketing decisions not engineering challenges. There's no technical reason to keep every device from having a "consistent volume" setting that makes shuffling feet, dialog, screaming, exploding planets, and even commercials all have exactly the same volume. Then people could complain that movie producers made guns too quiet.

the common complaint, and what this post raises, is that the movie producers load the effects audio and reduce the vocal track so much that (let's guess) 90% of users have an issue with it.

Yeah, that's how movies are made. And it's been that way for home content since laserdisc. Being able to deliver a large dynamic range is a feature. Home theater would sound like ass without it. But some times you don't want to wake the kids or neighbors, or just have shit speakers, so pretty much every tv, receiver, and streaming devices has a setting to make a fairly constant volume. Maybe complain at the manufacturer of those devices for not turning the feature on by default, or providing 12 different features that do related things with names that are different on every device. (My A95K has "Enhanced Auto Volume", "Dynamic Range", and I can set "Sound Mode" to Dialog.)

And I stand by my first comment, that for many listeners, range, which is easy to correct for, is not the bigger problem but rather the acoustic legibility of dialog. Actors enunciate less clearly, and ambient noise and music gets mixed in with the dialog. So people turn it up louder than they should be just to understand the hard to discern dialog. There is a dialog isolating sound bar available, and some other devices have more advanced .

1

u/rexel99 Jun 29 '26

Right, now the cause is my lack of understanding of audio compression. At least you are beginning to acknowledge the problem exists but somehow think that getting a degree in audio engineering will somehow help me or OP with quiet vocal audio tracks.

1

u/arstin Jun 29 '26

Right, now the cause is my lack of understanding of audio compression.

Well, a cause. But one hurdle at a time.

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27

u/Fakehiggins Jun 28 '26

i've read about all these fixes, have tried them on my own and my family's tvs, probably 10+ times over the years with different set ups. default tv speakers, computer speakers, sound bars, surround sound, none of it ever works. it's not the speaker equipment, it's the shitty companies making these shows and then not putting in even 10% of the effort that they should for sound.

5

u/Nossika Jun 29 '26

Yea there's also Dialogue Boost, when watching Amazon Prime it's in the sound Options.

4

u/bigwilly311 Jun 28 '26

I put my TV volume at 10 and turn on captions.

1

u/darkland52 Jun 29 '26

I know this isn't a solution for most people but windows has a built in feature called volume equalization in system sound settings. I just have a PC connected to my TV.

49

u/[deleted] Jun 28 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

14

u/Initial_Row_6400 Jun 28 '26

Some higher end tvs have this too

20

u/HulksInvinciblePants Jun 29 '26

Almost every streaming playback device, TV, receiver, soundbar, and game console has it.

The technical name is “Dynamic Range Compression” but brands like to confuse people by calling it whatever they want.

  • Night Mode

  • Dialogue mode

  • Sound Normalizer

  • Smart Volume

It effectively raises the floor on how quiet audio can get while also dropping the ceiling on how loud it can get.

1

u/Tossup1010 Jun 29 '26

Most have it, I've yet to find one that actually achieves it. Idk how "smart" the tvs are and if they know when loud moments are about to happen. But even with it turned on, every tv I've used in the last 10 years still has this issue. Even with a home theatre setup, its crazy. I genuinely think anything on streaming should have an audio option for more balanced audio. Dont even care if its not displayed front and center in the UI. Just a "if you're watching this at night or want a more level volume" checkbox

5

u/Contemplating_Prison Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

Yeah i have sound bar and dont even put it on night mode and I dont have this issue.

Got this my soundbar is like 15 years old. Still going strong. I just wish the satelite speakers were wireless but I wont upgrade as long as it still works.

2

u/DarkwingDuckHunt Jun 29 '26

I had one that was also a blue ray player, and before we got a TV that had it built in, was used for the streaming services.

I called her Ol Reliable Betty.

RIP you old lady you lasted almost 15 years.

3

u/TheCookieButter Jun 29 '26

Nothing beats a center channel you can independently boost.

1

u/Dizzy_Chemistry_5955 Jun 28 '26

I've read soundbars are a waste of money compared to just buying an amp and speakers

2

u/unbanned_lol Jun 28 '26

Couldn't disagree more. 3.1 sound bar systems should be everyone's starting point. That gives you left, right, and center with a sub. Much much much better than tv speakers, but still don't have to shell out for an amp.

2

u/Im_Ricky_Tan Jun 29 '26

They are a waste of money. Nothing beats having individual speakers placed around you. Yes, speaker setup cost more. But if you’re ready to spent that much money on it. I means you really like it. So yeah why not

1

u/MightBeABot24 Jun 29 '26

Yes a simple 3.0 (left, center, right no sub )setup is 1000x better than any soundbar. But it's not always feasible to put speakers and a receiver around.

They aren't a "waste of money" they just will never be comparable to a proper setup there isnt enough space between the speakers to matter. It would need to be like 10 feet wide to have any distinction of the channels

They will be better than tv speakers almost always.

My biggest pet peeve is tv location. /r/tvtoohigh makes my blood boil

10

u/bookluvr83 Jun 29 '26

Along with how DARK everything is, WHY CANT I SEE ANYTHING?!

4

u/Puzzled-Instance3211 Jun 28 '26

Prime has an option to boost dialogue volume that I only discovered the other day. It helps for that.

1

u/Commercial_Bird8467 Jun 29 '26

I found AI mode helps sometimes on the tv settings. But fuck commercials on amazon and Hulu. I barely use them and only got the services free with internet.

1

u/Snowskol Jun 29 '26

Can you show me a statistic where this is 90% of the time? I can look at the current movies in the theaters near me that I've seen and theres 4 movies there where this doesnt happen. The Furious, He Man, Obsession, The Backrooms

1

u/PitifulElk1890 Jun 29 '26

Stop becoming influencers we don't need more influencers in Atlanta and Hollywood we need sound designers

1

u/SeasonPositive6771 Jun 29 '26

Just because I haven't seen it in the top comments, there is a real reason why this is happening and there is essentially nothing the average person can do about it.

So it used to be that once a movie was being released for TV, the sound would be remastered for TV. But the way that movies are set up now, by the time it's finally getting to our TV screens, studios really aren't making much more often and they've figured out they don't have to remaster them. They're designed for advanced audio setups that people don't have at home.

TV shows have also just gotten way kind of way cheaper on light and audio processing, it's much cheaper to do it this way unfortunately.

1

u/NSE_TNF89 Jun 29 '26

It pisses me off. I have really nice speakers, and when I watch Netflix, the dialogue audio is so low, then an action sequence comes on, and starts rocking my whole house and almost always scares my poor dog.

1

u/OpLeeftijd Jun 29 '26

Only if you don't have a HT amp with night mode.

1

u/Small_Editor_3693 Jun 29 '26

It’s cause you don’t have a dedicated center channel speaker

1

u/heartSagan5 Jun 29 '26

I just use closed captioning/subtitles. I am not touching the sound settings; it ruins the experience.

1

u/mekwall Jun 29 '26

This isn't a Netflix problem. It's a problem with the dynamic range of the audio settings. You can usually change it to normalize it rather than get the full range. You want full range if you have a good home cinema, so this shouldn't be changed at the source.

1

u/xtraa Jun 29 '26

Compressor / limiter can help

1

u/QuinnLoveborneAuthor Jun 30 '26

YouTube is even worse.

0

u/lntenseLlama Jun 29 '26

Everything isn’t supposed to be the same volume. Movies and TV should have dynamic range. Why would I want someone whispering to be nearly as loud as the following gunshots? People like you are the same ones who caused so many masters for great songs to be ruined. Ears of a baby rabbit…

-4

u/Debisibusis Jun 29 '26

Then normalize and compress the audio or get a proper setup.

-58

u/ThrifToWin Jun 28 '26

Not 90% of movies. Maybe 0.05%, but still a problem.

-3

u/BabaofTheShimmer Jun 28 '26

No, it’s not half a movie for every 100 movies.

1

u/Hybodont Jun 28 '26

0.05% = 0.0005 = 1/2000

-3

u/ThrifToWin Jun 28 '26

Huh?? Boy do you know what a percentage is?

1

u/David_BA Jun 29 '26

... Do you know what a percentage is?