When I play content from Hulu, YouTube, or other video apps on Apple TV, I set the volume around 30 on my soundbar. If I play music from the Apple Music app, it plays very loud at that same volume level. I have to lower volume to around 8 to get it to play at approximately the same volume as the video content at level 30. I know these numbers don't mean much because every AV setup is different; just using them to illustrate the difference. Is there any way to "normalize" volume across apps or is this to be expected?
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Inconsistent volume across apps
- Thread starter bgrace
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I'm interested in this as well. Normally it shifts slightly...and at times Amazon Prime Streaming has really loud intros, of streaming from a cable channel/app the commercials are really loud (I blame content providers on that) but going from App to App, it should be similar.
I started playing Tiny Wings on the AppleTV and that seems really loud, so I turn down the volume, go to iTunes or Amazon Prime and then I can't hear a thing and have to turn it back up.
I started playing Tiny Wings on the AppleTV and that seems really loud, so I turn down the volume, go to iTunes or Amazon Prime and then I can't hear a thing and have to turn it back up.
This has been a problem since the launch of tvOS.
I am not sure if you experienced this, but sometimes it is inconsistent within the same app too. For example, watching a YouTube video, press pause, press it again to start playing, and the volume would be noticeably louder.
It might be the app itself, but I have noticed this with multiple apps, so I always suspect it was the tvOS.
I am not sure if you experienced this, but sometimes it is inconsistent within the same app too. For example, watching a YouTube video, press pause, press it again to start playing, and the volume would be noticeably louder.
It might be the app itself, but I have noticed this with multiple apps, so I always suspect it was the tvOS.
Is not a "problem," more unsatisfied experience. Its source IS from the App developers. Apple can do 2 things:
1. Insist, via development kit, for developers to normalized audio before sticking them into the Apps, but what happens if the audio is live stream?
2. Write a little Normalizing routine on the audio output stage of the ATV itself, so ANYTHING playing is nicely controlled.
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Then again, what if this volume level was the artistic intent of the creator?
There is no golden standard in this, I am afraid...
As for 2. you can activate the audio dynamic range compressor in the Audio and Video settings. I believe they are global.
As mentioned by others, this is not an issue with the Apple TV so much as it is a lack of audio level standards among content creators.
"Reduce Loud Sounds" in Audio Settings works to a certain degree, though at the expense of dynamic range. I much prefer instead to "ride the volume" from title to title in order to enjoy best sound quality. Just the way it is right now...
"Reduce Loud Sounds" in Audio Settings works to a certain degree, though at the expense of dynamic range. I much prefer instead to "ride the volume" from title to title in order to enjoy best sound quality. Just the way it is right now...
I think you are confusing volume vs dynamic range, they are 2 diff things. The first one, which I believe what OP is talking about doesn't alter in any way the original waveform, it just makes the entire passage louder or softer. Dynamic compression is the 2nd item and that DOES change things and not what am talking about when I said NORMALIZING. Normalize audio is an actual technical term that one finds when you are re-encoding something, the App will typically have settings that let your, OK while encode, I want you to increase the volume by 50%, or increase volume but keep it below 95% of max etc, and am saying exactly that but done in real time.
I understand the difference.
Because the DR Limiter both softens loud and boosts quiet passages, It could help automatically trim down the sound from the "loud apps".
Now, the question is - what should be considered the "normal" volume level?
Without something like Dolby's Dialog Norm information, this can not be said for a given audio track.
iTunes has the normalization (Sound Check) actually, but it needs to be enabled both on server and client end. And I believe iTunes server scans the music file for peaks in iTunes library to achieve this (ie builds its own metadata). Also, seems to work with Music only.
They could allow manual adjustments by the app in settings.
My car even allows volume adjustment for each input. This would not be hard in software.
My car even allows volume adjustment for each input. This would not be hard in software.
Apps are developed by the app creator I know this for a fact, because I dealt for years with Netflix and AppleTV. Apple always pointed back to Netflix saying it was up to Netflix to make the change in their app. AppleTV provides the APIs, but the App creator develops the app.
For playback of Dolby Digital audio, there is a Metadata parameter called "Dialnorm", which is designed to normalize playback volume on an audio processor. I have no idea whether the ATV senses Dialnorm in the audio signal and adjusts output levels. In addition, audio streams other than Dolby Digital don't support Dialnorm, so there would still be inconsistency in output levels. I only mention this to suggest that there is an approach that might work if it were applied consistently across all audio sources, but we know that is not likely to happen anytime soon.
tvOS definitely honors DIALNORM.
Tested it myself.
To get playback without attenuation, DIALNORM should be 31.
I’ve seen some content with DIALNORM 19 and as ordered, tvOS will attenuate it by -12dB.
I know of no good method to adjust DIALNORM on existing clip as the parameter must be changed in each audio frame.
Would love to hear if anyone has a working solution. Especially for a Mac.
Tested it myself.
To get playback without attenuation, DIALNORM should be 31.
I’ve seen some content with DIALNORM 19 and as ordered, tvOS will attenuate it by -12dB.
I know of no good method to adjust DIALNORM on existing clip as the parameter must be changed in each audio frame.
Would love to hear if anyone has a working solution. Especially for a Mac.
Probably trough the A/V stats of the Apple TV (you need to access to the hidden developer menu to enable it, for which you need a Mac with Xcode installed connected to the same network).
My issue is that since tvOS 16.1 I´ve been having volume fluctuations within tv episodes, or sometimes even within the same content (dialogue goes up and down). Reduce loud sounds is off.
HBO Max has particularly low dialogue volume in general, though.
HBO Max has particularly low dialogue volume in general, though.
The Dialnorm values you listed don't seem to be correct. My Marantz shows the Dialnorm setting when listing Audio Properties, and when I checked several sources on my ATV 4K, I was seeing values in the range of -3 to -5. Nowhere did I see a value like 31.
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