Dialogue audio query - Blu-ray Forum

Pork Chop Express · 09-19-2009, 10:48 AM

Hello everybody,i upgraded to Blu Ray a week ago after 10 happy years of DVD,and i must say i'm enjoying playing around with the format.Seeing as i'm a bit of a technophobe though and still wet behind the ears with Blu,i was wondering if anybody could help with a little problem i have.
I have a Panasonic SCBT205 Home Cinema system and am having problems with the volume of the actual dialogue in films.In some scenes the dialogue is very muted and drowned out by the soundtrack and other background noise (gunfire etc).I've tried a little experimenting with surround and sound options on left and right front speakers,centre speaker etc, but still haven't found a satisfactory solution.Is there a standard home cinema volume selection that anybody could recommend to me?

Hammie · 09-19-2009, 12:48 PM

Your best bet is to invest in a $50 SPL meter (or I've heard the $1 iPhone app works well, too).This usually helps in most instances. The only other issue it could is that your center is not as powerful as your other speakers. In this case, you may bee to bump up the level of your center and/or turn down the levels of your other speakers.

Another issue, I just though of is that if your center is in a cabinet, it may be limiting the amount of imagining the speaker can perform at.

Good luck on working it out. Update us with the various things you try and how the results were.

Rob J in WNY · 09-19-2009, 12:53 PM

Welcome to the forums, Pork Chop Express.

Unfortunately, HTIB (Home Theater In A Box) systems generally do not offer much flexibility for tailoring the sound so much.

It is a standard operation of more advanced home theater receivers to be able to adjust the volume level of the center channel speaker all by itself. If you can actually adjust the volume level of your center channel speaker, then raising it a few dB (decibels) will help.

Since your system has the Blu-ray player built right into the unit, there is no question that you are getting multichannel audio right off the bat. Make sure you are using the actual, discrete surround modes (5.1-channel modes) and not "stereo" (2-channel) modes which your system may attempt to "matrix" into multichannel audio.

Lastly, you can also select the audio from the movie's own menu. Chose the best audio option available on the movie, such as Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master audio (these are "lossless" (bit-for-bit when processed) audio formats), or Uncompressed PCM (also a bit-for-bit audio format). I do believe your system will process those (even if not, it will fall back to compressed multichannel 5.1 channel Dolby Digital and DTS, which will still provide a discrete center channel track).

Good luck!

09-19-2009, 10:48 AM	#1
Pork Chop Express Banned Member since:Sep 2009	Dialogue audio query Hello everybody,i upgraded to Blu Ray a week ago after 10 happy years of DVD,and i must say i'm enjoying playing around with the format.Seeing as i'm a bit of a technophobe though and still wet behind the ears with Blu,i was wondering if anybody could help with a little problem i have. I have a Panasonic SCBT205 Home Cinema system and am having problems with the volume of the actual dialogue in films.In some scenes the dialogue is very muted and drowned out by the soundtrack and other background noise (gunfire etc).I've tried a little experimenting with surround and sound options on left and right front speakers,centre speaker etc, but still haven't found a satisfactory solution.Is there a standard home cinema volume selection that anybody could recommend to me?

Similar Threads
thread	Forum	Thread Starter	Replies	Last Post
Dialogue not loud enough...	Audio Theory and Discussion	Go Blue	22	08-02-2016 04:44 PM
Blu-ray: English Audio & English Subtitle dialogue equal to each other?	Blu-ray Movies - North America	Blu-Style	12	02-08-2012 04:18 PM
Out of synch dialogue.	Audio Theory and Discussion	t0nythebeat	11	03-07-2010 10:25 PM
Low dialogue	Speakers	Bigblue622	4	10-21-2009 04:45 PM
When passing audio through receiver to TV speakers there's no dialogue with ps3 slim.	Blu-ray Players and Recorders	Semp1	6	09-21-2009 05:37 PM

09-19-2009, 12:48 PM	#2
Hammie Blu-ray Champion Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:May 2008 Location:Washington, DC Metro Home Theater Gallery:53 Blu-ray collection:545 DVD collection:12 Trading Score:12	Your best bet is to invest in a $50 SPL meter (or I've heard the $1 iPhone app works well, too).This usually helps in most instances. The only other issue it could is that your center is not as powerful as your other speakers. In this case, you may bee to bump up the level of your center and/or turn down the levels of your other speakers. Another issue, I just though of is that if your center is in a cabinet, it may be limiting the amount of imagining the speaker can perform at. Good luck on working it out. Update us with the various things you try and how the results were.

09-19-2009, 12:53 PM	#3
Rob J in WNY Blu-ray Guru Member since:Dec 2008 Location:'Western' N.Y. State (MEMBER OF THE "ECPP")™ Home Theater Gallery:24 4K collection:30 Blu-ray collection:486 iTunes collection:1 Blu-ray reviews: 15	Welcome to the forums, Pork Chop Express. Unfortunately, HTIB (Home Theater In A Box) systems generally do not offer much flexibility for tailoring the sound so much. It is a standard operation of more advanced home theater receivers to be able to adjust the volume level of the center channel speaker all by itself. If you can actually adjust the volume level of your center channel speaker, then raising it a few dB (decibels) will help. Since your system has the Blu-ray player built right into the unit, there is no question that you are getting multichannel audio right off the bat. Make sure you are using the actual, discrete surround modes (5.1-channel modes) and not "stereo" (2-channel) modes which your system may attempt to "matrix" into multichannel audio. Lastly, you can also select the audio from the movie's own menu. Chose the best audio option available on the movie, such as Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master audio (these are "lossless" (bit-for-bit when processed) audio formats), or Uncompressed PCM (also a bit-for-bit audio format). I do believe your system will process those (even if not, it will fall back to compressed multichannel 5.1 channel Dolby Digital and DTS, which will still provide a discrete center channel track). Good luck!

Best Blu-ray Movie Deals