Fluctuating Sound When Playing DVDs

emathisemathis
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
Hi, all!



First of all, I'm loving my new Mac Mini! However, when I play DVDs, I've noticed that the sound level fluctuates often (I had the same problem with earlier Macs). I've tried the included DVD Player as well as the VLC one. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

Eric

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    ipodandimacipodandimac Posts: 3,273member
    are you talking about battle scenes being ridiculously loud and dialogue really soft (that is, in PCM audio)? if so, it's the nature of sound. there's a whole section about it in a dvd studio pro book i have. i wont try to explain cause i'll screw it up, but if you're trying to keep dvd's at a constant level, it wont be better on anything else unless there's an app to control decibel level.
  • Reply 2 of 5
    emathisemathis Posts: 5member
    The fluctuation occurs during loud and soft passages. It sounds like the volume is being turned up and down constantly (I remember my iMac G3 DV 400's sound would fluctuate, too.). I played the same DVD on my PC with no erratic sound level problems. Would it be a sound card incompatibility with certain DVDs?



    Thanks,

    Eric





    Quote:

    Originally posted by ipodandimac

    are you talking about battle scenes being ridiculously loud and dialogue really soft (that is, in PCM audio)? if so, it's the nature of sound. there's a whole section about it in a dvd studio pro book i have. i wont try to explain cause i'll screw it up, but if you're trying to keep dvd's at a constant level, it wont be better on anything else unless there's an app to control decibel level.



  • Reply 3 of 5
    king chung huangking chung huang Posts: 343member
    You might be mistaking dynamic range compression for fluctuations in audio. Try turning that option on or off and see if that helps.



    DVD Player > Preferences > Disc Setup
  • Reply 4 of 5
    ipodandimacipodandimac Posts: 3,273member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by King Chung Huang

    You might be mistaking dynamic range compression for fluctuations in audio. Try turning that option on or off and see if that helps.



    DVD Player > Preferences > Disc Setup



    ya thats what i was trying to say. i couldnt remember the name for it.
  • Reply 5 of 5
    emathisemathis Posts: 5member
    Hey-

    Just an update: turning off the Dynamic Range Compression worked! The sound level is stable when playing DVDs. Thanks for your help!

    Eric
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