Solving the “Volume Problem”
Given the advanced state of modern technology, is it possible to write software that understands what what volume I like to listen to music, tv, video clips, and so on and KEEP IT THERE?
Consider that every single clip on YouTube has its own unique level. How hard would it be for YouTube to set the level of clips on upload? Or at least adjust in the player?
Consider that every app running under Windows manipulates the global volume sliders, sometimes the master volume, sometimes the “wave” volume, and two running apps will “fight” over what setting to use depending who touched the slider last. And if you switch apps, like between TV, movies, and music player, you’re constantly adjusting or forgetting adjustments of the volume. Can’t we do better?
What would happen if “master volume” worked from a user-centric viewpoint and let you set the final output volume at which you’d like to listen, and told other apps to raise or lower their volume to match? They could still have app-specific adjustments to balance, say a loud TV app with a soft email ding.
But all it would take from an engineering point of view is for apps to determine the final system output level and adjust their own levels to meet the user’s criteria. It’s a kind of “quality assurance” monitor that mimics the human wife going “Avi, will you please turn that down?” when I never turned it up! I don’t even mind if there’s a little hysteresis in the algorithm, an occasional delay in tuning an over-loud sound down or a super-soft sound up for audibility.
Such “advanced technology” might even solve this annoyance with commercials being 2x louder than the TV program. What a concept.
Avi, Right On! It should not be hard to write an app for a PC that would monitor the output to the built-in speaker and to the output audio jack over some short period of time, say a half-second to a few seconds, and adjust the volume such that, to a listener, it is about constant. Also, I am suprised that automatic volume control is not a standard feature on TV sets and radios and home theater audio systems.
Even better would be if the TV and radio stations and/or the cable TV and satellite TV and XM Radio companies offered a feature that would adjust the volume for all channels to be even *at their end*. With *digital* TV and radio from satelite services and from some cable companies, there is no *technical* excuse for having average volume different. Yet, when I switch stations, the volume usually gets significantly louder or lower. Of course, while watching a given station, commercials usually get louder.
Ira
PS: Sorry I havn’t commented much lately. My online grad System Engineering class at U Maryland is in the second week and I have a full class of 30 students.