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TV sound settings theory

cctaylor

cctaylor

pfm Member
We have had issues with dialogue on our TV particularly with some films. Our setup is Humax PVR into Panasonic OLED into Q Acoustics M2 soundbase.

After reading another thread I checked all the sound settings and found that the Humax was set to multi channel. I changed it to stereo and the dialogue seems clearer. Could the Humax have been picking out centre speaker sound which got lost further downstream?
 
I think so, I won't pretend to know anything about TV sound or it's encoding but we've been having similar issues using a bog standard sound bar. It would seem that dialogue can get totally lost within some sound tracks unless you have a device that is able to single out the centre channel and increase it's volume. Our soundbar was stereo and was pretty grim on some programs/films, my wife wasn't able to hear dialogue at all on them, whereas the news was perfectly clear. In the past we had a Naim AV2 setup which worked very well and voices were crystal clear so it seems likely that the centre channel is just being lost. We after a lot of reading on the internet about this problem for the hard of hearing (my wife) ended up buying a new soundbar, a Sony HT-ZF9 after reading a few recommendations of it's ability to enhance the dialogue/centre channel. It's a lot better and not a bad performer all round, OK it's hardly high end but it does a good job on films and dialogue, the only time my wife hasn't been able to understand or hear is when I can't either which wasn't the case previously. We did consider other soundbars too including the Senneheiser Ambeo which was also recommended but settled on the Sony for now just to make sure that this approach would work before spending a small fortune

Edit, the soundbar we replaced was a Q Acoustics M2
 
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Are you still getting sound output from the Q? Is the Q supposed to be for multichannel sources, or is it just stereo? Lots depend on the source of course, but if the Q soundbase is making multichannel out of stereo signals, it might well screw up the clarity of the dialogue.
 
Check the specs of the Soundbase some only have 2.0 i.e. no centre speaker for dialogue in which case you are at the mercyof the electronics in the TV and Base constructing/downmixing a phantom centre channel. It’ll be better than the built in TV speakers but not as good as a full on pseudo 5.1 soundbar/base.

If it does have a dedicated centre speaker look at the settings on the TV - PCM output options and downmix 2 channel options. Have you tried Optical out instead of HDMI or the other way round?
 
I've found whilst watching Netflix on a TV (no soundbar or other components) that it it necessary to go into the audio settings and change from 5.1 English to 2.1 English, this makes it much easier to hear the dialogue, 5.1 seemingly is the Default setting.
 
Darren L said:
I've found whilst watching Netflix on a TV (no soundbar or other components) that it it necessary to go into the audio settings and change from 5.1 English to 2.1 English, this makes it much easier to hear the dialogue, 5.1 seemingly is the Default setting.
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How do you do that?
 
@Suffolk Tony The Q Acoustics M2 is a very simple device. It has two front facing mid/high speakers and a downward facing bass speaker. There are very limited options on the unit, mainly to do with where the unit is placed, ie on a shelf or in cabinet.

However it does give the overall sound a good lift in a neat box that integrates well with our setup.
 
cctaylor said:
@Suffolk Tony The Q Acoustics M2 is a very simple device. It has two front facing mid/high speakers and a downward facing bass speaker. There are very limited options on the unit, mainly to do with where the unit is placed, ie on a shelf or in cabinet.

However it does give the overall sound a good lift in a neat box that integrates well with our setup.
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OK, that's probably why the dialogue sounds poor if you're putting a multichannel source through it. Sorry my previous post didn't make much sense - I was thinking the Q was the centre speaker in a multichannel surround setup. In my defense, I can only plead senility.
 
We were watching a series on Netflix last night called Top Boy. We were both struggling to understand what they were saying. I was hoping it was a settings issue, but I'm now thinking it's a combination of a strong accent and mumbling. It's a shame because it looks like good series.
 
bigjonny said:
When the programme/film starts there’s an option icon in the top left corner of the screen, click on the square “speech bubble” for audio options. The icons also come up if you press pause.
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Cheers, I'll take a look...
 
Fatmarley said:
We were watching a series on Netflix last night called Top Boy. We were both struggling to understand what they were saying. I was hoping it was a settings issue, but I'm now thinking it's a combination of a strong accent and mumbling. It's a shame because it looks like good series.
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We often watch with Subtitles on when strong accents or mumbling are involved. Top Boy is worth persevering with.

Cheers BB
 
Fatmarley said:
How do you do that?
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Bob McC said:
In tv settings, not netflix
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No, it's in the Netflix settings on the left hand side whenever you choose a program or film,( or whenever you pause on the top left hand of the screen, middle icon, ) you will see a list, Rate this Title, Play, Audio and Subtitles, click on Audio and Subtitles and it brings up two lists, scroll down to the Audio list and choose English 2.1 0r English Original depending upon which is listed.
Its definitely an improvement to hearing the dialogue when using a TV without surround sound speakers or a dedicated centre channel.
 
Fatmarley said:
We were watching a series on Netflix last night called Top Boy. We were both struggling to understand what they were saying. I was hoping it was a settings issue, but I'm now thinking it's a combination of a strong accent and mumbling. It's a shame because it looks like good series.
Click to expand...

They theorise that by the time you get to post production the team know the dialogue so well that they fail to realise that for a first time viewer it's totally unintelligible.

Part of the reason loud backing music gets through too.

I thought it was my hearing but the children often can't hear either.
 
dweezil said:
They theorise that by the time you get to post production the team know the dialogue so well that they fail to realise that for a first time viewer it's totally unintelligible.

Part of the reason loud backing music gets through too.
Click to expand...

I've had the same thoughts for some time.

In the same way that I think that important translations should be reverse translated to check the meaning, soundtracks should be listened to by someone who doesn't know the script or plot.
 
Probably the biggest single complaint about modern tv’s & also modern programmes/movies.....the dialogue is hard to follow.
More special effects, more incidental music & maybe actors not annunciating the lines clearly?
Also, for years people have wanted thinner & thinner screens. But that has lead to less space for proper speakers, which in turn leads to a tinny sound.
So now soundbars ( or a decent 5.1 AV System) are pretty much essential.
If you’ve got a great 55 or 65” OLED picture, it seems a shame not to have decent sound to go with it.
 
The subtitles from Netflix are quite good - i.e. useable but not obtrusive where as the Sky subtitles are very obtrusive.
I run the TV sound through the full Naim Wilson Benesch system so the sound is quite reasonable, the main problems is the mumbling actors (occasionally)
 
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