* a universally good concept but this isn't an example of it unless you're a lawyer.
That was years ago, though. I wonder if it was true back then, and if so whether or not it changed over time.
You know how movies are mixed such that they have really quiet dialogue and big explosions are like 4-5x as loud? Commercials are in explosion-mode the whole time.
So yeah, commercials are mixed louder than the rest of the content on purpose, just to try to snag your attention. If they could, advertisers would come into your house and turn the volume on your AV receiver/soundbar/tv/computer/phone way up themselves.
I'm not sure that's still true. Music fans seem to be pretty heavily siloed, so they're probably discovering music through the internet somehow and not radio.
It’s reduced dynamic range, this is done using audio compression which, roughly, has the effect of making the quiet parts louder and and loud parts quieter, then the volume level can be increased. The overall effect is to keep the decibel levels the same, but the every sound within the range is now shouting at you.
Not quite. The ceiling of the signal is the same. The quiet parts have gain added but the louder parts (over the threshold/above the knee) receive no modification at all.
Once compression is complete you might even do a normalization pass to ensure that the loudest impulse in your audio achieves 0dBFS.
Put the two together and you have a "wall of noise" effect.
Most compressors then have a ‘make up’ gain control to recover the lost volume. That process makes the quieter sounds louder.
Your description sounds like an expander.
Wouldn't be shocked if it was a huge nothingburger enforcement wise.
[1] https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/06/dial-it-down-califo...
I'm not in California, but growing up at least, I associated it was goofy small laws like this (along with not so goofy real laws as well).
[0] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/starbucks-cancer-warning-judge-...
So, as a broad kind of concern, no, it is not just a California thing.
SMELLY CUTICLES? BUY OUR CUTICLE DEODORANT!
Seriously, how come TVs don't come with companders built in?
Yet more proof that advertising is psychological assault and advertisers are malicious entities.
Block ads for your data safety, your sanity and your comfort level in your own home. Feel no remorse for a morally-bankrupt industry riddled with scammers and grifters. Anything that would be lost in the absence of advertising was not worth having in the first place.
There is a beauty in how humans can impact other humans in how they act and think. How they choose to group up. What they spend their time doing. Working together to accomplish things. Helping each other.
I love the poetic nature of your second paragraph, and also agree. But it feels a very large distance from the topic and nature of advertising, at least as far as I experience it today.
It feels like one of those Peter Griffin, you know what really grinds my gears segments.
hnuser123456•4mo ago
slater•4mo ago
BlewisJS•4mo ago
justarobert•4mo ago
belval•4mo ago
So obnoxious as well, it isn't somewhat louder, it's aggressively louder.
esseph•4mo ago
makr17•4mo ago
nickthegreek•4mo ago
dragonwriter•4mo ago