Almost 100% of consumers surveyed expressed annoyance at the volume fluctuations they endure when watching live TV. That obnoxious spike that occurs during the transition from show to commercial is not the only culprit, either. Within a given program such as a sporting event, the commentators can be set low to leave headroom for the deafening roar of the crowd, adding a nerve-rattling element to gameday. Volume-leveling solutions have been tried before, but according to the folks at SRS Labs ("Sound Retrieval System"), it hasn't been done right. Until now.
A ground-up reinvention of volume-leveling technology, SRS TruVolume relies first and foremost upon analysis of the signal to be corrected, and it concentrates on those frequency bands, from among the 20 it monitors, which reflect the biggest perceived change during volume spikes. (Turns out that we humans are most responsive to mid-band volume, which is where speech falls.) Any such processing has to work at just the right speed in order to be effective yet seamless, and the noise manager needs to regulate the unpleasant characteristics of the signal while maintaining the desired portion of the audio. Highs and lows remain balanced in the newly-leveled signal, overall dynamic range is preserved, and the only control needs to be a simple master volume up/down.
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| SRS showed this prototype of their new TruVolume HDMI add-on processor. The final version will be a more home theater-friendly black. |
At a press event in New York last week, we were shown a side-by-side demonstration using a Dolby Volume-enabled Toshiba TV, and a second, identical model playing identical content but with the Dolby Volume turned off and SRS TruVolume applied to the signal instead. We definitely heard an improvement using both technologies when compared to the original program material, but the edge in both in the levels and overall clarity went to SRS TruVolume in this admittedly non-scientific comparison.
SRS TruVolume technology is being implemented in the majority of new Samsung and VIZIO TVs, though in the current Samsung models the processing is called "AutoVolume" (something SRS says will be addressed in future models). SRS says it will be coming soon to cable and satellite set-top boxes, to offer its benefits at the source. Other potential applications include an automobile version, as well as playlist leveling for portable audio.
For those not in the market to replace their current hardware, but still eager to take advantage of TruVolume's benefits, SRS will be bringing to market a small HDMI Volume Leveler add-on box. It works with a simple pass-through -- one port in and one out -- so it can apply its processing to the signal on its way out of the cable/satellite box for example and before it reaches the speakers. An analog version of the box will also be available to work with older gear. They estimate two months until it's available, so make room in that Christmas stocking, but pricing continues to be elusive (from clues, we expect pricing to be somewhere between $100 and $200 for the aftermarket box).
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