idiot commercial stations and their LOUD ads

[danny_galaga]

i'm so annoyed i'll just copy and paste my letter to the tv station. first time ive written to one:



Channel seven Queensland
PO Box 296
MAROOCHYDORE QLD 4558


First off I

[menace]

I hear you! (pun intended ) one of my personal pet peeves is that cmmercials consistently run 5 volum points higher than whatever you are watching--I mean they must think we are cattle--well i wasn't going to watch this commercial but since its so loud maybe I will...Hence the advent of the VCR, then PVR--bye bye commercials

if they want me to watch commercials--i demand more nudity and comedy or else forget it  (did I mention more nudity yet?)

[Snarbald]

I don't remember what channel I was watching, but this one time the volume in the show I was watching suddenly drops down to almost nothing and then a slot machinepops up out of the corner, taking up about two thirds of the screen (advertising some casino show that I didn't give a $#!t about) and the volume of the ad was bumped up quite a bit. All this in the middle of the show.

[danny_galaga]

I don't remember what channel I was watching, but this one time the volume in the show I was watching suddenly drops down to almost nothing and then a slot machinepops up out of the corner, taking up about two thirds of the screen (advertising some casino show that I didn't give a $#!t about) and the volume of the ad was bumped up quite a bit. All this in the middle of the show.

Geez. We haven

[danny_galaga]

if they want me to watch commercials--i demand more nudity and comedy or else forget it

[ErikRuud]

I am not defending it, but advertisers know that people often walk away from the TV during commercial breaks.  The volume is pumped up to try and get your attentions, so that you might come back and watch the commercial.

I find it very annoying.

There are some TV's that have an auto sound level function that is supposed to help alleviate the volume differences between channels and during commercials.  I think magnavox used to advertise this feature in some of their commercials.

What I find really disturbing lately is the number of commercials that feature someone getting hurt.  It seems like that kind of humor is deemed necessary to get us to remember the product that is being sold, and every other ad seems to have something bad happening to someone.

[Luxury]

Well, I used to work at a TV station.  I was the one running everything that was going over the air.  And I must admit - that it isn't the stations fault.  When we record anything (commercial/tv show/movie/whatever), we adjust our audio to a sound tone beforehand.  1khz (i think...been a long time).  This audio tone is the same for everything.  Calibrate the machine to this before hand, and then forget about it.  The problem is that not everything matches that tone.  Commercials ARE recorded louder in relation to that tone, while shows are usually about correct.  This is how they are BEFORE the station ever gets their hands on them. 

Whether this is intentional or not - I don't know.  It could just be that shows/movies are more drawn out - don't have annoying music, and don't have some high-pitched voice-over talking a mile a minute about buying his stupid cars. 

This doesn't bother me though (TiVo), so I can just skip em all.  What I can't stand is the gigantic bumpers and lower thirds for crap (like that lotto thing).  I'm not watching your channel to find out whats next - I'll find that out in 20 minutes!  Just let me watch what is ALREADY on your station in peace!  No lower thirds, no icons in the bottom right, and absolutely NO STUPID SOUND EFFECTS for your stupid lower thirds!  TechTV is the worst about this I've found. 

[DrewKaree]

Erik's on the money with the injury commercials

There's a commercial going on around me that starts off speaking about how the actors have a dog who used to frolic and play, and now he's getting older and whatever.  They honest to Rudy say "And today we're taking him to the vet......for the last time".  Then they go into their spiel about how their product will help prevent this and whatever.

I'm no animal rights activist, but I took losing my dog very hard, and this commercial pisses me off so much, I turn it off now each and every time I hear it, I've sent the company hawking their product an e-mail about their use of this tactic, and the station the commercial is on. 

To use pain/suffering or death to sell your product always makes me think the product is inferior, that's why they use such shameless tactics when plugging their products.

PAWS, I could care less if you were the miracle cure, you've turned my opinion of your product to a decided negative.....for the last time 

[DrewKaree]

Well, I used to work at a TV station.  I was the one running everything that was going over the air.  And I must admit - that it isn't the stations fault.  When we record anything (commercial/tv show/movie/whatever), we adjust our audio to a sound tone beforehand.  1khz (i think...been a long time).  This audio tone is the same for everything.  Calibrate the machine to this before hand, and then forget about it.  The problem is that not everything matches that tone.  Commercials ARE recorded louder in relation to that tone, while shows are usually about correct.  This is how they are BEFORE the station ever gets their hands on them. 

Whether this is intentional or not - I don't know.  It could just be that shows/movies are more drawn out - don't have annoying music, and don't have some high-pitched voice-over talking a mile a minute about buying his stupid cars.

If we can "normalize" songs on our own PC's, shouldn't TV stations be able to do the same thing? 

Just seems kinda ridiculous that I can do more with my PC than a fancy high powered TV station concerning audio that goes out over the air. 

[Shape D.]

If we can "normalize" songs on our own PC's, shouldn't TV stations be able to do the same thing?

Just seems kinda ridiculous that I can do more with my PC than a fancy high powered TV station concerning audio that goes out over the air.

I bet that they wouldn't sell spots as well if they did anything to change them.  It's all about the money.

[lucindrea]

some guys in marketing think that if the commercials are loud that they "attract the attention of the coumsumer" ... they just annoy the hell out of me acctully.

I watched an interview with Gram Chapman ( hope i spelled his name correctly ) and he was talking about an idea they had for one of the python episodeds where through out the show they wer going to slowly lower the volume , so people keep getting up and raising the voulume of the tv , then at the end they were going to do somthing with a band at full blast ... BBC told them no way 

[lucindrea]

To use pain/suffering or death to sell your product always makes me think the product is inferior, that's why they use such shameless tactics when plugging their products.

fear is the number 1 selling pitch .. 90% of commercials will give you somthing that will prevent cancer , save your live "just in case" , keep you from loosing your job , keep you from going broke , keep germs , bad people , bad incets , or bad comments away from your family , or prevent some malady that never esisted before the product was made to fight it.








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[Lilwolf]

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[danny_galaga]

There are some TV's that have an auto sound level function that is supposed to help alleviate the volume differences between channels and during commercials.

[ErikRuud]

If I remeber correctly, the commercials featured John Cleese, and he was rather soft spoken.

[mattv]

I have this crappy old Samsung TV but it has one GREAT feature, "Auto volume".

This basicly chops the volume of anything in the midrange and highend so it's all the same level but leaves the bass the way it is. Switch it on and those bloody anoying comercials are no louder than the rest of the programming. Sucks for movies of course but you can set the TV up so it only applies auto volume to certain inputs (RF only in my case), that way you get nice quiet adds and loud pumpin movies.

It's not perfect but its a hell of a lot better than being able toe hear the comercials from across the street. New TV's don't seem to have this feature - was probably too good.

[danny_galaga]

I have this crappy old Samsung TV but it has one GREAT feature, "Auto volume".

This basicly chops the volume of anything in the midrange and highend so it's all the same level but leaves the bass the way it is. Switch it on and those bloody anoying comercials are no louder than the rest of the programming. Sucks for movies of course but you can set the TV up so it only applies auto volume to certain inputs (RF only in my case), that way you get nice quiet adds and loud pumpin movies.

It's not perfect but its a hell of a lot better than being able toe hear the comercials from across the street. New TV's don't seem to have this feature - was probably too good.

that sounds like the sh1t!! but like you say, tv stations wouldnt have liked it much. its amazing they didnt somehow get 'mute' buttons banned!

[DrewKaree]

I have a nice Phillips that is less than 2 years old that has this feature.

I'm thinking a surprising percentage of televisions nowadays have this feature.

I'm also pretty sure an equal percentage of men, while setting up their television (or whatever else they are setting up/putting together) fail to read the manual that came with their equipment in order to best take advantage of said equipment.

Why do you think it's a male stereotype?   


Grok:  Me buy new TV!
Thag:  Plug in so football watch!
Grok:  Wait minute, me read manual firstly.
Thag:  That nice dress on you Unga!
Grok:  Unga my wife, me not.....ooohhhhh, Thag tricky!
Thag:  Sit.  Have beer.  Packers on now. 
Grok:   :tosses manual under the coffee table, never to be read again: