sound difference in commercials!! argh!

Believe it or not, it really isn't louder; it just SOUNDS that way. I was a television engineer for quite some time. There's a device we used called a compander (compressor-expander) that compresses the sound in such a way that it sounds louder, but the peaks are still the same as the program.

Yeah!! When my husband and I are on the phone and he has the TV on in the background, or when we are together and the TV is on, I always react to the loud commercials, and make him turn them down or mute them. I don't care if it's only temporary, my head just can't take that noise!!!!

hi moonlit! oh yeah, that is completely annoying alright. i hate that. i remember when i was working for a local cable company, our head-end technicians would really make sure that everything is modulated because my boss (the owner of the company) hates it when he surfs channels and the other channel is so much louder that the other. he knows that there are other people who care about that too. but ever since he sold his company to a national player, the quality also diminished. too bad. but yeah, i don;t like that too. i get jumpy because i get shocked when the sound volume suddenly changes. good day and God bless you!