2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumVolume of Hillary ad on CNN...
I stream CNNgo on my Roku and the ad with Clinton talking about children and she's always approved this message is working my last damn nerve because it is WAY louder than the volume of everything else. Is this happening to anyone else? The content of the ad is good but the volume being so loud is really so obnoxious.
To clarify...I have the volume of the regular shows on the level of about 25. Every other commercial or ad is at the SAME volume level of the show I am watching and every other show. The sound is universal at the same level. Then this ONE ad comes on and it's at least twice as loud as everything else. So I turn it down and then I have to turn it back up again when the show comes back on because otherwise I can't hear it.
The point I'm trying to make is that if someone who despises Trump and is definitely voting for Hillary is getting annoyed by the volume of this ad being so bloody obnoxious that I wish that ad would disappear then the people it's aimed to reach are NOT going to come out of it with the desired impression.
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alcibiades_mystery
(36,437 posts)
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,965 posts)monmouth4
(9,686 posts)trof
(54,256 posts)NoGoodNamesLeft
(2,056 posts)Because if I turn it down then I can't hear the show I was watching and this ad plays nearly every break. My kids have been complaining about the volume of it too.
When they put out ads they really need to make sure to adjust the volume so that it matches the volume of the rest of the programming or else it irritates people, which is not good. I am in a battleground state, too.
Demsrule86
(68,469 posts)NoGoodNamesLeft
(2,056 posts)That is obnoxious. It's a really good ad that shows how much she has done over the years, but the volume is SO LOUD that it actually HURTS my ears when it comes on. I'm hoping someone with the campaign sees this and that it can be adjusted or something.
citood
(550 posts)Its gotten better lately...and there have actually been regulatory changes to address this. But I understand...if I lime my current volume setting, I won't change it to turn down a commercial...its mute.
NoGoodNamesLeft
(2,056 posts)The tv in my room is about 4 feet away from the wall of her room and her bed is against that wall. This is with the volume of the TV no higher than 25 and only loud enough so I can hear it when everyone else is asleep.
I'm not sure why they would make the ad so loud in comparison to everything else. It's really more than twice as loud, perhaps over three times. When it comes on it sounds like the TV is on full blast.
Mike Nelson
(9,944 posts)...this problem with several ads. Did not notice it with the Hillary ad, though. Most commercials are played at a higher volume than broadcast shows... it's been this way for many years.
NoGoodNamesLeft
(2,056 posts)And it is exactly THREE times as loud! I had the volume on 24 and I had to turn the ad down to 8 for it to be at the same level. o_O
tapermaker
(244 posts)if it was a man you would say he projects well. What a strong leader.
NoGoodNamesLeft
(2,056 posts)too %()#_)(*$_# loud. :p
Democat
(11,617 posts)If only Clinton's ads would just disappear, as you suggest! 
NoGoodNamesLeft
(2,056 posts)I support Clinton and am voting for her and I think Donald Trump is nothing but a festering boil on the ass of humanity.
None of that changes the FACT that this one ad of hers that is running on CNN is three times louder than everything else. It runs about every commercial break, too. As I'm typing this it has just come on again and I had to mute it due to how loud it is. This is twice in under 15 minutes. And it's not ALL of her ads...just this one that shows her speaking about kids when she was a lot younger. It's three times as loud as the volume I have the television set at.
radius777
(3,635 posts)The last thing we need is for voters to be annoyed, and then associate that with Hillary or Dems.
This campaign isn't run anywhere near as good as Obama's was, which was far more responsive and tuned into what was going on in the real world, outside of their campaign bubble.
NoGoodNamesLeft
(2,056 posts)that has this issue. It's not just slightly louder. I normally have my TV on about 25 volume. When this commercial came on I turned it down to only 8 and it was just as loud as everything else set at 25 volume. Heck, I probably could have still heard it at 5 volume. Then when the next ad or regular show came on at level 8 it was like watching a silent movie...I could not hear a thing.
renate
(13,776 posts)Yes, I can turn the volume down, after I've been startled out of my skin, but how about playing the ad at a normal volume in the first place? Nobody goes "Yay, that commercial is super loud! I love it and everything it stands for!"
Commercials are most effective when they don't piss people off, I believe.
NoGoodNamesLeft
(2,056 posts)And it's so bloody annoying how come people will imply that if you post something like this that you are somehow an undercover Trump supporter. Now THAT pisses me off. That douchey cheese puff disgusts me. I'd vote for a steaming pile of dog crap over him. If there is an issue like this that could turn people off it should be OK to discuss it. That ad would be great if it were not so loud. But to be honest, I hate it now and not because of the content or because it would not be an effective ad. I hate it because I recently experienced an acoustic trauma and the last thing I want is to have any sudden loud noise like that.
pnwmom
(108,959 posts)ALL the commercials that come on my TV are always significantly louder than the shows themselves.
And we get Clinton ads here and they're no louder than any other ads. They're all louder than the shows, however.
Here's an explanation. The average loudness of a commercial is set at about the peak level for a show.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/17229281/ns/business-consumer_news/t/why-are-tv-commercials-louder-show/#.V-XDuJMrKgw
Spencer Critchley, writing in Digital Audio last month, explained it this way: “The peak levels of commercials are no higher than the peak levels of program content. But the average level is way, way higher, and that’s the level your ears care about. If someone sets off a camera flash every now and then it’s one thing; if they aim a steady spot light into your eyes it’s another, even if the peak brightness is no higher.”
There’s also what Brian Dooley of CNET.com calls “perceived loudness.” If you’re watching a drama with soft music and quiet dialogue and the station slams into a commercial for the July 4th Blow Out Sale, it’s going to be jarring. If you happen to go from the program into a commercial for a sleeping pill, one with a subtle soundtrack, it probably won’t bother you.
NoGoodNamesLeft
(2,056 posts)I'm going to try to record it and uploud it for people to listen to the difference.
pnwmom
(108,959 posts)complaining that TV ads are louder than the shows. When I'm watching something and my husband isn't, he frequently complains about the volume of the commercials -- as if I'd just decided to turn it up on purpose!
radius777
(3,635 posts)so they know this particular ad has this issue, that the sound is boosting way more than the typical commercial.
Sometimes audio settings (surround sound, etc) on the TV/device can cause or exacerbate this issue. IOW, it could just be happening on your device. Maybe try another TV/device and see if it does the same thing.
There is also a 'sound leveling' (or similar) setting on some TV's/boxes/devices, which is a setting designed to help with this issue.
NoGoodNamesLeft
(2,056 posts)I noticed it happening once in awhile with a Geico ad as well, but not as bad. It's funny because the ad with her saying One of the areas she was interested in was children comes on extremely loud and then there is another ad right after with the young man saying he doesn't want a president that makes fun of him, he wants one that inspires him. That one is at a normal level. That one loud commercial is only really loud for the first half of it so it may be that when they patched in those old videos of her they didn't balance the sound right. It's really bad, though.
synergie
(1,901 posts)
MineralMan
(146,262 posts)More likely is that the feed you're streaming isn't set up properly at the server end. The campaign delivers the ads, but the broadcaster is responsible for airing those ads and doing things like setting volume levels.
You wrote that you are watching with a ROKU stick. So, you're streaming this content. The fault is not in the ad. It's in whoever is delivering the content.
So, don't blame Hillary's campaign. If you want to contact someone, contact the source of what you're streaming or ROKU. It's not Hillary's fault. Streaming content is often less well controlled than broadcast or cable TV content.
One final note: This week, I've noticed that the MSNBC channel on my cable is running a few particular ads at a much lower volume level than others. Someone there isn't balancing volume levels properly. I don't blame the advertiser, because the same ads sound normal on other channels. The fault is at MSNBC in that case. But, I don't care, because the difference in volume isn't that large nor is it that annoying.
radical noodle
(7,997 posts)Earlier this year, they were playing her ads so quietly that they couldn't be heard at all. I complained to our local cable provider and the volume came up a little. Still not overly loud, though. The loud ones on my TV are the local car dealerships! 
anamandujano
(7,004 posts)sounds levels before. This after she is giving then a ton of money?
