I ask this question, because when I tune my TV to the MTV channel here(in Boston), the volume is at least 7 dB higher than on all the other channels!
I thought it wasillegal to transmit the audio at a higher sound volume…or maybe the patrons of MTV LIKE having their ears blasted off!
Same thing with AM radio…a lot of commercials are transmitted at an obscenely high audiovolume! isn’t this illegal?
A lot of networks set the volume of commercials at the maximum allowed volume while their regular programming is set at a much lower level. Odds are, that’s what MTv is doing.
I doubt it’s 7 dB, since every 3 dB represents a doubling of sound pressure level. In any case, the FCC has no regulations concerning broadcast audio volume, per se. However they do regulate modulation and bandwidth, two characteristivcs which are affected by audio volume. As long as the station is within its limits (which they probably are, since the FCC aggressively monitors commercial broadcast TV and radio stations), they can broadcast at whatever volume level they wish to.
It may not be MTV’s fault…I work in cable TV and have frequently seen this problem on any number of channels. The channel is broadcast correctly from it’s source but it retransmitted from our headend to the end subscriber (you) with some kind of problem either in the video or audio. We had a problem for several weeks awhile back with BET doing just what you described. I’d bet that in all likelihood this is the fault of your cable or satellite provider, not of MTV. If it’s happening to everyone on the cable system, I’m sure they’ve been bombarded with complaints already but it won’t hurt to call them and find out if they’re aware of the issue.
Yes, but 3 dB is also for most people the smallest audible difference in amplitude, 7 dB is only noticeably a little louder. Not very precise, I know, but we’re talking about perception.