# TVolume **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 12, 2000, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvolume/45218 "2000-12-12T18:58:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dennysmojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/54ee81/32.png) [@dennysmojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dennysmojo)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvolume/45218/1 "2000-12-12T18:58:28Z")
Why do they make the volume of commercials on tv louder than the program…It bugs me that I have to get up and constanly play with the volume. Anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvolume/45218/2 "2000-12-12T19:01:06Z")
people often leave the viewing area during commercials. from a distance, you can hear a commercial better if it is louder. they want you to hear the commercial. that is the point. buy a remote. ---
**Author:** ![dennysmojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/54ee81/32.png) [@dennysmojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dennysmojo)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvolume/45218/3 "2000-12-12T19:05:54Z")
ah yes that would make sense… ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvolume/45218/4 "2000-12-12T19:28:51Z")
I don’t know the details of the FCC regulations, but I once read that the rules put a limit on the volume of sound transmissions. Explosions, sirens, and shouts have to be under this limit, and regular sounds are much softer. Advertising agencies have the same limits, but a 30-second or 1-minute spot has a smaller range. they keep the extremes of the volume within the legal limit, but they push the average volume as high as they can manage. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvolume/45218/5 "2000-12-12T19:33:16Z")
MBH is talking about the dynamic range (the difference between the softest and loudest sounds). TV commercials use a process called “compression” to pull the soft sounds up and keep the average level high. I used to work at a rock station that did the same thing with music so that it always punched through as you flipped up and down the dial. ---
**Author:** ![Damhna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@Damhna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damhna)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvolume/45218/6 "2000-12-12T20:10:14Z")
…or perhaps its so you hear the commercial when you are putting the kettle on, grabbing a beer, on the can or any of the other things you might do during a commercial break away from the TV? ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvolume/45218/7 "2000-12-12T20:19:59Z")
> [@](#): > > …or perhaps its so you hear the commercial when you are putting the kettle on, grabbing a beer, on the can or any of the other things you might do during a commercial break away from the TV? yes, that is another possibility. wait, no it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvolume/45218/8 "2000-12-12T20:59:17Z")
I seem to recall that in the years preceeding Ronald Reagan, the FCC _did_ in fact set limits on how loud a commercial could be played. I believe it had to stay within the range on the Television program it ran in. However, Ronny, being the forward thinker that he… _scratch that_… The de-regualation philosophy that Reagan embraced quickly put an end to that little rule. If your interested, I can rummage around my textbooks and try to find a site for ya. ---
**Author:** ![c\_goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@c\_goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_goat)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvolume/45218/9 "2000-12-12T21:04:42Z")
My TV has an AI Sound feature that keeps everything at the same level, so I don’t notice this. Anyway, I always thought it was because commercials are filmed with cheaper cameras and sound equipment, and they don’t really edit the sound at all. I never imagined it was done intentionally. Are these just conspiracy theories? I don’t know anything about sound/filming by the way, just guessing here. I can’t believe it’s done intentionally. ---
**Author:** ![diamud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@diamud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diamud)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvolume/45218/10 "2000-12-12T21:33:31Z")
It is definitely done intententionally. Also, some commercials, to get around the volume limits, will use the maximum volume, but also make sure that the sound is in the range best heard by humans (ie not just maximum allowable volume, but also in the range that “sounds” loudest). At least this was the practice when I was an intern (helped make local commercials) at a TV station in AR.