Why do different modes and channels on my TV have very different volume levels?

Factual Questions
1

Why is it that the comfortable volume setting on my TV varies so widely depending on what mode I’m in, and even differs among channels in HDMI (cable) mode?

When watching cable the comfortable volume varies from 8-13, depending on channel, with the broadcast channels tending lower, and TCM needing the highest setting, which I could believe has something to do with vintage films, but TNT also needs a fairly high setting, and I mostly watch Law & Order reruns on that channel.

Amazon Prime needs a much higher setting-- something like 22. Hulu is around 22 as well. The highest volumes are for off-brand, usually free sources, especially one called Tubi (has all episodes of 3rd Rock from the Sun for free), which requires a setting over 50.

On Demand needs settings between 12-20, with movies needing settings higher than shows.

It occurred to me it had to do with bandwidth use, but I think then I’d notice a lot of difference in picture quality, and I don’t. Also, on a TV we have in the back room, the HDMI input of which is broken, so it’s plugged into coaxial, the volume settings are more or less the same. And it’s obviously not the TV, since it happens on both TVs.

Does this happen to everyone? Anyone know why? It’s annoying, because even though the cable remote is programmed to control the TV, it is terrible at volume control, and jumps two or three units at a time. If I want to advance or go back one unit, I have to find the actual TV remote, which it about the size of a cheese stick, and gets lost all the time.

2

What I’ve noticed is that decades ago, the same volume setting worked fine for all broadcasters. As time has cone on, they’ve all randomized, and nothing is reliable. I’ve always just presumed that it had to do with lack of regulation and such.

If you have noticed patterns, like some broadcasters being consistently quiet or consistently very quiet, I’m not disputing that. I would thank you for pointing out the patterns that you’ve noticed, except I don’t have the brainpower to remember those patters and set my volume control accordingly to compensate. Fortunately, I can usually find my tv remote so that I can adjust it, which I have to do when the commercials (or the supposedly “exciting” segments of the story) come on anyway.

3

My current TV has a setting, I forget what it’s called, that automatically keeps the volume below a certain level, so if you are watching a movie with some very loud parts, and some very quiet parts, you set the volume for the quiet parts, and it dulls the loud parts. Also dulls the commercials.

4

I really noticed this with Star Trek: Picard on CBS All Access. Generally when watching cable TV, the volume is around 15-18, some other streaming services may get to around 21-23. For Picard I kept having to turn the volume up to at least 35-38, and that just made it sound normal, it wasn’t even loud!

5

Normalizing under different names. It’s compressing the sound.

For the TV settings, Night Mode may perform normalizing and Movie Mode may enable surround sound or generate artificial surround sound expanding the sound range.

The same applies to different channels, a retro channel may normalize the audio, saving bandwith because of the limited range of old TV, and a movie channel may use full dynamic range.

In the U.S., the FCC has always regulated the max loudness broadcast TV could use. However, TV commercials would blare at 100% loudness, while TV programs would broadcast at a lower level because of the limited speaker range of old TVs. Numerous complaints were made, and in 2010 (enforcement began in 2012) the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act passed.

Cable and streaming services aren’t subject to this rule.

6

I got the Xfinity X1 box a few months ago. The volume on all its channels (including its over-the-air channels) is almost twice as loud when I switch my TV from source TV (direct over the air) to cable. Fortunately, I have a Logitech 650 programmable remote which I’ve programmed to reduce the volume automatically when I switch.

[Aside: the Logitech appears to have a function that will reduce the volume on the cable box itself, but it doesn’t work. It also has a key that will rewind a cable program by 15 seconds, and this is not available on the Xfinity X1 remote. The remote also has a key that should fast forward a cable program by 15 seconds, but it doesn’t work.]