In article ,
Peter wrote:
You've not really thought this through. If everything was the same
level, there'd be no dynamic range.

If you're that worried about waking kids, use headphones.

Hmmm... me and the wife both wearing headphones... it's a thought, but
it might make "pass the biccies dear" a bit difficult.

You'd just need to shout as most people do when wearing headphones...

I don't want to cut out the dynamic range altogether, but what I want
to do is automate what I do already i.e. turn the volume down for the
fights / arguments / car chases and turn it up again for the bit where
Hercule Poirot gathers all the usual suspects together in the drawing
room and explains (quietly) why he thinks Miss Scarlett did it with
the lead piping.

Thing is that the dynamic range is already minimal. It's more the
preception of someone shouting that makes it seem louder - or things like
police sirens designed to be heard above all general noise. The prog
you're listening to has already gone through a compressor to reduce the
dynamic range - and an expensive one at that. The trouble with all these
machines is that they can't second guess what is loud to every individual,
so work, more or less, just on the actual electrical level.

I'm surprised your kids are woken up by the TV, though. Do you live in a
quiet part of the country?

--
*Real men don't waste their hormones growing hair

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.