Good Questions: DVD Recorder With Stable Sound?

Dear AT: Home Tech,
DVD Recorders? I'd love to get one, but am turned off by my current DVD player which plays the dialogue at a low volume and the music IS THIS LOUD.
Thanks,
Susan

(Note: Include a pic of your problem and your question gets posted first. Email questions and pics with QUESTIONS in subject line.

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Susan,
Your question seems two-fold, what DVD recorder should you get and how do you prevent buying a lemon. There are plenty of models to choose from, and CNet gives a good breakdown of popular models. As for preventing your current volume debacle, find a DVD where that problem exists. Then take the DVD to the store (or to a friend's if you're not so brazen) and see how it acts on a model you're interested in. Then at least you can be sure the system works how you want.

Anyone have a suggestion for Susan?

(thanks for the photo notraces)

Comments (4)

it seems to me there's a variable missing here - DVD players, televisions, and audio receivers tend to have EQ and spacial audio settings that control channel volume and presence. dialog is often on the centre channel, and adjusting that channel's presence in your audio setup might go a long way towards fixing your problem.

also just thought of something else - if you only have a stereo setup but your audio settings specify 5.1 or some other wider setting, you'll also have this dialog volume problem.

It is definitely worth investing in a good surround sound/receiver and then try the different settings to see which works best for you. Shouldn't be the recorder or dvds fault.

(Hollywood sound editor checking in)

The DVD player/recorder wouldn't cause that kind of problem with the audio. DVD audio isn't separated into dialog/music/effects stems - rather, the audio is folded into one file with all the relative levels set on the mixing stage at the studio.

I think the answer here is that the center channel (where dialog normally comes out) is missing. This is definitely possible if you're using a 5.1 receiver with only 2 speakers or whatever. Even if you're listening to the 2.0 track, you might still get this problem if the receiver is sending out the audio to a speaker channel that isn't there. What you want to do is check your receiver settings to make sure that if you're using only two speakers, that any and all "pro logic" or "dolby digital" or "dts" or whatever things are turned off so that the system knows you're only interested in basic stereo. Many receivers (like mine at home) have a "speaker B" option that is usually just a stereo pair instead of the whole 5.1 enchilada. You might want to try switching your speakers over to those connectors if you have them.

There's also the possibility that the DVD was mixed incorrectly in the studio, but that would only be a problem on that specific title, not on DVD's across the board.