Low Audio Volume when viewing HD channels in VMC

[lukey08]

Hey guys, got a quick question.

Currently I'm a happy owner of a Compro E900F, which delivers excellent picture quality. However there is a slight annoyance that has been bugging me when I play certain channels in Vista Media Center and that is, audio volume is much lower than other channels.

I get this problem whenever I switch to a HD channel - ie. 7HD, 9HD and 10HD, and the audio levels are considerably lower than other SD channels. However, I do not experience this problem when using the Compro software, with all channels outputting the same volume.

My question is - is it possible to adjust the volume for individual channels separately in Media Center so that the HD channels can be as loud as the SD channels without having the need to always bump up the normal volume controls?

Thanks

[logifuse]

Not possible to change the volume of individual channels.

But, if you run the speaker setup wizard in VMC & set the correct settings (as per your setup), it will probably help. Within VMC Start>Tasks>Settings>General>Windows Media Center Setup>Setup Your Speakers.

Justin

[ox]

I dont' believe this is a volume issue. I think it's an issue with playing dolby digital TV programmes from a WMC. I have a similar problem - the sound is awful (muffled speech) when a DD programme is played but fine for a DD DVD through an external DVD player through the same amp. I would dearly love to have a solution to this. Anyone - any thoughts?

[logifuse]

Originally Posted by ox

I dont' believe this is a volume issue. I think it's an issue with playing dolby digital TV programmes from a WMC. I have a similar problem - the sound is awful (muffled speech) when a DD programme is played but fine for a DD DVD through an external DVD player through the same amp. I would dearly love to have a solution to this. Anyone - any thoughts?

Is your VMC connected by SPDIF? If so, run the Speaker Wizard (as per my last post) & tell it you have a single connection to a receiver. If you don't do that, it downmixes to 2 channel &/or outputs 2 channel LPCM.

Justin

[ox]

Originally Posted by logifuse

Is your VMC connected by SPDIF? If so, run the Speaker Wizard (as per my last post) & tell it you have a single connection to a receiver. If you don't do that, it downmixes to 2 channel &/or outputs 2 channel LPCM.

Justin

Hi Justin,

Thanks for the advice. I can't find anywhere where I can tell it I have a single connection to a receiver. After selecting VMC Start>Tasks>Settings>General>Windows Media Center Setup>Setup Your Speakers, I am just asked which speaker setup I have. I select 5.1 and it does the speaker test which is successful. That's it! Any more direction would be appreciated...

-Ox.

[Pixelated]

Originally Posted by lukey08

Hey guys, got a quick question.

Currently I'm a happy owner of a Compro E900F, which delivers excellent picture quality. However there is a slight annoyance that has been bugging me when I play certain channels in Vista Media Center and that is, audio volume is much lower than other channels.

I get this problem whenever I switch to a HD channel - ie. 7HD, 9HD and 10HD, and the audio levels are considerably lower than other SD channels. However, I do not experience this problem when using the Compro software, with all channels outputting the same volume.

My question is - is it possible to adjust the volume for individual channels separately in Media Center so that the HD channels can be as loud as the SD channels without having the need to always bump up the normal volume controls?

Thanks

For me it's an ac3 [hd] versus mpeg [sd] audio problem. The only channel I can correct this on is 10, as they transmit both ac3 and mpeg audio on their sd stream and I can tell the terratec cinema viewer to prefer ac3 when available.
This has long been an issue with ac3 being soft, gateway even released an 'ac3volup' patch for the solo laptop I had, to boost the audio level when playing a dvd movie on the laptop.

The compro software might have some form of boost for ac3 to compensate??

[logifuse]

Originally Posted by ox

Hi Justin,

Thanks for the advice. I can't find anywhere where I can tell it I have a single connection to a receiver. After selecting VMC Start>Tasks>Settings>General>Windows Media Center Setup>Setup Your Speakers, I am just asked which speaker setup I have. I select 5.1 and it does the speaker test which is successful. That's it! Any more direction would be appreciated...

-Ox.

You don't get the attached screen first?

[ox]

Originally Posted by logifuse

You don't get the attached screen first?

No, I just get a 2-step process:
1. specify how many speakers
2. test your speakers

However now that I see your screenshot I do recall seeing that screen in the past.
I think I would have selected that option but I can't be sure as I can't get the screen back up.

In case it is relevant, when I look in the 'Sound' applet in the ctrl panel, the Realtek Digital Output device mentions:
Controller info: Realtek High Definition Audio
Jack info: LR Rear panel optical jack, L Rear panel RCA jack
(but there is no way of changing either).
In the Supported Formats tab, DTS, DD etc are all ticked. All the sample rates are ticked.
Levels & Enhancements tabs don't seem to be relevant.
Advanced tab shows the default format for shared mode as being DVD quality.

So not sure if that is of any help but as ever, any assistance is appreciated.
-Ox.

[tackster]

may have nothing to do with HTPC but...
...when watching HD on my TV and through HTPC HD channels are i guess 5 to 10% quieter then SD,analogue seems louder again....this is consistant with all channels on my LG and sony LCD TV;s.