Why Is Background Noise So Loud on TV Shows?



We’ve all experienced annoyances when it comes to television — from the extensive number of commercials that are aired to programs that are interrupted by sporting events that run long. Still, there’s one new annoyance that is driving people up a wall — background music that is so loud you have to strain to hear the dialogue. There are numerous reasons why background music is so loud. It could be the programmer’s desire to promote music that a show has paid for, a belief that loud music adds to the drama of a scene, or audio that was mixed too hastily or sloppily. Of course, you can’t rule out the audio quality of your own TV set. It has long been argued that TV speakers aren’t up to the task of handling modern sound. If the front surround sound is activated, the sound will be louder. This can be corrected via your remote control by accessing sound options and switching off “front surround.” If this doesn’t correct the problem, the issue is likely an audio mix problem at your local network affiliate. To address the music vs. dialogue problem, you can always switch to a sound bar, but you may have to work with the settings to get the music to decrease. Finally, in some cases, it’s simply the mumbling actor/actress who’s to blame, and there’s little you can do about that.