dialogue is drowned out, how do I fix?

[drag66]

I am new to this forum and could really use anyone's help. I have been going crazy for the last few weeks about this problem. I have a sony dvpns315 dvd player hooked directly up to my TV which is an APEX GT2715 27" flat screen. No matter what movie I play in the DVD player, I can barely hear the dialogue. It seems as if it is being drowned out by background noise. Is there anything I can do to fix this problem. Any advice/suggestions would be much appreciated.

[Brian Shannon]

I have a sony dvpns315 dvd player hooked directly up to my TV which is an APEX GT2715 27" flat screen

Let me understand, you have no receiver and no speakers?

I suspect that you have your DVD player (or it defaults) to some type of encoded output while your TV simply takes in an audio signal and does not know what to do with it.

Not sure about a simple solution, try checking the DVD player menu and see if you can adjust the audio.

[drag66]

The dvd player is hooked up to the TV with regular R/F (if that's what they are called) cables that were provided with the player.

Is there anything I could hook up to the dvd player and/or TV to fix this (a digital receiver?)

[JimRochester]

If you had a receiver I would say it had something to do with the dynamic range. It might have something to do with the default soundtrack, I think you need to make sure you have it set up to the 2.0 track if it has one. If it only has a 5.1 it should downconvert automatically. I'm only guessing.

[Brian Shannon]

Originally posted by drag66
The dvd player is hooked up to the TV with regular R/F (if that's what they are called) cables that were provided with the player.

Is there anything I could hook up to the dvd player and/or TV to fix this (a digital receiver?)

Yes a receiver is a good start but then you would need speakers.

I suspect that based on your description of the way you have your player connected (with the red/white cable) that the player is trying to pass an encoded signal and the TV cannot do anything with it.

Try going into the DVD player menu and turning the audio to the "least" complex setting.

Not really a great idea since you are missing out on alot of audio material.

[ngp]

The other things to try is when you have option on a DVD to select the Audio setup, choose "Dolby Digital, 2 channel" vs. the DTS or Dolby Digital 5.1

Others, correct me if I'm wrong....DVDs today assume that you have a stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 setup and assumes that there is a dedicated center channel speaker.

In your menu of the DVD player (not the DVD itself), check the audio options and try taking out the Dolby Digital option.

[Brian Shannon]

Others, correct me if I'm wrong....DVDs today assume that you have a stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 setup and assumes that there is a dedicated center channel speaker.

A player can default to different things depending on menu setup and/or the disc itself.

Essentially your answer is the same as mine as I do not believe an audio signal sent to the TV is getting processed, hence the dialog getting lost.

What I am not sure of is if the change in the dvd menu will in fact make a difference as I have never connected a player straight to a tv before!

[drag66]

Originally posted by ngp
The other things to try is when you have option on a DVD to select the Audio setup, choose "Dolby Digital, 2 channel" vs. the DTS or Dolby Digital 5.1

Others, correct me if I'm wrong....DVDs today assume that you have a stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 setup and assumes that there is a dedicated center channel speaker.

In your menu of the DVD player (not the DVD itself), check the audio options and try taking out the Dolby Digital option.

So I have to select the Dolby Digital, 2 on the DVD itself and also go to the menu of the DVD player and take out the Dolby Digital option? What do you mean by taking out the dolby digital option on the DVD player menu?

[12thmonkey]

I looked up your player at www.crutchfield.com and it mentions
a Down Mix option under Audio Setup, which sounds like it should be set to "Normal" (if it's not already). Without any kind of stereo/digital receiver, I think that should be your setting


from crutchfield:

Audio Setup:

Down Mix (DVD only): switches the mixing method, so "Dolby Surround" sounds ideal when used with a Pro Logic/Dolby Digital/DTS receiver, and "Normal" sounds ideal when used with a normal stereo

[ngp]

Originally posted by drag66
So I have to select the Dolby Digital, 2 on the DVD itself and also go to the menu of the DVD player and take out the Dolby Digital option? What do you mean by taking out the dolby digital option on the DVD player menu?

The downside is that most of the newer DVDs don't let you select anything really beyone a 5.1 or DTS track. You may only have the option of going into the setup screen of the DVD player to adjust down the settings.

Here's the step-by-step for most SONY DVD players (from their support website off of Sony.com):

This louder background audio will occur when connecting a DVD player to a standard stereo receiver or television.

This issue is resolved by changing the downmix setting within the DVD Deck setup menu to Normal and the audio DRC to TV Mode.

This solution is broken into the following sections:

Section I. Changing The Downmix Setting Within The DVD Deck Setup Menu To Normal.
Section II. Changing The Audio DRC To TV Mode.

Please proceed to the appropriate section.

Section I. Changing The Downmix Setting Within The DVD Deck Setup Menu To Normal.

Please follow the procedure below to change the downmix setting to Normal.

1. On the remote control, press the MENU button.

2. Use the remote control to highlight and select AUDIO SETUP.

3. Use the remote control to highlight and select the DOWNMIX option.

4. Use the remote control to highlight and select NORMAL.

5. On the remote control, press the MENU button to exit the menu.


Section II. Changing The Audio DRC To TV Mode.

The Audio DRC or Audio Dynamic Range Control makes the sound clear when the volume is turned down when playing a DVD. This function works only when a DVD is played that includes this function.

NOTE: When playing DVDs that do not include the Audio DRC function, there may be no effect on the sound.

TV MODE makes low sounds clear even when the volume is turned down. This mode is recommended when the TV speakers are used.

1. On the remote control, press the MENU button.

2. Use the remote control to highlight and select AUDIO SETUP.

3. Use the remote control to highlight and select the AUDIO DRC option.

4. Use the remote control to highlight and select TV MODE.

5. On the remote control, press the MENU button to exit the menu.

[drag66]

Thanks alot to everybody that helped me with this problem. It seems to be working a lot better now!