Is the new blu ray audio any help for the hearing impaired

djames · 12-05-2009, 04:44 PM

My dad is pretty deaf, and wears hearing aids, but still has a hard time hearing some of the dialog of movies. Right now he has a 12 year old sony stereo with only 5.1 optical. Would upgrading to a new stereo with these new audios like True HD and such be any benefit for him? I myself struggle at times to hear some dialog that comes out of some of the crappy SD movies, I find HD movies do seem slightly better far as dialog through the reciever, but I'm not sure if these new HD audios help with dialog or just make background sounds more prominent.

Loves2Watch · 12-05-2009, 04:50 PM

Most important in any 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 surround system is placement of the center channel speaker. It it is places and aimed correctly, dialog is clear and intelligible. If it isn't you will have to keep turning the volume up. Same is true with stereo, that is if you are running a 5.1 soundtrack through stereo speakers only, you will be missing most of the dialog.

The center channel has all of the dialog directed to it in a multichannel soundtrack and much of the music as well.

Blu-ray and it's audio really has nothing to do with it. It is surround sound in general and the speaker setup and placement.

Hope this helps in your decision.

Viggen61 · 12-11-2009, 09:18 AM

Dolby TruHD and the like won't, by themselves, help much, but you may see some benefit with newer technology in your receiver and with a Blu-ray Disc player.

I have a Harman-Kardon AVR354 receiver. One of the things that can be set is "night mode" for certain Dolby Digital encoded source material. What "night mode" does is balance the highs and lows of the audio such that you can have the audio high enough to hear the low dialogue, but not blow your windows out (or wake the neighbors) when the music plays, or the other sound effects get going.

Also, on my new Blu-ray player (Sharp BD-HP210U), there is something in the manual (I didn't read it through completely), which will do much the same thing. I believe it is called "Dynamic Range Control".

I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but I'd think that evening out the levels can't hurt to make the dialogue more understandable.

Loves2Watch · 12-11-2009, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Viggen61

Dolby TruHD and the like won't, by themselves, help much, but you may see some benefit with newer technology in your receiver and with a Blu-ray Disc player.

I have a Harman-Kardon AVR354 receiver. One of the things that can be set is "night mode" for certain Dolby Digital encoded source material. What "night mode" does is balance the highs and lows of the audio such that you can have the audio high enough to hear the low dialogue, but not blow your windows out (or wake the neighbors) when the music plays, or the other sound effects get going.

Also, on my new Blu-ray player (Sharp BD-HP210U), there is something in the manual (I didn't read it through completely), which will do much the same thing. I believe it is called "Dynamic Range Control".

I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but I'd think that evening out the levels can't hurt to make the dialogue more understandable.

Did you even read the post above yours?

Viggen61 · 12-16-2009, 12:11 PM

Yes, I did, and I really believe the two posts are complementary. Proper speaker placement is important, no argument there, but there are also other tools available which may be of benefit to the OP in considering their options.

I have my center channel speaker in the best location I can get it in (infront of, and below the screen), used the auto speaker setup on my AVR, and there are still times when I either need to ride the volume control so I don't wake the neighbors, or, use one of the electronic helpers like "night mode" or "dynamic Range Control".

HD Goofnut · 12-16-2009, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Viggen61

Yes, I did, and I really believe the two posts are complementary. Proper speaker placement is important, no argument there, but there are also other tools available which may be of benefit to the OP in considering their options.

I have my center channel speaker in the best location I can get it in (infront of, and below the screen), used the auto speaker setup on my AVR, and there are still times when I either need to ride the volume control so I don't wake the neighbors, or, use one of the electronic helpers like "night mode" or "dynamic Range Control".

I would just turn the center channel up a few decibels if someone is having trouble hearing daigloue. I turned mine up from 4 to 6 a couple weeks ago because I was tired of action movies having the dialogue low and then being too loud when the action kicked in.

12-05-2009, 04:44 PM	#1
djames High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 102	Is the new blu ray audio any help for the hearing impaired My dad is pretty deaf, and wears hearing aids, but still has a hard time hearing some of the dialog of movies. Right now he has a 12 year old sony stereo with only 5.1 optical. Would upgrading to a new stereo with these new audios like True HD and such be any benefit for him? I myself struggle at times to hear some dialog that comes out of some of the crappy SD movies, I find HD movies do seem slightly better far as dialog through the reciever, but I'm not sure if these new HD audios help with dialog or just make background sounds more prominent.

12-05-2009, 04:50 PM	#2
Loves2Watch Natures Beauty Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Evermore Posts: 18,432	Most important in any 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 surround system is placement of the center channel speaker. It it is places and aimed correctly, dialog is clear and intelligible. If it isn't you will have to keep turning the volume up. Same is true with stereo, that is if you are running a 5.1 soundtrack through stereo speakers only, you will be missing most of the dialog. The center channel has all of the dialog directed to it in a multichannel soundtrack and much of the music as well. Blu-ray and it's audio really has nothing to do with it. It is surround sound in general and the speaker setup and placement. Hope this helps in your decision. __________________ Friends don't let friends buy Korean brand TV's or Blu-ray players. Main HT Room TV, Projector, Receiver, Speakers, Blu-ray player, HD DVD player, Dish Network HD DVR, 300 Disc CD Changer and so on.

12-11-2009, 09:18 AM	#3
Viggen61 HD + DVR = Awesome! Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Edison, NJ Posts: 118	Dolby TruHD and the like won't, by themselves, help much, but you may see some benefit with newer technology in your receiver and with a Blu-ray Disc player. I have a Harman-Kardon AVR354 receiver. One of the things that can be set is "night mode" for certain Dolby Digital encoded source material. What "night mode" does is balance the highs and lows of the audio such that you can have the audio high enough to hear the low dialogue, but not blow your windows out (or wake the neighbors) when the music plays, or the other sound effects get going. Also, on my new Blu-ray player (Sharp BD-HP210U), there is something in the manual (I didn't read it through completely), which will do much the same thing. I believe it is called "Dynamic Range Control". I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but I'd think that evening out the levels can't hurt to make the dialogue more understandable. __________________ Dish Vip 622 (HDMI) & Eastern Arc America's Top 250 w/Platinum HD & Locals Sharp Aquous LC-37D40U Sharp BD-HP210U (HDMI) Toshiba HD-A3 (HDMI) Sony DVP-NC85HS DVD (Component & TOSLINK) Sony MDP-550 LD player (S-Vid & TOSLINK) Harman/Kardon AVR 354 to rule them all... Last edited by Viggen61; 12-11-2009 at 09:21 AM. Reason: clarification

12-16-2009, 12:11 PM	#5
Viggen61 HD + DVR = Awesome! Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Edison, NJ Posts: 118	Yes, I did, and I really believe the two posts are complementary. Proper speaker placement is important, no argument there, but there are also other tools available which may be of benefit to the OP in considering their options. I have my center channel speaker in the best location I can get it in (infront of, and below the screen), used the auto speaker setup on my AVR, and there are still times when I either need to ride the volume control so I don't wake the neighbors, or, use one of the electronic helpers like "night mode" or "dynamic Range Control". __________________ Dish Vip 622 (HDMI) & Eastern Arc America's Top 250 w/Platinum HD & Locals Sharp Aquous LC-37D40U Sharp BD-HP210U (HDMI) Toshiba HD-A3 (HDMI) Sony DVP-NC85HS DVD (Component & TOSLINK) Sony MDP-550 LD player (S-Vid & TOSLINK) Harman/Kardon AVR 354 to rule them all...

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