How reliable are old UHF converters?

[Jeffhs]

Originally posted by heathkit tv
What I find most annoying about cable (and probably satellite too) is that all the channels seem to be at different volumes.

Broadcast television is bad enough, what with commercials that'll blow your toupee off, but cable seems to be far worse, and there's really no excuse for it When the feed comes into the cable company's facilities they surely need to process it in some manner, wouldn't it be relatively simple for them to somehow even out the level of volume?

My late model Sony set has something called Steady Sound which is a miserable crock of poo as it actually somehow raises the volume of music and pulls voice levels down lower. When I bought the set I had high hopes that this feature was going to give me even volume----some other brand was advertising such a thing a little while ago (Philips?)

Anthony

Anthony,

Philips-Magnavox TV sets have a feature Philips calls "Smart Sound", which is supposed to produce even sound levels for both commercials and regular programming. I agree with you, though; those commercials can be annoying as all get-out from a loudness standpoint (not to mention their outrageous claims), which is why I don't even listen to them anymore. I wouldn't be surprised if the mute button will be the first to wear out on my cable remote--that's how much I use the thing. Makes watching TV just that much more enjoyable.

[Rob]

My 61A60 Toshiba RPTV that I bought new almost 3 years ago has this "constant volume" feature. I forget what it is called and I've never even tried it. I am highly suspicious of any processing that might inhibit the wanted dynamic range of the sound during movies on TV, etc. I am not on cable (they'd have to pay ME $50+/mo!), but there is an instance of a commercial playing recently on CTV that would blast me out of my chair so badly above the other programming level that I almost phoned the station to complain.

[Jeffhs]

Rob,

I'm curious. If you don't have cable, what stations do you receive where you live? I seem to remember you mentioning awhile back that you are close to Buffalo; if so, I'm sure you get at least one Canadian station as well as all Buffalo channels, as Buffalo isn't that far from Toronto. I would think, however, that, as you have mentioned, if you have an amplified fringe-area antenna with a rotor on a tower, you'd be getting every TV station within at least 100 miles in all directions.

I agree with you on the cost of cable. It is very expensive, especially if you have digital service. I have Comcast digital cable, which runs about $40 per month (without the premium channels), but to me it is worth it, since I don't go out much and don't have very many expenses (I live in an apartment). Moreover, I am in a fringe area for reception of Cleveland TV stations, so I don't have much choice if I want to get decent reception (cannot erect an outside antenna or satellite system without first getting the landlord's approval). I realize I don't need digital cable just to get clear reception of the so-called "local" channels (all of which are 45 miles southwest of here), but I want to be ready for the digital revolution when it comes, not to mention the fact that two of my favorite cable channels (Game Show Network and the National Geographic Channel) are now available only on Comcast's digital service.