I really liek the sound and presence surround sound provides but how do you control the extremes in sound.
Last night I was watching one of the newer Star Wars. In the one scene they were whispering - the very next scene was a shoot out. The sound differential was jarring. I find I am watching movies with the sound controller in my hand. I have tried the several sound brightness controls and late night softeners on the system but they have little effect.
I guess this is just how they are making movies now.
What kind of home theater system are you using, as well as dvd player. Most dvd players have a ambient sound reduction built into them. ANd if you are into watching movies loud, theres really no way to put a buffer on the system. I would recommend increasing the volume set up on ur center channel and then check your subwoofer setting. The best level is around 80Hz, its standard level for most home theater set up. If your still having problems with your speaker set up, pick up the Sound & Vision Home Theater Set Up DVD. It has a lot of useful tests. You also might want to buy a sound meter or borrow one as well. This helps a great deal in setting up all your speakers to the same decibel range. Good luck.
Thanks for the ideas. I am using an Onkyo HTS 780. Sound is just great. The system allows a lot of individual speaker adjustments (distance to ear, individual dB level, presence, boominess, etc.).
I think I am more concerned over how movies are made. Same issue in a theater - whispering talk followed by an explosion that knocks you out of the seat. The dynamic range they use is just too great for an in-home system. My room is decent sized (18 by 26)with primarily wood walls; the surround sound effect is awesome - it's just that with some movies the sound range is too great. Onkyo offers some help with this (late night setting and a brightness reduction) but it's not enough.
I will have to look into the DVD adjustment. I don't think my two year old Panasonic offers much.