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VERY specific compressor question...


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Ok, so this is pretty out of the norm.

 

At my house, I don't have cable or local channels, just the internet, so I watch mostly HULU, Crackle, Youtube, etc...

 

I use a solid state Fender Frontman 25R as computer speakers. It sounds pretty awesome actually. Can't put it past 1.5 or it's just too loud.

 

Thing is, theme songs and the commercial breaks are always far louder than the program, so I'm wanting a compressor. A free, downloadable plug in would be cool, but I don'n know what's good, or if such a thing exists... or how to use it if it did. I do know a lot of you record, so... what's the deal with that?

 

Plan B would be a cheap pedal that wouldn't be for magic tone dust, but for straight up compression so everything is at a level volume. Decent battery life and low noise are good things here. Brand names and build quality are pretty far back on the list as it will never be gigged.

 

Maybe this is OT, but I figured you guys might know. My thanks in advance. :wave:

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It's a big and very annoying issue that ticks off a LOT of people.

 

Congress recently passed a law for TV that will require commercials to be no louder than the programming they're embedded in - but that won't kick in for a couple of years, and it may not apply to Internet programming.

 

If you want a compressor, with the setup you have, a hardware product is probably the best idea. The Alesis is okay, or a FMR RNC would be good.

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MAgnavox used to build "smartsound" into their TVs (basically limiting, but I think they used some specializze measurement strategies go "oh, the avg talkpower just took a major bump..that's a commercial" and reduce other artifacts), I think other brands had something similar for just that very reason -- there may be a purpose built unit for "home theatre" style applications

 

 

oops - looks lke it just got covered. If you don't have that feature or it's not effective enough (some TVs have really primitive ones, so I think it's just a matter of model) maybe hit up a home theatre forum.

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Actually, believe it or not- check your TV manual. Mine has something called AVL (Automatic Volume Level) that puts a limiter on the volume. It's a common (but not "standard") feature of a lot of modern TV's, it's just buried in a menu somewhere...

 

 

he's using a computer. but on that note, i was surprised to find out that my cable box lets you set the "dynamic range."

the commercials are still a bit louder, but not by that much, now.

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Hmmm, so there's no way some compression audio plug-in type program could just compress the computer's audio output?

 

Also, those are like studio quality compression units you guys are suggesting... this is a ghetto setup here. Again, to clarify, its Laptop Headphone Jack > 1/8" to 1/4" adapter Cable > Fender solid state practice amp.

 

I was thinkin of just some cheap pedal. :idk:

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Hmmm, so there's no way some compression audio plug-in type program could just compress the computer's audio output?


Also, those are like studio quality compression units you guys are suggesting... this is a ghetto setup here.

 

 

the standalone thingy from amazon is like $23

 

might be something here

 

http://www.sharewareconnection.com/titles/automatic-sound-level.htm

 

but it mightbe a wash in terms of price and with the standalone, you can use it on other sources and don't eat up CPU ticks

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A plugin compressor would be nice, but I'm not sure how you'd use one with your setup. First, I'd need to know what hardware (computer / OS / Audio Interface) you're using, then I'd need to figure out a way to run a plugin at the driver level, as opposed to within a host program - you're using a wide range of playback programs, and as far as I know, things like Hulu and Youtube's players don't support plugins...

 

If you want to try a pedal, any compressor pedal should help... but a limiter would be better, and I don't think you're going to find a decent compressor / limiter for twenty bucks... maybe a Behringer? :idk:

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A plugin compressor would be nice, but I'm not sure how you'd use one with your setup. First, I'd need to know what hardware (computer / OS / Audio Interface) you're using, then I'd need to figure out a way to run a plugin at the driver level, as opposed to within a host program - you're using a wide range of playback programs, and as far as I know, things like Hulu and Youtube's players don't support plugins...


If you want to try a pedal, any compressor pedal should help... but a limiter would be better, and I don't think you're going to find a decent compressor / limiter for twenty bucks... maybe a Behringer?
:idk:

 

Word. Yeah, I guess a plug in would be tricky if even you aren't sure on how it would be used. They usually are used within protools or something like that. :idk: Alright, well it was worth a shot.

 

Just for sheeits, what would be best for this application if I were willing to spend more like 50 to 70 bucks... because after that it's kinda pointless.

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