Q: What are TV stations doing about audio-level problems during commercials? It was bad in analog and worse with digital.— George Nightingale, Littleton
A: Like the synchronization problem between audio and video — known as “lip flap” — many of the problems viewers are experiencing are indeed related to the switch to all-digital television.
And it’s likely to worsen.
Three Denver stations — KUSA-Channel 9, KMGH-Channel 7 and KTVD-Channel 20 — shut off their analog broadcast signals on April 16, going full power on digital transmissions.
KBDI-Channel 12 went all digital in February.
The remainder will shut off analog signals on June 12, the national deadline. They already are transmitting in digital as well as analog, but in June, analog goes away.
Digital, while it presents a clearer picture, has its idiosyncracies — not all of them good. What you’re experiencing is likely to do with local stations placing local advertisements into national programming. The issue can be especially prevalent with satellite and cable providers.
Those ads are not necessarily produced in the same audio format as what’s on TV. And because the providers have so many channels to monitor — local broadcasters have a handful in comparison — ensuring that audio is properly mixed is nearly impossible.
It’s isolated, but to be sure, give the station a call. Chances are it will make an adjustment that should clear up the issue — for now.
