SRS to unveil TV-volume-leveling gadget

Many of us have been bemoaning the state of uneven TV volume for years -- loud commercials that give way to barely-audible dialogue followed by deafening, room-shaking explosions -- and at least one company has tried to do something about it, though with limited success.

Next to address the issue is SRS Labs, which is finalizing a consumer gadget that anyone will be able to add to their A/V setup in order to level out the highs and lows. According to SRS, the prototype version of the device is about the size of a pack of cards and connects to your cable box or TV. The device can be turned on and off as desired. Pricing hasn't been announced but SRS appears to be targeting something between $25 and $100.

According to coverage in the Wall Street Journal, volume leveling is quite the tricky issue, and it's not as simple as just turning things down when it gets too loud and back up when the ruckus is over. As the linked story notes, "When done poorly, unnatural sound effects creep in, such as the sound of rain fading out when an actor talks, then coming back up when there's no other noise present."

As with Dolby's aforementioned solution, SRS ultimately hopes to partner with manufacturers to bundle the technology into products so consumers aren't required to resort to a secondary box. This may represent an uphill battle, though: Dolby's volume leveling technology is available in just four products today (one TV and three receivers).

Here's hoping for more gear to hit the market soon with volume leveling technology built in! That ShamWow guy kills me.

Update: Dolby corrects me on the four products point (apparently its website is incomplete). A spokesperson writes: Today, Dolby Volume is actually available in 26 products with eleven companies (Anthem, ARCAM, AudioControl, Bryston, Emotiva, Harman-Kardon, Integra, Onkyo, Sherwood and Parasound as well as HDTVs from Toshiba).