[fluxo]

I finally got hold of the Goodfellas blu ray and watched it
last night. One thing that puzzles me slightly is the volume
levels of the music and the narrator (Henry Hill). The music
seems to be much quieter relative the narrator's voice than
it was when I saw the film on TV. If I adjust the volume so
that the music is nice and audible, the voice is far too
loud.

Now, I'd heard before that the sound on this blu ray is not
the greatest. Is this issue with the mix a consequence of
that, or is this a case of my brain going a bit strange?

Thanks.

[Jim Di Griz]

Goodfellas has a lossy bog standard 5.1 track but I dont remember anything odd last time I watched it (which was quite a while ago admittedly - need to watch it again soon!).

Are you listening to it through your TV speakers or a surround system? If it was TV speakers that might explain it perhaps.

I bet Im not the only one who would happily double dip on this one if it got remastered/re-released with HD sound!

[fluxo]

Originally Posted by Jim Di Griz

Goodfellas has a lossy bog standard 5.1 track but I dont remember anything odd last time I watched it (which was quite a while ago admittedly - need to watch it again soon!).

Are you listening to it through your TV speakers or a surround system? If it was TV speakers that might explain it perhaps.

Yes, through the speakers. I have read online that some of the WB HD DVD
releases had volume problems with some of the channels (10dB lower). Could
that be the case here?

I'm becoming more and more convinced that there is something wrong. With
the narrator's voice at a clear audible level the music is almost inaudible. This
is tragic become the music is such an important part of this film.

Surprisingly, neither my TV nor blu ray player have any way of altering the
mix of various channel volumes before downmixing to stereo.

[Jim Di Griz]

Originally Posted by fluxo

Yes, through the speakers. I have read online that some of the WB HD DVD
releases had volume problems with some of the channels (10dB lower). Could
that be the case here?

I'm becoming more and more convinced that there is something wrong. With
the narrator's voice at a clear audible level the music is almost inaudible. This
is tragic become the music is such an important part of this film.

Surprisingly, neither my TV nor blu ray player have any way of altering the
mix of various channel volumes before downmixing to stereo.

Yeah this doesnt surprise me. Blu-rays are not going to sound good and will sound quiet through through your TV speakers. It will sound a lot better through any kind of 5.1 system. Theres plenty of cheap home cinema kits or more expensive seperates depending on what you need/how much you want to spend. You will notice a massive difference when you do!

[fluxo]

Originally Posted by Jim Di Griz

Yeah this doesnt surprise me. Blu-rays are not going to sound good and will sound quiet through through your TV speakers.

Whilst I fully accept that, I would also say this particular film sounded better
on broadcast sd tv. And that should not be the case for a blu ray.

As I've mentioned, it's not the quality of the sound per se, it's the volume of
the various parts of it.

[Jim Di Griz]

Originally Posted by fluxo

Whilst I fully accept that, I would also say this particular film sounded better
on broadcast sd tv. And that should not be the case for a blu ray.

As I've mentioned, it's not the quality of the sound per se, it's the volume of
the various parts of it.

Thats because the TV broadcast would have been bog standard stereo TV sound. The blu-ray is 5.1 surround which can sound very quiet through normal TV speakers. Im sure someone who is more technically aware of these things could explain it better than I can!

Basically - buy a surround system and listen to the difference. I bought my first surround system back in 2003 and was absolutely amazed at the difference. That was as big a revelation as seeing films in HD for the first time for me.