FIX: Mac DVD Player Volume Problems
The Problem When I watch DVDs on my MacBook, I have noticed that the volume increases and decreases based on the loudness of the movie’s audio. This automatic feature is called “dynamic range compression†and is provided by our dear friends at Dolby Laboratories. Sometimes having this compression applied is nice; it can help to […]
The Problem
When I watch DVDs on my MacBook, I have noticed that the volume increases and decreases based on the loudness of the movie’s audio. This automatic feature is called “dynamic range compression†and is provided by our dear friends at Dolby Laboratories. Sometimes having this compression applied is nice; it can help to even out loud and soft sections. When working ideally, you shouldn’t hear the effect at all, the volume will just be more even.
Unfortunately, I’ve found that the built-in one-size-fits-all setting doesn’t always work the greatest for the many different audio tracks found in modern movies. Often, you can hear the audio “pumping†as the compression kicks in and out. Sometimes the volume will be nicely audible for onscreen dialogue, but suddenly gets squashed by a loud noise like a gunshot or explosion. If you’re like me, you want to shut this off. Why even watch an action flick if all the combustion is suppressed?
The Fix
Disable automatic audio compression on the Mac DVD Player application.
Open the DVD Player (Applications > DVD Player) and open up the ‘Preferences’ panel (DVD Player > Preferences). If you have a DVD playing, you’ll have to stop playback (not just pause) before you can change output settings. In the ‘Preferences’ panel, click the ‘Disc Setup’ tab. Under ‘Audio’ make sure the ‘Disable Dolby dynamic range compression’ is checked. This will shut off the automatic volume changes and pass your audio program on through unaffected. Now you can enjoy those explosions in their full dynamic glory!
Thank you so much. Just watched Bourne and it was loud and soft, then searched this and the problem is fixed. Thanks
Awesome – thank you!
Thank god, you’re amazing. I’ve been struggling with this problem ever since I got a mac two years ago. It’s awful. Thanks again!
There is no more a Preferences option in DVD player. Same problem here.
Pete, what OS are you running? I still see the option to “Disable Dolby dynamic range compression” in version 5500.71 of the DVD Player app under macOS High Sierra version 10.13.6.