Analog sound is much quieter than digital sound, why?

Question

I just got a new receiver. I have my DVD connected with S - Video cable for the video, and digital for the sound. My TiVo and TV/Cable are connected with analog (RCA? I don't know the proper term, I guess) for sound and S - Video for video. When I go from DVD to TV, I have to turn the volume way up to hear? Is this a connection thing or a receiver thing?

I hate it when someone says "serious answers only" at the bottom of their questions. So, I won't say that, but I do really want to know.

Answer 1

There is no rule of thumb about sound levels. If someone were to tell you that digital is always louder then analog, or vice versa, that person would be very incorrect.
It sounds to me like the output levels on your devices are not matched in volume. To put it simply, your DVD player is likely outputting the sound at 20% volume, compared to your TV’s output of 10% volume. Your receiver then has to make up the difference. (Arbitrary numbers, they just make it easy to explain to people besides us dorky audio engineers!) This situation is not uncommon. There is a standard line level volume for most consumer electronics using the RCA analog output. Usually they put out the signal at -10db level, and your receiver does the rest. However, there is no standard volume for digital, as digital is a technology with no sound being generated before the amp. (As in, the DVD player tells your amp what sounds to make, as opposed to the TV creating the sounds, and your receiver making them louder.) To make matters even worse, there is no telling how “hot” the sound will be with a digital device in comparison to an analog device.
Unless it is a fancy receiver, you will not likely be able to adjust the input levels on each of the devices. (If you can however, just make them the same number). There really isn’t an easy way to balance the two if you don’t have that option. This is commonly done in recording and radio using a mixing board, but a mixer is not something you would want sitting on your home theater system. An easy fix would be to use either analog or digital on both devices. The sound should be roughly the same volume that way. If this is not an option, you could go down to your local radio shack and ask about an RCA Line amplifier. This is basically a box that makes the signal of the RCA plugs louder. I am not sure if they carry such a device however.

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

There is no inherent reason the digital audio should be louder than the analog. Check to see if your receiver allows you to control the level of inputs separately, of if your DVD player allows you to adjust the audio output level. Unfortunately there is no easy way to attenuate the volume level of a digital signal.

Answer 3

It's the audio equivilent of optical and digital zoom on a camera.
Optical=analog it is actual adjustment, meaning in your case more power is being given to the amp/speakers.

digital=digital zoom is a form of electronic alteration in real-time, like on a camera, instead of actually using a lens to zoom, it rapidly crops and stretches an image to appear as though its bigger or closer. in home theater it's the same concept, digital volume is the amount it's being electronically altered(basically like a mic built into your player that only captures what its playing, and turns the mic volume up.
i know this may not seem very understandable, but i can explain things more if i have a common comparison, I hope this helps =D

Answer 4

The audio output level from the TV is probably tied to the TV's volume level. See if you can turn up the TV's volume to match the DVD.

Answer 5

well, digital audio is louder than analog audio. but you can or at lease should be able to bring down the volume of the digital signal to match the analog. but you may also be able to bring up the analog, it depends on the receiver.

the louder the sound the clearer it sounds and the less noise you will hear.

Answer 6

the two. Analog is prettier, yet i've got have been given a digital watch (I in elementary terms have one certainly clock) for timing myself on horses using fact i might desire to understand the time to the 2nd. I placed on an analog watch whilst i'm being extra stylish and look at my telephone for the time :)