Survey Results: How You Watch TV First 49 Unique Responses

[Bob Rapoport]

Two weeks ago, I asked a simple question:

How Do You Watch TV?

I created the survey because of my own experience watching movies and streaming television. I found myself constantly adjusting the volume — turning it up to hear dialogue, then quickly turning it back down when the music or sound effects became too loud.

I wanted to know if other people were experiencing the same thing.

You are.

Here’s what the first 49 responses told us:

90% say they adjust the volume occasionally, frequently, or constantly while watching movies or streaming TV.

69% say dialogue that is too soft contributes to those volume changes.

69% find quiet or softly spoken dialogue difficult to follow.

61% spend 60% or more of their audio-system time watching movies, streaming TV or YouTube rather than listening to music.

90% say clearer dialogue and independent control over their personal listening level would be useful.

67% had never thought of frequent volume-riding as a problem that might actually have a solution.

83% said Yes or Maybe when asked if they would like to learn more about a personal TV audio system designed to address these issues.

Those numbers confirmed something I had begun to suspect from my own experience:

The way we watch television has changed, but the way we listen to it hasn’t changed nearly as much.

If you haven’t taken the survey yet, we’d love to hear how you actually watch TV—add your voice to the conversation and help us keep building a clearer picture of how people are listening today.

Below is the complete survey chart so you can see the results for yourself.

Recent episodes of Dark Matter, Lioness, MobLand, and Slow Horses are perfect examples of why this matters: complex soundtracks, quiet dialogue including Irish and British accents, and dramatic effects can make conventional TV listening a constant volume-adjustment exercise.

That's what led me to look for a better way to listen — one that could make dialogue easier to understand, provide independent volume control, and still preserve the music, effects and spatial information that bring the production to life.

The result is the Earis Premium Personal TV Audio System.

If any of the survey results sound familiar, take a closer look at what Earis Premium was designed to do.

Thanks to everyone who participated. Your responses are helping turn a personal observation into a much larger conversation.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

I guess I'm the lucky one... but I also watch most TV in a dedicated room, and I have Signia hearing aids, which are fabulous, although they'll cost ya a couple grand or more. I don't have any of the issues above, and I think it is because of a superb center-channel speaker, the room, and my hearing aids. I no longer have to use closed captioning. I think many of the issues come from hearing loss in the upper frequencies, which affects the clarity of some dialogue.

No doubt the Earis is a less expensive and more affordable solution.

 

[Bob Rapoport]

I guess I'm the lucky one... but I also watch most TV in a dedicated room, and I have Signia hearing aids, which are fabulous, although they'll cost ya a couple grand or more. I don't have any of the issues above, and I think it is because of a superb center-channel speaker, the room, and my hearing aids. I no longer have to use closed captioning. I think many of the issues come from hearing loss in the upper frequencies, which affects the clarity of some dialogue.

No doubt the Earis is a less expensive and more affordable solution.

Thanks Sonnie, that’s exactly the kind of experience I hoped this survey would bring out.

Your setup is a good example of another way to solve the problem — a dedicated room, a superb center channel, and hearing aids that restore the frequencies needed for speech clarity and spatial cues.

What has surprised me most is how many people are dealing with the same basic issue in very different systems and rooms. For me, it showed up as constant “remote-riding” — turning the volume up for dialogue and back down again when today’s wide dynamic range suddenly brings in louder music or effects. That behavior was taking me out of the story.

That’s why I think the conversation is becoming more interesting than the product itself. Earis is simply the best practical way of addressing it with an audiophile sensibility, especially for people who don’t have a dedicated theater or who want personal control without changing the room volume for anyone else.

Thanks for jumping in.