Take Control of Your Volume Level

Volume Level Technology

Dolby® Volume is an advanced digital signal processing technology for controlling playback volume. It evens out the volume level on everything you watch, greatly improving your listening experience.

You choose the level, and Dolby Volume does the rest.

No more sudden blasts from ads, no dialogue suddenly too soft, no volume differences when you change channels or switch sources.

Dolby Volume also uniquely ensures that the sound remains true to the original recording, at any volume setting. You’ll hear the quietest dialogue and background sounds, even at the lowest volume levels.

You can hear Dolby Volume in action, right now, in our demo.

Dolby Volume Benefits

Set the volume where you want it, then listen without sudden, distracting changes.

Hear natural, clear, and consistent sound at any chosen volume.

Customize the settings to suit your preferences and listening conditions.

Enjoy the full effects of surround sound, even at low volume levels.

Why Dolby Volume

The wide variety of program sources we enjoy—online and streaming video, CD, DVD and Blu-ray Disc™, cable or satellite TV, and more—often have widely varying volume levels. With Dolby Volume, this doesn’t matter. Set the volume level you want, and that’s the level you’ll get, no matter the source or program.

Dolby Volume goes well beyond providing a single, consistent volume level. It also maintains the original sonic balance of the mix, especially important when you’re listening on a surround sound system. At any level you set, you’ll always hear what the original producer intended, what we call reference-quality sound.

Features include:

Advanced digital signal processing technology based on the science of perceptual human hearing

Completely transparent operation, with no audible side effects or artifacts

The ability to go beyond simple leveling to preserve subtle nuances in the mix

Effective in surround sound, stereo, and even mono

Where You'll Find Dolby Volume

Dolby Volume is the preferred choice for manufacturers of premium TVs, A/V receivers, set-top boxes, and more. Click on the Products tab to see some specific equipment examples.

Are you a Dolby licensee or looking for more technical details? Learn more about Dolby Volume.

How Dolby Digital Plus Works

Modeled After Human Hearing

Dolby Volume preserves the integrity of the original recording by measuring, analyzing, and maintaining volume levels based on how we perceive sound. Dolby engineers have spent years developing algorithms that can determine when important auditory events occur—such as when a word begins or when a piano chord trails off.
Incorporating these algorithms, Dolby Volume:

Monitors and adjusts the volume level in real time

Intelligently compensates for the ear’s changing sensitivity as the gain changes

Delivers a consistent sound level that’s true to the original recording

The Complete Approach to Volume Control

Making the volume more even doesn’t fully solve the problem of volume control, especially when it involves lowering the level.

Our hearing becomes less sensitive to bass and treble as volume decreases. Most compensation techniques simply apply a fixed bass and treble boost as you lower the volume. This can result in muddy lows and shrill highs.

Worse yet, some leveling solutions simply boost gain in the surround speakers to compensate for signals that might become inaudible when you turn the volume down, for example, when you listen late at night. This throws off the entire balance of the mix.

Our hearing is complex. Such fixed boosts can’t account for what’s actually happening within the audio signal and individual frequency bands. Nor do they account for variations in content, such as an idling engine, dialogue, and an explosion within a movie soundtrack.

Dolby Volume adjusts loudness far more intelligently:

Monitors discrete frequencies and their content

Adjusts perceived loudness in up to 40 frequency bands

Makes adjustments only where necessary

Offers a more natural listening experience, more true to the original

Products with Dolby Volume

A/V Receivers 
TVs 
Set-top Boxes

Featured Products

To help give you an idea of what’s out there, we feature a number of select products from our partners. You’ll find Dolby Volume in many more products than we can show here.

Our product listings aren’t meant as specific recommendations or ratings.
GefenTV Volcont-D Volume Stabilizer 
Harman Kardon AVR 3600
Onkyo TX-NR5007 AVR 
Motorola DCX Series Set-top Boxes
Toshiba 55VX700U LED LCD TV 

Dolby Volume Specifications

The following charts show examples of Dolby Volume in action. The degree of loudness equalization that Dolby Volume applies is determined by the volume control setting on the TV set or playback system. In the case of surround sound systems equipped with automatic speaker balancing, it is determined by the actual sound-pressure level (SPL) of the playback.

Dolby Volume supports stereo or multichannel audio at up to 192 kHz/24 bits. It is implemented in processors available from a variety of integrated circuit (IC) suppliers to product manufacturers licensed by Dolby.

Dolby Volume responds instantly to differences in levels. Other volume levelers respond much more slowly for a much less effective correction.

 

Dolby Volume is intelligent enough to know which signals to boost, and it’s free of audible artifacts such as pumping and breathing.

 

Dolby Volume restores elements of the mix that would otherwise be lost when you turn down the volume. It ensures that softer sounds remain above our hearing threshold.