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Reduced Audio Mode [TV] #2

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opened 2026-08-20 23:02:55 +00:00 by jmarya · 0 comments
jmarya commented 2026-08-20 23:02:55 +00:00
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It would be useful to have a “Reduce Loud Sounds” / Night Mode for the NixOS TV box, similar to the Apple TV feature.

The goal is to reduce the dynamic range of movies and TV shows so dialogue can remain clearly audible without explosions, music, or other effects suddenly becoming extremely loud.

Desired behavior

  • Normal mode: audio goes to HDMI unchanged.
  • Reduce Loud Sounds: audio passes through dynamic-range compression and a limiter before going to HDMI.
  • The mode should be toggleable at runtime, ideally from a remote-control button or the TV UI.
  • Switching modes should not require restarting PipeWire, Kodi, or other applications.
  • Applications should continue using the same/default audio output rather than having to manually select a separate sink.

Conceptually:

Normal:
Application ─────────────────────→ HDMI

Reduce Loud Sounds:
Application → Compressor → Limiter → HDMI

Possible implementation

This could potentially be implemented using PipeWire + WirePlumber.

PipeWire's filter-chain could provide the DSP processing, with a compressor followed by a limiter. WirePlumber's Smart Filters could then transparently insert/bypass that processing chain for the HDMI output.

The filter could remain loaded while WirePlumber toggles whether it is active. This would allow commands along the lines of:

tv-audio normal
tv-audio night
tv-audio toggle
tv-audio status

These could later be bound to a remote-control button.

A first implementation doesn't need to exactly reproduce Apple's processing. A normal soft-knee compressor with reasonable attack/release settings, makeup gain, and a final limiter would probably already provide most of the benefit.

Possible future improvements could include:

  • multiband compression
  • reduced sensitivity to very low-frequency effects
  • dialogue-frequency preservation
  • special handling of the center channel for 5.1/7.1 sources
  • LFE reduction in night mode
  • an on-screen indication when the mode is toggled

The important part is that this should be an optional runtime audio mode, not permanent processing of all audio.

It would be useful to have a **“Reduce Loud Sounds” / Night Mode** for the NixOS TV box, similar to the Apple TV feature. The goal is to reduce the dynamic range of movies and TV shows so dialogue can remain clearly audible without explosions, music, or other effects suddenly becoming extremely loud. ### Desired behavior * **Normal mode:** audio goes to HDMI unchanged. * **Reduce Loud Sounds:** audio passes through dynamic-range compression and a limiter before going to HDMI. * The mode should be **toggleable at runtime**, ideally from a remote-control button or the TV UI. * Switching modes should not require restarting PipeWire, Kodi, or other applications. * Applications should continue using the same/default audio output rather than having to manually select a separate sink. Conceptually: ```text Normal: Application ─────────────────────→ HDMI Reduce Loud Sounds: Application → Compressor → Limiter → HDMI ``` ### Possible implementation This could potentially be implemented using **PipeWire + WirePlumber**. PipeWire's `filter-chain` could provide the DSP processing, with a compressor followed by a limiter. WirePlumber's **Smart Filters** could then transparently insert/bypass that processing chain for the HDMI output. The filter could remain loaded while WirePlumber toggles whether it is active. This would allow commands along the lines of: ```bash tv-audio normal tv-audio night tv-audio toggle tv-audio status ``` These could later be bound to a remote-control button. A first implementation doesn't need to exactly reproduce Apple's processing. A normal soft-knee compressor with reasonable attack/release settings, makeup gain, and a final limiter would probably already provide most of the benefit. Possible future improvements could include: * multiband compression * reduced sensitivity to very low-frequency effects * dialogue-frequency preservation * special handling of the center channel for 5.1/7.1 sources * LFE reduction in night mode * an on-screen indication when the mode is toggled The important part is that this should be an **optional runtime audio mode**, not permanent processing of all audio.
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jmarya/myverse#2
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