I'm looking for a Linux audio application or amplifier feature that keeps movie volume more consistent. For example, a film may switch from quiet dialogue to a very loud dramatic scene, which can be disruptive to neighbors. I'd like something that raises quieter sounds and reduces louder ones without changing the overall mix too drastically. I think the feature may be called compression, normalization, or dynamic-range compression. What software can provide this?
2 Answers
The feature you want is dynamic-range compression. It reduces the level of loud sounds and can increase quieter parts, making the overall volume less variable. On Linux, EasyEffects is probably the simplest option; it can use a compressor effect directly or load LV2 effects such as those from the LSP suite.
VLC has a volume-normalization filter that may help, but normalization and compression aren’t exactly the same. Normalization generally adjusts overall or track levels, while compression actively narrows the difference between quiet and loud sounds.
That distinction is helpful—compression sounds closer to what I need since the problem is sudden changes within the movie, not just different overall levels between files.