Few things can be placed under the “Need” column. Usually it’s food, clothing, and shelter but if you own or are about to own an HDTV you’ll want to make sure you have Automatic Volume Control (AVC).
When you watch TV, you do so assuming that since the volume is set to 17 or 24 that NBC, or FOX, or ESPN will all sound the same. The reality is that they may not especially when it comes to watching commercials. Many commercials have a much higher volume than the actual show you’re watching. If you have the volume up high enough it can be really annoying. AVC helps to prevent that annoyance.
Most of the newer HDTVs come with AVC as a stardard feature that you turn on through the menu. If you own an older television which doesn’t have this feature, you have two options if you can’t justify spending a couple hundred dollars just so commercials aren’t so loud.
The first is to make your own AVC controller. Tom Polk put one together and while it isn’t the prettiest gadget I’ve ever seen it’s commendable. The next option is to buy one. Best Buy sells one for $39.99.
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