bjs78 :
Hello everyone. I am having a problem with the audio when playing DVDs. I have a 10+ year old standard 32" TV (CRT) and a standard DVD player. When I play any DVD movie I am constantly having to turn the volume up and down. The dialogue (voices) come through very quiet and then I get blasted with any other sound when it switches scenes. I have tried adjusting the audio prperties on my TV (turning simulated surround on and off. adjusting the presets from movie, to music, to Standard, etc). I can't seem to figure it out. It is becoming extremely annoying. Any help is greatly appreciated. THanks everyone!
Many DVDs come with both 5.1 and stereo sound tracks - since all you have is stereo, choose that one from the "setup" menu on each DVD. Assuming you have connected the TV to the DVD player using the standard RCA red, white & yellow cables (or using SVHS or component substituting for the video), the player supposedly downmixes any 5.1 audio to stereo, but perhaps it doesn't do a good job, so you might just try the stereo track which is premixed at the source.
Also, many more recent DVD players will have both a "dialog enhancer" mode that increases volume to the center speaker in a 5.1 audio setup, and a "late night" or volume equalization mode to level source audio variations to avoid exactly what you describe above. I'd dig up the player manual and then try both.