Xiao Kui Posted May 7, 2009 at 01:05 AM Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 at 01:05 AM I've been in China for 10 yrs now, and it continues to amaze me the crappy sound quality of many of the news reports and TV shows. Static, background noise, etc, all seem to be acceptable. Happens a lot on regular TV talk shows, too. This is considered to be unprofessional in the west, and we rarely experience it on even our local news broadcasts. Has anyone else noticed this? Any ideas as to why the standards for sound quality are so low when it's apparent that Chinese broadcasting is pursuing excellence in so many areas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouseneb Posted May 7, 2009 at 03:13 AM Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 at 03:13 AM Well I was just at the Haikou (Hainan Provincial Capital) TV and Radio broadcast center to record some announcements about the H1N1 flu for broadcast at the Haikou Meilan Airport, and I was shocked to see the poor quality and general age of the equipment. We recorded our announcements onto TAPE and later they were re-recorded onto CDs. The age of much of the equipment as well as the general upkeep of the environment (we saw TONS of cockroaches and rats, as well as people smoking in the same room with the sound equipment) may negatively impact the sound quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiao Kui Posted May 7, 2009 at 02:25 PM Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 at 02:25 PM We recorded our announcements onto TAPE and later they were re-recorded onto CDs. Sounds like the HSK tingli section. Your experience explains a lot. I guess sound quality's just not a priority. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liuzhou Posted May 7, 2009 at 03:21 PM Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 at 03:21 PM I've done a fair bit of recording in the local Radio and Television Centre here in Liuzhou, Guangxi. The studios are 100% digital and very state of the art. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalaowai Posted May 7, 2009 at 06:55 PM Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 at 06:55 PM Any tingli course was garbage audio, usually on cassettes, or cassettes ripped to cd. haha TV improved a lot in Shanghai since they've introduced the digital cable boxes. It still depends what kind of TV you have, however with a good TV/speakers and the digital box it's just like back home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiao Kui Posted May 8, 2009 at 01:23 AM Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 at 01:23 AM Probably the things I'm taking issue with have more to do with the attentiveness of the sound technician than the the equipment itself. They seem to have a "cha bu duo" attitude. But I guess the upside is it's great tingli practice - if you can understand a news report with static, feedback, and an echo, then you can understand anything!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yang Rui Posted May 8, 2009 at 04:35 AM Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 at 04:35 AM I've noticed this too. I've also noticed that on some Taiwanese dramas the sound is awful. It sounds like they've shot all the scenes on camera mike and in some cases it sounds like the actors voices are dubbed on afterwards. I've also always wondered why on Chinese TV the sound so often seems out of sync with the picture. Does anyone know why this is? Could it be because of a terrible TV, or something to do with the way they broadcast it, or the way they record the sound? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gato Posted May 8, 2009 at 04:53 AM Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 at 04:53 AM I've also always wondered why on Chinese TV the sound so often seems out of sync with the picture. Does anyone know why this is? Could it be because of a terrible TV, or something to do with the way they broadcast it, or the way they record the sound? This is the result of dubbing, I think. The static/bad microphone problem mentioned by the OP, I have not noticed. Definitely not in the CCTV news coverage. CCTV is well able to afford the top-of-line equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiao Kui Posted May 8, 2009 at 05:12 AM Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 at 05:12 AM The static/bad microphone problem mentioned by the OP, I have not noticed. Definitely not in the CCTV news coverage. CCTV is well able to afford the top-of-line equipment. haha, actually, watching the CCTV Xinwen channel is what inspired me to post this, yesterday morning once on a news report, and then again on a documentary. i don't doubt their equipment is top of the line - i think perhaps the sound quality is considered acceptable as long as we can understand the speaker, and so perhaps the sound technician doesn't take time to adjust the sound. Anyway, thanks for everyone's feedback Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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