As one of the most mainstream streaming platforms, Hulu is a favorite when it comes to watching old favorites and bingeing new ones. Those who pay for the service are sure to encounter multiple hours of epic programming, but how much they pay determines whether they deal with the service’s loudest issue.
For those who suffer and buffer through ads in their Hulu experience, they may notice some ear-shattering audio whenever a commercial plays. This is actually a way for ad companies to weasel their way into viewers’ ears, hearts and minds, and it’s incredibly annoying. Here’s why this Hulu user problem exists and the best ways users can protect their eardrums from it.
How Hulu Initially Escaped the Ad-pocalypse
When streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu leveled the playing field for watching television, it caused the traditional method of advertising to highly reconsider how they’d get consumers’ attention now. In the case of Hulu, lower-paid subscription tiers were still supported by ads, allowing those who lived and died via commercials to still make their bones. Sadly, these ads are more than just annoying for Hulu users: they’re unnerving as well, due mainly to just how loud they are.
Even if streamers are watching How I Met Your Father at a normal volume, the second that an ad starts playing, the sound may jet upward to deafening degrees. Sometimes, the volume may remain at a normal or tolerable level before suddenly crescendoing to a screeching height. There’s a sneaky reason for this audio assault, and thankfully, there are also different ways to stop it from happening.
Why Hulu’s Ads are So Loud
Back in 2010, the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act was passed, making it outright illegal for a commercial to be drastically louder than the average volume of the channel that it airs on. Given that streaming platforms like Hulu could all be considered the same “channel,” this should theoretically eliminate this issue. However, advertisers who didn’t want their commercials easily ignored figured out how to circumvent this regulation.
Some ads on Hulu will start off maintaining the volume of whatever show the viewer had been watching before slowly but surely blaring on all cylinders. Hulu is supposedly working on a solution, but they also recommend that users set their TV audio systems to automatically regulate any changes in programming volume. Likewise, computer viewers can simply have their laptop or desktop mute the volume whenever these ads begin.
Contacting the FCC is also an option, though it’s likely not one that the average streamer wants to take. When all else fails and ears begin to ring, irate viewers can always just upgrade and eschew ads entirely.
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