Roobok's Blog

Someone at the Ovation Channel needs more than a slap around the ears for broadcasting Vittorio Grigolo's 'Dreams of Rome'. Vittorio would be infuriated too if he knew what was happening.

Ovation Channel aired this superb singer's concert tonight at 19:30. So what has angered me so much? The sound!

It was awful, muffled, pumping compression throughout. Such sound is impossible to listen to. No one with an ounce of good taste could put himself or herself through this abysmal sound, and I had to switch channels. I owed Vittorio that much. Ovation has done this before to Vittorio, but I didn't complain.

Many years ago, while working in television, I had cause to call an FCC (Final Control Centre) directly to blast them over a major blunder. One seldom bypasses the appropriate management channels, but stuffing up the sound on 'my' Shirley Bassey concert earned them enough demerit points to send them to hell. The issue was as simple as Dolby settings.

Audio in the broadcasting industry is not as simple as inserting a home CD. That is why highly-trained professionals are employed to do the work. Their jobs are to ensure that we get the highest available quality when we tune in.

If the fault lay with a DVD or tape, the Vittorio concert should not have been broadcast. The error should have been noted the first time around.

Why did the Ovation Channel not offer any apology? Somewhere in the mix, is pure, unjustifiable incompetence.

There can be no excuses, whatever the reason.

Absolutely shocking sound

Update:

I have been told that the problem lay with the source material provided by Universal. The matter is being dealt with, and perhaps we'll see a re-screening of Vittorio Grigolo's masterpiece show in the near future.