CRL Systems TVS-3001 Audio Controller - short demo

A good example of how the CRL Systems TVS-3001 Television Audio Controller acts as a "magic hand on the volume control", to keep the audio at a constant loudness even as this song gets drastically quieter and then louder again. This is known as an Automatic Gain Controller (AGC), and the TVS-3001 is one of the better ones ever made, because it can accomplish this task with a minimum of unwanted artifacts.

In fact, you could even install it in your home theater system and use it while watching movies, so then you won't have to dive for the volume control anymore when there's a very quiet dialog scene followed by an extremely loud action scene that would suddenly blast you away, or vice versa. (Although the TVS-3001 was not designed for surround sound, matrixed surround systems such as Dolby Pro Logic II will be able to go through the processing without any loss of performance.)

The TVS-3001 is quite common on eBay, as many are coming from TV stations which are disposing of their old analog equipment, but prices vary widely, so it's worth waiting until you can find a good deal on one.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• crl
• systems
• circuit
• research
• labs
• tvs-3001
• tvs3001
• agc
• automatic
• gain
• control
• audio
• controller
• stereo
• tv
• television
• radio
• sound
• processor
• compressor
• multiband
• orban
• demo
• sample

[CenTexVideo]

Is the gating adjustable?

[vwest7ife]

@CenTexVideo No, it is fixed at -20 dB below the threshold of gain reduction. The attack and release times are also not user-adjustable, but seem to be pretty well-tuned for most material.

[atarimon]

They use anything like this in radio stations? Because I notice this a lot with songs on the radio versus my own CDs and whatnot. Mine are alot more soft.v.loud, while the radio is very even sounding...Either way, I'd LOVE to get one...

[vwest7ife]

@atarimon Yes, radio stations use even more aggressive audio processing than this.

[wilkes85]

That device is pretty cool. A lot like automatic level control on some tape recorders, except you don't actually hear the volume changing... and yes, that would be awesome to use when watching a movie. hehe

[grassulo]

I still really want one of those 911 DNR units, though It's looking like I'm going to just have to build my own from a DNR IC from an old ford radio and some perfboard, and without that really cool led indicator. Those DNR units fetch crazy prices on ebay.