Macbook Pro - increase volume?

[onceagain]

Does anyone know of any hacks of some kind that can increase the max sound volume on a Macbook Pro?? When watching movies on Netflix, I can sometimes barely hear anything. I need to solve this.

I'm not concerned about damaging the speakers - if I can't hear anything, they're not doing me any good anyway. I just want a solution.

[DeltaMac]

Here's one solution - Headphones, or external speakers
Sorry, that's two!

[styrafome]

Is the Netflix volume also maxed out? Always check both your application and hardware volume. For example, sometimes I forget that I turned down the volume on YouTube.

Some software can boost it. For example, if you run the sound through Audio Hijack, it has some volume boosting filters you can apply. But often you can't boost very far without introducing distortion.

[onceagain]

Quote: Originally Posted by DeltaMac Here's one solution - Headphones, or external speakers. Sorry, that's two!

Thank you, Captain Obvious. I'm shocked, shocked, that these "solutions" didn't occur to me.

[onceagain]

Quote: Originally Posted by styrafome Is the Netflix volume also maxed out?

Yeah, I had it maxed out.

Quote: Some software can boost it.

Yeah, but I don't want to have to buy anything - at least not for as much as that guy wants for AH. I might pay $5 for a little hac, but not $30, $40, $50, etc.

FWIW, I very rarely use iTunes, but when I do, its volume is sufficient....and of course, whenever I land on a stupid web page that starts sound/video without me asking, it's always very loud. It's really just an issue when listening to movies via Netflix.

[DeltaMac]

Quote: Originally Posted by onceagain Thank you, Captain Obvious. I'm shocked, shocked, that these "solutions" didn't occur to me.

You don't have to call me 'Captain' - My friends call me - well, nevermind what they call me....
And - not so obvious to some folks. If cranking up the gain a bit doesn't help, headphones are still there, with one of the little foldup variety - takes up almost no space in a laptop bag, and for those occasions when you might want some private listening, eh?

[onceagain]

Quote: Originally Posted by DeltaMac You don't have to call me 'Captain' - My friends call me - well, nevermind what they call me.... And - not so obvious to some folks. If cranking up the gain a bit doesn't help, headphones are still there, with one of the little foldup variety - takes up almost no space in a laptop bag, and for those occasions when you might want some private listening, eh?

Watching movies with my wife with each of us having headphones on is just not something I am interested in. External speakers are way too much of a pain in the ass for the environment in which we watch movies. I don't even like having a power cord plugged in.

Please just trust me when I say that what I would like here is to simply increase the volume - without the addition of any other hardware. (:

[NaOH]

It probably won't help for streaming movies from Netflix, but VLC can play movies at a louder volume than built-in Apple applications (Front Row, QuickTime, DVD Player, etc.). Since I don't use Netflix, I have no way of knowing if the VLC capability to play URL-based streams can be used with Netflix.

[onceagain]

Quote: Originally Posted by NaOH It probably won't help for streaming movies from Netflix, but VLC can play movies at a louder volume than built-in Apple applications (Front Row, QuickTime, DVD Player, etc.). Since I don't use Netflix, I have no way of knowing if the VLC capability to play URL-based streams can be used with Netflix.

I doubt it can. A big deal about Netflix is its use of MS Silverlight to prevent pirating. This being the case, I doubt that you can use VLC to some how "grab" the stream and increase the volume.

Given that VLC, Audio Hijack and others can play at louder volume, it just seems like there must be SOME way to easily bump up the limit that the OS/Firefox/Silverlight or whatever is normally using. There has to be.

Dammit.

Thanks for your input though. I do appreciate it (:

[cwtnospam]

Quote: Originally Posted by onceagain A big deal about Netflix is its use of MS Silverlight...

Well that's two strikes right off the bat for Netflix. They start out with one for spamming pop-under windows.

Do you own a stereo or a boom box? You could run the audio to it.

[onceagain]

Quote: Originally Posted by cwtnospam Well that's two strikes right off the bat for Netflix. They start out with one for spamming pop-under windows.

I'm not pleased either, but it's better than nothing. They used to not support Macs at all - but still charged Mac users the same price for their service. That's why I did without them for so long. As soon as they supported Macs (Intel only, by the way), I signed up.

Quote: Do you own a stereo or a boom box? You could run the audio to it.

Sure. I COULD. But it is inconvenient and doesn't meet my targeted needs - which, in this case, is sitting anywhere I want in my house and watching a movie on my laptop, without having to worry about cords of any kind. If I want to be tethered, I might as well just watch a movie on TV.

We have no TV (or stereo) in our bedroom, and we don't want one in there either. No room or desire to put in speakers, and don't want to have to run a cord/cable anyway. But sometimes we want to sit in there and watch a movie - or sometimes in the dining room, or kitchen, or garage. Laptop isn't all that portable if I have to put external speakers in all of those places and hook up to them.

All these non-Apple programs are getting more sound - so clearly it is possible in the hardware. It's just a matter of cranking it up somehow. I swear, there is $10/copy for anyone who puts together a little app it do this. Too bad TinkerTool doesn't do it - that would be the perfect way to go about it.

[cwtnospam]

Quote: Originally Posted by onceagain I'm not pleased either, but it's better than nothing.

There's hulu, youtube, and the local video store. Plus, nothing is better than supporting a spammer.

[styrafome]

Quote: Originally Posted by onceagain I swear, there is $10/copy for anyone who puts together a little app it do this. Too bad TinkerTool doesn't do it - that would be the perfect way to go about it.

What TinkerTool does is give you access to hidden preferences, it doesn't do any processing or modification of data. Even if the volume modification capability was free, it's enough outside the scope of TinkerTool that it would probably still be provided in a different free utility.

[NaOH]

Quote: Originally Posted by onceagain All these non-Apple programs are getting more sound - so clearly it is possible in the hardware. It's just a matter of cranking it up somehow.

You've clearly stated here what the situation is, and the situation is an application-specific one. That leaves your browser, Silverlight, and any program which can affect them as sources of resolution. For the third option, the only thing people seem to know of as a possibility is Audio Hijack Pro. You're making clear that this sound issue is something really important to you, and the application is free to try, but you immediately disregarded it due to cost.

I have that program for completely different reasons. I've had it for three years, and I have probably used it 60 times through three major versions of the Mac OS. For my standards, the money was well spent. It sounds like you would use the application more often than I do, so it seems like you ought to at least give it a try.

On the other hand, this seems like an issue which comes not from your computer but from Netflix. Have you tried contacting them? Searching their forums and support sites?

Quote: Originally Posted by onceagain I swear, there is $10/copy for anyone who puts together a little app it do this. Too bad TinkerTool doesn't do it - that would be the perfect way to go about it.

Swear all you want, $10 of income to satisfy one user isn't a good proposition for a developer. If you find a new developer who only charges $50 per hour, this little app would need to be written in just 12 minutes to satisfy the user. And the user better not require any tech support.

Plus, why bother? Earlier you said you "might pay $5" for a solution. Now you're at $10. At the rate this is going, in 2½ more days you'll be willing to spring for a license of Audio Hijack Pro.

[onceagain]

Thanks anyway.

[onceagain]

Well, I verified Audio Hijack Pro will indeed make the sound from Netflix louder than it otherwise is. So what I want is definitely possible. It would be nice to have a more streamlined way of doing it though. AHP is a rather cumbersome way of just making the speakers louder.

[anika123]

haha, check out this old thread from 2006 that has all these same points and 3 years later the same solution. New speakers or Audio Hijack.

http://forums.macosxhints.com/showthread.php?t=58840

I am using Macbook Pro and havent get the problem yet.

[onceagain]

Quote: Originally Posted by mean I am using Macbook Pro and havent get the problem yet.

It's possible you're not as deaf as I am.

[Dereck]

Has anyone tried this volume booster, Boom? http://www.globaldelight.com/boom

It won the best of show award at Macworld 2011, looks handy