Or why not have it so that it is automatic. Not sure if this still happens, but I remember there used to be a little symbol that appeared on the screen when the adverts were about to start. This could be used to control the sound.

Or you could set an upper sound limit. Only problem is that, if you are watching a scarey movie your less likely to jum at a sound!

There is a feature on some TVs that solves such problems. It's called Auto Volume Level (AVL). This fixes the volume to a desired level even if you decide to surf through different channels.

In morden broadcasting the AVL feature is supposed to be turned on by the broadcaster, but in this case they don't because they want the adverts to draw your attention.

Try Sony or Philips TVs they have AVL features.

A while ago I was told that the regulators (in UK) already prohibit the ads from being measurably louder than the rest (i.e. voltage RMS or Watts) so the ads instead use audio compression (of the dynamic range) which still makes it seem louder to a human but a meter won't read any higher.

I don't know but I'd guess that if you add more compression to the whole audio stream and re-adjust the volume, then you wouldn't notice the variations as much. However it would probably sound worse than the originial.

I'd be interrested in hearing if the AVL works in practice.

A while ago I was told that the regulators (in UK) already prohibit the ads from being measurably louder than the rest (i.e. voltage RMS or Watts) so the ads instead use audio compression (of the dynamic range) which still makes it seem louder to a human but a meter won't read any higher.

I don't know but I'd guess that if you add more compression to the whole audio stream and re-adjust the volume, then you wouldn't notice the variations as much. However it would probably sound worse than the originial.

I'd be interrested in hearing if the AVL works in practice.