When you are watching TV and you turn the volume up or down with the remote control say from 17 to 16, 9 to 10, etc., how do you describe that single amount of volume? Is the word notch correct to describe this single amount of volume i.e. turn the volume down a notch, turn the volume up a few notches?
1 Answer
Calling it a notch would be fine.
The scientific unit of measure is a decibel, but that isn't something you would say unless you're talking to someone who knows what it is, and you know how that correlates to the gradations on the remote control.
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1+1 for the last clause: I know very well what a decibel is, but I had absolutely no idea that the volume ratings on the TV were actually in proper decibels. I'd always assumed they were some arbitrary unit chosen by the TV manufacturer.– KRyanJun 11, 2013 at 20:12
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6@KRyan If I understand correctly, that is indeed what Xenson is saying--sound is measured in decibels but the TV volume notches are arbitrary, so it would be meaningless to refer to them as decibels unless you knew that (for example) 6 notches equated to 1 decibel. Am I understanding correctly, Xenson? Jun 11, 2013 at 21:07
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TV notches are definitely not in decibels, because decibels are a logarithmic scale, but you want your volume control to be linear, so that each notch creates the same increase or decrease in volume.– BeejaminMar 9, 2016 at 22:16
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1@Beejamin I'm pretty sure it's the exact opposite actually - for audio the perception is logarithmic such that most controls are designed to be logarithmic Aug 11, 2019 at 16:10