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The Mute button on the remote is surprisingly useful for this (but not if they overlay the regular programming, obviously). The sound is a big part of why we hate the ads.

You'd be amazed how un-annoying it is to watch commercials with the sound off. Sometimes you watch and wonder what it's actually an ad FOR.

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One reason for this is that ads generally have a high dynamic compression applied to the audio to make them seem louder. It’s jarring because the content you’re watching has a more reasonable level of dynamic compression.

That's a good point, but I think I'd still find the audio annoying even at low volume. The images... now, those are sometimes interesting to watch, muted.

What I really hate about ads on YT (chromecast) especially is that they come with no warning. Just BAM, in your face. They have added a countdown recently which makes it better because I can anticipate my experience sucking and turn off the sound.

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