Okay, I think I understand. It's an "averaging" thing.
So, you are saying the commercials have no higher volume PEAKS than the show, just
everything in the commercial is cranked up to near-maximum. In other words, what you are saying is the average amplitude of every sound in the commercial's signal is NEAR MAXIMUM, where as the typical television show still has a near-max PEAK, but only occasionally when the car blows up (or some other loud event).
So the AVERAGE (wave body?) of the commercial is a higher volume, but not the peaks. Damn. That does make it difficult to solve...as there is no way to automatically tell the difference in the signals...or no way to just chop the painfully high "peaks".
But, there's got to be a solution. I refuse to give up!
So it has to be a solution that involves a reduced "averaging" somehow...hmmmm. (thinking/pondering)
There are $40 electronic hearing protectors that will allow me to hear a conversation, yet cut out the sound of a loud running saw (with a longer running "average") or a gunshot (peak).
I wonder if that circuitry is a PEAK LIMITER or if it uses averaging somehow...because I can still hear low "conversational" volumes, but it muffles the loud gunshot. Interesting.