While your point is not lost on me, i think you missed the central point that Mike Brown was making. The problem for the truck engineer is that there are so many systems hitting his mix after it leaves the truck that there is no way to adequately plan and compensate for them all. The approach you are suggesting worked well back in the day when nearly all TVs had a 5 inch mono speaker for audio. Now that's just not the case. For instance, let's say he squeezes all the dynamics out and 'adjusts the mix for clarity'. Chances are that that mix is gonna sound pretty awful in my properly set up 5.1 home theater, assuming it actually arrives at it's destination even resembling it's original self. Factor in all the myriad of devices, Codecs, and A/D and D/A conversions along the way and you've got an untenable situation.
I think Mike's main point is a valid one. Top level broadcast engineers didn't get there while remaining clueless as to how to generate a competent mix. Pretty much all the truck mixes i've heard, and done, left the truck sounding quite good. The issue we're having now is that the equipment the signal passes through on it's way to your TV set adheres to no real standard, so the end result is all over the place. This is a direct result of the evolution of broadcast audio, including 5.1 technology. There are just simply too many variables and too many manufacturers who adhere to whatever methodology they feel is best. And until the industry sets and adheres to some kind of measurable standard, this situation will continue.
