The HD material is probably being mastered similarly to DVD's, which are normally significantly quieter than VHS, CD, or TV to provide a more dynamic range without distortion - it's unrelated to dialog normalization, and there's not much you can do about it unless you can control the volume separately for HD and standard channels at your cable or satellite box. To quote from Jim Taylor's DVD FAQ:
Many people complain that the audio level from DVD players is too low. In truth the audio level is too high on everything else. Movie soundtracks are extremely dynamic, ranging from near silence to intense explosions. In order to support an increased dynamic range and hit peaks (near the 2V RMS limit) without distortion, the average sound volume must be lower. This is why the line level from DVD players is lower than from almost all other sources. So far, unlike on CDs and LDs, the level is much more consistent between discs. If the change in volume when switching between DVD and other audio sources is annoying, you may be able to adjust the output signal level on some players or the input signal level on some receivers, but other than that, there's not much you can do.
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