Hur dåligt ljudet än är, vill barnen ändå se videon igen.

This pattern means however bad ... is or no matter how bad ... is.

So:

• Hur dåligt ljudet än är = However bad the sound is
• No matter how bad the audio is

This is a common Swedish structure:

• hur + adjective/adverb + noun/subject + än + verb

Examples:

• Hur trött jag än är, måste jag jobba. = However tired I am, I have to work.
• Hur svårt det än är, försöker hon. = No matter how difficult it is, she tries.

Here, än is part of this fixed concessive pattern. It does not mean the usual than from comparisons like större än = bigger than.

Because dåligt agrees with ljudet, and ljudet is an ett-word.

The noun is:

• ett ljud = a sound
• ljudet = the sound

Adjectives used with ett-words take -t in many basic forms:

• en dålig film
• ett dåligt ljud

So in this sentence:

• ljudet is neuter (ett noun)
• therefore the adjective is dåligt

That is why Swedish uses hur dåligt ljudet än är, not hur dålig ljudet än är.

Because Swedish often uses the definite form when English would say the.

• ljud = sound / a sound
• ljudet = the sound

In this sentence, we are talking about the specific sound of the video, so Swedish uses the definite form:

• ljudet = the sound/audio

This is very natural in Swedish. English might say the sound, the audio, or just the sound quality, but Swedish expresses that with the definite noun form.

In this sentence, än helps form a concessive expression: however/no matter how.

So:

• Hur dåligt ljudet än är = However bad the sound is

This is different from the more familiar use of än meaning than:

• större än = bigger than
• bättre än = better than

A useful way to remember it:

• after a comparative, än often means than
• after hur, vem, vad, etc. in this kind of structure, it often means ever / no matter

For example:

• Vad han än säger = Whatever he says
• Vem du än frågar = Whoever you ask
• Hur sent det än blir = However late it gets

Because the first part of the sentence comes before the main clause, and Swedish follows the V2 rule in main clauses.

The sentence begins with:

• Hur dåligt ljudet än är = a fronted subordinate/concessive phrase

After that, the main clause starts. In Swedish main clauses, the finite verb usually comes in second position, so you get:

• vill barnen ändå se videon igen

not:

• barnen vill ändå se videon igen

Compare:

• Barnen vill ändå se videon igen. = The children still want to watch the video again.
• Hur dåligt ljudet än är, vill barnen ändå se videon igen.

Because the opening phrase takes the first position, vill comes before barnen.

Ändå means still, anyway, or nevertheless.

In this sentence it reinforces the contrast:

• Hur dåligt ljudet än är = however bad the sound is
• vill barnen ändå se videon igen = the children still want to watch the video again

So ändå adds the idea of:

• despite that,
• even so,
• nevertheless

It is very natural here, because the whole sentence expresses contrast.

Without ändå, the sentence would still be understandable, but ändå makes the contrast clearer and more idiomatic.

Yes. Igen means again.

So:

• se videon igen = watch the video again

Word by word:

• se = see/watch
• videon = the video
• igen = again

In Swedish, se can often mean watch when talking about films, videos, TV, and so on.

Examples:

• Jag såg filmen igår. = I watched/saw the film yesterday.
• Vi vill se serien igen. = We want to watch the series again.

Videon is the definite singular of video.

• en video = a video
• videon = the video

Many en-words form the definite singular by adding -n, especially nouns that already end in a vowel.

Examples:

• en kamera → kameran
• en video → videon
• en idea/idé → idén

So videon is completely regular.

It can be understood as either the sound or the audio.

In everyday English, when talking about a video, many people would naturally say:

• However bad the audio is
• No matter how bad the sound is

Swedish ljud literally means sound, but in context it often refers to audio quality.

So even though the exact meaning is already known, it is useful to remember that ljud can cover both:

• physical sound
• the audio track / sound quality of media

Yes. The sentence uses a somewhat formal or literary pattern. A simpler everyday version could be:

• Även om ljudet är väldigt dåligt, vill barnen ändå se videon igen.
• Trots att ljudet är dåligt vill barnen ändå se videon igen.

These mean roughly the same thing:

• Even if the sound is very bad, the children still want to watch the video again.
• Although the sound is bad, the children still want to watch the video again.

The original sentence is not unnatural, but hur ... än ... is a more structured, slightly more advanced way to say it.

A helpful breakdown is:

• Hur dåligt ljudet än är
  = concessive clause: however bad the sound is

• vill barnen ändå se videon igen
  = main clause: the children still want to watch the video again

So the full pattern is:

[Concessive opener] + [main clause with V2 word order]

That gives:

• Hur dåligt ljudet än är, vill barnen ändå se videon igen.

A literal breakdown would be something like:

• How badly the sound ever is, want the children nevertheless see the video again

That literal version sounds strange in English, but it helps show how the Swedish grammar is built.