Brian Bowers said:
Didn't radio have this whole loudness thing solved a long time ago? In other words, most radio station's average volume level is very consistent. Some stations are very compressed, some overly compressed, and the classical's and jazz stations more open...usually. I can't think of one radio station I listen to, where I am bombarded with loud commericals or music, so much so, that I need to go for the volume control. For the most part, radio's loudness is very consistent. Why did TV have such a problem following radio's trend? Most radio processors do a fantastic job of riding gain, along with a million other available adjustments. Couldn't those same processors have stamped with a label for TV, and marketed for TV? I know Orban used to make a processor for TV. As you can see, I've never been in TV, only radio.
Brian, did you take time to watch just a little bit of those videos? It would all make much more sense...
It's not an issue that no processing is used (well, somewhere that is the case, but not as a rule). Most TV stations do have processors. That's not a problem.
This is a change, a paradigm shift if you want - from peak normalization to loudness normalization. (Btw, some people are advocating that the same be made to the digital radio.)
There are two goals - loudness consistency. And a broadcast regulation where overprocessing and overly compressing the sound will not gain you benefit.
So far, the broadcast has been peak normalized. There were loudness wars, people pushing their processing in order to raise that average level more closer to the peak ceiling. Why? Because peak ceiling was the standard. That's what the regulator was measuring.
The change now in TV is that the peak ceiling is not a primary one. The average one is - loudness. And it's been set fairly low, making the peak level almost irrelevant.
Let's say you've pushed your processor so that your average level is at -10 dB below the peak level which sits at 0dB. The system has been peak based and you wanted to be as loud, or louder, than the competition. So you've adjusted the processor to have a peak-to-average level of 10dB. Now the regulator says: your average level - loudness, measures -10 dB, but the new standard requires your loudness to be -24 dB. You are required to reduce the output of your processor by 14 dB. And you do (otherwise you get fined).
So now your average level is at -24 and your peak level is at -14 dB. So you squeeze your processor further and reduce your peak-to-average level to 8dB. This raises your average level by 2dB while peak stays the same. Your average level is now at -22 and you peak level remains at -14 dB. But you are required to keep you average (loudness) at -24. It's now at -22. You need to reduce the output by 2dB and comply. So you do. You now have a very compressed sound with and average level of -24 and a peak level of -16 dB.
Your competitor is smarter... He has had a 10dB of peak-to-average ratio just like you, but when they said he needs to make his average level -24, he relaxed his processor and adjusted it so it has 15 dB of peak-to-average ratio, and adjusted the output so that his average level sits at -24, as required by the regulator. Your average level also sits at -24 (as required) but your sound is all squashed and compressed because it has a low small peak-to-average ratio killing all the micro-dynamics. His sounds much more alive and relaxed and has the transient impact and the micro dynamics. You are not louder, because your are both loudness matched! Squeezing your processor didn't help you at all.
Overprocessing your advertisements will no longer make them louder, because we (almost) don't care about the peak level anymore, we care about the average level. You can still squash your audio, if you want. But it no longer makes it louder as we measure how loud it is and keep it at the same loudness as everything else.
I've oversimplified things and I'm not technically correct here, but that's the point...
Regards,
Goran Tomas