Topic of the month - November 2010
LOUDNESS NORMALISATION FOR BROADCAST SOUND
Because modern digital sound offers extreme dynamic range in a plethora of formats and with varying channel counts from mono to 5.1 surround, both discrete & matrixed, and because of a lack of standardised metering tools that measured subjective loudness rather than the much more commonly employed peak loudness systems, the results have been chaotic - a sort of "loudness war" with often wildy fluctuating volumes. For a full review of the problems - and the proposed solution
There is also EBU R-128 for details on this and also R 128 amends the ITU proposal, which provided the groundwork, by adding 3 new parameters for Programme Loudness, Loudness Range & True Peak Level - all fully explained in the PDF.
Opus Productions are fully geared up for these new standards, and will be happy to advise as to a programme's compliance with these recommendations and correct if required.
Are these proposals likely to help matters or further confuse the issue? Please feel free to tell us your thoughts (confidentially, of course)