Quote:
Originally Posted by pbell  I'm curious, they're saying that ads won't be able to peak beyond a certain volume etc - the reason ads are loud is because they are slammed with a limiter right? The peak volume may be lower but it will be slammed all the same and TV ads will still be perceived as being much louder.
Am I wrong in thinking this way? |
If this were to ever happen, then advertisers could use the same spec sheet the networks already have. And these call for both a peak limit and a LKFS number to be adhered to.
Simply put, "slamming with a limiter" is detected by the LKFS meter. Right now ads are at -8 dbfs for the most part, but it is not uncommon for them to also be at -18, -17 LKFS (Some even louder). If ads are required to be at +/- 2 @ -23 LKFS then they can't be slammed.
A couple problems with this:
Right now I'm thinking of a spot I mixed that is playing on CBS,NBC,ABC and FOX as well as any number of cable channels. Everyone of these networks' spec sheet is different. It is unrealistic to think that I could or should have to make different mixes for every station a commercial airs on. So all the networks would have to agree on a spec and that seems very unlikely.
Another issue is how LKFS is an average. So take a show like American Idol, it might be at a reasonable LKFS level overall, but for sure it's intros and outros are not. Ba Da, Ba Da, Ba Da, Ba Da, BaDow, Ba Da is at like -15 LKFS!
So if my investment bank spot comes in after that @ -23, then it is going to sound low.
I recently have tried to make an effort to be more in line with the networks' specs. I am currently in jeopardy of losing at least one client over it.