House Votes to Turn Down Loud TV Commercials

[The Straight Story]

House Votes to Turn Down Loud TV Commercials



WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House has voted to level off the abrupt spikes in volume felt by television viewers during commercial breaks.

The bill -- approved by a voice vote -- is aimed at stopping TV ads from playing noticeably louder than programs.

Supporters said the measure would alleviate a common irritation that leads consumers to scramble for the mute button as they watch their favorite shows.

The legislation requires the Federal Communications Commission to adopt guidelines developed by the TV industry.

Right now, the government doesn't have much say in the volume of TV ads.

http://www.news10.net/life/entertainment/story.aspx?storyid=71881&catid=37

[Romulox]

1. Doubt this will work. Commercials are EQed quite differently to catch your attention

The audio in commercials is massively compressed in order to exaggerate frequencies most easily heard by the human ear. This process, while effective, leads to a quick onset of ear fatigue, even at volume levels that are equal to those of the actual program.

Anyone I've ever met who's had some sort of intelligent volume limiter feature built into their TV has agreed it hasn't been effective at all...

[apocalypsehow]

3. All that being true, what you wanna bet that if the FCC tells the television stations "find a way to

keep the volume of your commercials consistent with the volume of your programs or face a $10,000 fine per complaint," that those wondrous technicians and engineers in those control booths won't find a way to comply?

Hefty fines do wonders to concentrate the corporate mind on doing the right thing, no matter the technical difficulties....

[SoCalNative]

6. It's not about a volume limiter in one's TV set

it's about requiring audio leveling at the network/broadcast level so that the program and commercials maintain the same range throughout.

[Romulox]

9. Right. But if they continue to boost the mid-range and compress the heck out of the audio

simply requiring a constant volume won't solve the problem.

[Wilms]

10. Correct. There'll be no difference in "volume". But there'll be a difference in "loudness".

And this is one of the boxes that can tell the difference.



Another way to see the difference is using this freebie...



The software accepts two-channel stereo inputs and displays instantaneous peaks, VU, PPM, CBS Technology Center loudness, and ITU BS.1770 loudness.

http://www.orban.com/meter/

[Frosty1]

2. Talk about reinventing the wheel

This used to be the law till the republicans changed it. I can't remember if it happened during Reagen or Pappy Bush's administrations.

[we can do it]

4. Wow Such Important Legislation - TV Volume YES Healthcare Why Bother

[Joe Chi Minh]

7. Yes, Healthcare is of paramount importance, but don't knock that

bill.

If only we could get such a bill passed in the UK. So many initiatives to minimize litter and pollution, but for hard-working people (i.e. those lucky enough to have a job or three), to come home, sit in their armchair for an evening's relaxing viewing, and then have to dive for the remote every five minutes to lower the volume, is outrageous.

I know it's not the volume as such, but the way they strain out certain registers of sounds, but doing that was just Big Business's way of mocking the legislators and the people of the country. You in the US, particularly, are subject to enormous stresses every day, even by UK standards including many that might be subliminal most of the time, such as your health and the cost of medical treatment. Even in the UK, billions are lost to industry each year from days or weeks off for sickness, due to stress.

[Cetacea]

14. Think of it more as a big F----You to Reagan.

He's the one who deregulated it to begin with.

[The Revolution]

21. The House already passed a Healthcare bill

Granted, it might not be what everyone was hoping for, but it's not really fair to say "why bother" when they did pass something.

But this bill sounds like a good idea anyway. I wish they'd also limit the number of commercials that networks can show.

[phantom power]

5. Congressmen watch TV commercials, but they already have health care.

They're solving problems that they have.

[BunkerHill24]

8. Billy Mays is dead once more,...Oh NO!! n/t

[Renew Deal]

13. This is not targeting infomercials

The problem is regular TV.

[1]

11. what? eh?

[Renew Deal]

12. This is good news. And I think TV stations are turning down the volume of general programming

And then cranking it up for commercials. My TV isn't as loud as it used to be for some TV. It works fine for DVD's and video games.

[Mopar151]

23. Has to do with "dynamic range"

In real life, there is a huge difference in volume between the softest perceptible sound and the loudest you can stand. All recorded sofund is "comperssed to some degree, 'Cuz there ain't an amp big enough... but as TV sound has generally improved, the engineers have increased the difference between loud and soft in most programs - but the advertisers want their message to be "all loud, all the time".
And the better your TV sound system is, i.e. Dolby 5.1, 200 watts, subwoofer... , the worse the problem is.

[guitar man]

25. Spot on

The problem you run into is that in a segment of program material, like a move or tv show, there might be everything from crickets chirping and birds singing to explosions and everything in between. Most commercials are just designed to scream at you for 30 seconds. Reconciling the average SPL of a 30 second commercial with the average SPL of a 15 minute program segment could prove rather difficult.

[Mopar151]

26. And post #15

Proves your sig. line eloquently....

[guitar man]

27. why yes it does

doesn't it? :D

[tomm2thumbs]

15. so critical - these votes border on surreal - let's vote for more salt on saltines next

these dumf*cks are making sure they get voted out next time around - they are literally writing the ads themselves

[Renew Deal]

18. Actually, I think this is widely popular.

It passed on a voice vote.

[arcadian]

16. This is what they concern themselves with?

Geee, why not get some more sports strs on the Hill tp talk about steroids? What a fucking joke.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

17. I always thought that was psychological.

Jim Lehrer can drone on at the same volume that Billy Mays shouts at, but Billy Mays sounds louder.

[placton]

19. but they don't have "time" for real shit

asswipes

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

20. Quick- someone add this to the "accomplishments" list!!

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

22. commercials are louder so you can still hear them when

you get up to go to the kitchen or bathroom.

you can run but you can't hide.

[Mopar151]

24. I might take to shootin' the television...

"I took my pistol, of solid steel cast,
In the blessed name of Elvis
I let that sucka blast!
The Judge says 'I can see by your eyes, friend,
Your'e just about gone...
I said there's 57 Channels and nuthin on...."
Bruce Springsteen

quote from my defective memory - correct here, and a nice acoustic version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5scpDev1qps