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Posted: Dec 14 2011 11:34 am

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45660862

Quote:

U.S. communications regulators cracked down on excessively loud TV commercials on Tuesday, implementing a bill passed last year to quiet commercials to the same volume as the programs they accompany.

The commission voted unanimously to require TV stations and cable and satellite operators to ensure that the average volume of a commercial does not exceed the average volume of the programming around it. Commissioner Mignon Clyburn added that the agency's latest rulemaking will put an end to the "frightening decibel levels that resulted in considerable alarm, anger and spilt popcorn."

The new FCC rules enacting the CALM Act will go into effect in a year, giving TV providers until Dec. 13, 2012, to comply.

Thank You. So much Thank you.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

So, lets say that the average DB level of the dialog in a normalized TV show is 65db, yet the low levels are at 30db and peak are 75db.

Could a 30 second commercial have an average of 65db by keeping their sound at 0-30db for 20 seconds and then having a few seconds of 85-90db?

By the way, I have no idea what is reasonable for volume, I am just using the numbers as an example of how averages might be a bad idea.

Posted: Dec 14 2011 02:52 pm

Certain cable channels are horrifying about this.

I would also think that the FCC accounted for that and enacted some maximum with it dependent on channel.

Posted: Dec 14 2011 04:04 pm

It is good to see that this finally passed. At least my Dad will be happy, though I imagine he will still mute the commercials out of habit. I doubt the jacked up volume did anything to increase sales anyway, I know that if I constantly got hit with a commercial that was excessively loud I'd go out of my way to never buy that product.

Posted: Dec 14 2011 04:27 pm

GPFontaine wrote:

By the way, I have no idea what is reasonable for volume, I am just using the numbers as an example of how averages might be a bad idea.

Copied from a txt file I found:

3.5 (P) 0.0000000001 METERS OF MERCURY
10 (P) ABSOLUTE SILENCE, ATT-BELL LABORATORY “ QUIET ROOM “
13 (P) ORDINARY LIGHT BULB HUM
15 (N) A PIN DROP FROM A HEIGHT OF 1 CENTIMETER AT A DISTANCE OF 1 METER
30 (P) TOTALLY QUIET NIGHTIME IN DESERT-IMPOSSIBLE ANYWHERE NEAR CITY
35 (P) ANECHOIC HEARING TEST ROOM
40 A WHISPER,
60 A NORMAL CONVERSATION
70. NORMAL SOUND 70 DB
73.98(P) = 1 uBAR = 1 microbar pressure
85 BEGINNING OF HEARING DAMAGE, EARPLUGS SHOULD BE WORN
93.98(P) = 1 PASCAL PRESSURE
100 NORMAL AVERAGE CAR OR HOUSE STEREO AT MAXIMUM VOLUME

Posted: Dec 14 2011 06:21 pm

And what exactly does that 0.0000000001 meters of mercury do to produce that sound?

Joined: Apr 09 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 3112

Convenient. I remember Crysis 2 commercials being particularly heinous about this.

Posted: Dec 15 2011 12:52 pm

The-Excel wrote:

And what exactly does that 0.0000000001 meters of mercury do to produce that sound?

Probably the molecules vibrating.

Joined: Apr 14 2006 Location: Lake Michigan Posts: 3332

I've been waiting forever for this bill to take effect.