Managing Loudness in a Digital Broadcast Infrastructure

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Publisher: SMPTE
Doc Type: Journal Article
Article Type: orig-research
Abstract: Loudness discrepancies have been a major source of headaches for the broadcast professional. With the emergence of worldwide loudness recommendations EBU R 128 and ATSC A-85, and regional loudness operating practices like Free TV Australia's OP.59, the worldwide broadcast community has been provided an opportunity to choose between two target loudness values, both of which use the ITU-R BS.1770-3 algorithm: −24dBLKFS (A-85) or −23dBLUFS (EBU). However, before corrective action can be taken to meet one of these recommendations, program loudness must be measured and the behavior of the professional integrated receiver/decoder (IRD) understood. A broadcaster's best efforts at controlling loudness while simultaneously meeting one of the published recommendations and reducing the number and frequency of viewer complaints can be undermined by just a few outlier programs or a delivery path that has not been appropriately managed. Rather than approaching the task piecemeal, a systemic approach is necessary to achieve the best results and reduce viewer complaints. However, as will be made clear, any solution must begin with measurement and logging of the broadcast signal off-air in order to select an appropriate approach to providing a consistent loudness to the viewer.
Publication Date: 2014-07-01
DOI: 10.5594/j18433
Link: https://doi.org/10.5594/j18433
Author(s): Michael Babbitt

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Michael Babbitt; Managing Loudness in a Digital Broadcast Infrastructure, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 123, Issue: 5, July 2014); SMPTE, 2014. Available at https://doi.org/10.5594/j18433

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Michael Babbitt; Managing Loudness in a Digital Broadcast Infrastructure, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 123, Issue: 5, July 2014); SMPTE, 2014. Available at https://doi.org/10.5594/j18433

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Michael Babbitt; Managing Loudness in a Digital Broadcast Infrastructure, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 123, Issue: 5, July 2014); SMPTE, 2014. Available at https://doi.org/10.5594/j18433

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<span class="citation">Michael Babbitt; <cite>Managing Loudness in a Digital Broadcast Infrastructure</cite>, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 123, Issue: 5, July 2014); SMPTE, 2014. Available at <a href="https://doi.org/10.5594/j18433" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://doi.org/10.5594/j18433</a></span>

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Michael Babbitt; Managing Loudness in a Digital Broadcast Infrastructure, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 123, Issue: 5, July 2014); SMPTE, 2014
doi: 10.5594/j18433
url: https://doi.org/10.5594/j18433

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Michael Babbitt; <cite id="bib-10-5594-j18433">Managing Loudness in a Digital Broadcast Infrastructure</cite>, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 123, Issue: 5, July 2014); SMPTE, 2014
<span class="doi">10.5594/j18433</span>
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