The Turbulent Path to CALM TV: Bumpy Progress and Unintended Consequences

Metadata

Publisher: SMPTE — White Plains, NY, USA
Doc Type: Journal Article
Content Type: Original Research
Abbreviated Title: SMPTE Mot. Imag J.
Volume: 124, No. 7, pp. 57–61
Abstract: Engineers are familiar with the Law of Unintended Consequences. This paper tells the story of several unintended consequences related to audio which are in play today. The transition to digital delivery systems liberated audio from less than 40 dB of dynamic range. The creative community has been quick to exploit that increased dynamic range. That is the good news, but it is also the bad news. Without standards in place for digital operating points, sound mixers and producers have used levels varying over at least 30 dB. This has created consumer irritation. The industry realized these issues needed to be addressed. In 1996, the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) Board called for the first groups to provide guidance to the content creators and system operators. That work resulted in ATSC A/85. While the ATSC was at work, the U.S. Congress took the subject up and wrote the Commercial Advertisement Loudness (CALM) Act. How that Act intersects with A/85 is a crucial part of this story. Beyond the U.S. component of this story, this article also surveys the similar efforts conducted by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and others.
Publication Date: 2015-10-01
DOI: 10.5594/j18615
ISSN: Print: 1545-0279 | Electronic: 2160-2492
Link: https://doi.org/10.5594/j18615
Author(s): J. Patrick Waddell
bio
Patrick Waddell is a 40-year veteran of the broadcasting industry and is currently at Harmonic, Inc. He is a SMPTE Fellow and is currently chair of the ATSC's TSG/S6, the Specialist Group on Video/Audio Coding (which includes audio loudness). He was the founding chair of SMPTE 32NF, the Technology Committee on Network/Facilities Infrastructure, and he is currently the chair of the 32NF Working Group on Time Labeling and Synchronization, 32NF-80. Waddell represents Harmonic at a number of industry standards bodies, including the ATSC, Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB), Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE), and SMPTE. Waddell was the 2010 recipient of the ATSC's Bernard J. Lechner Outstanding Contributor Award and is the 2015 recipient of the SMPTE Excellence in Standards Award. He has also shared in nine Technical Emmy Awards. He is also a member of the AES, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Broadcast Technology Society (IEEE BTS), as well as a member of the IEEE BTS Distinguished Lecturer panel for 2012 through 2016.
Copyright: © 2015 Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, Inc.

Bibliographic Reference(s)

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EBU.Tech3341.2011 — ebu technical document 3341, 2011 EXTERNAL
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EBU.Tech3343.2011 — ebu technical document 3343, 2011 EXTERNAL
EBU.Tech3344.2011 — ebu technical document 3344, 2011 EXTERNAL
ISO.226.2003 — ISO 226:2003, “Acoustics—Normal Equal-Loudness-Level Contours,” International Organization for Standardization, London, UK, 2003; http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=34222. EXTERNAL
J. Riedmiller, S. Lyman, and C. Robinson, “Intelligent Program Loudness Measurement and Control: What Satisfies Listeners?” Proc. 115th Convention, Audio Engineering Society, New York, October 2003. EXTERNAL
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AES3, “AES Standard for Digital Audio—Digital Input-Output Interfacing—Serial Transmission Format for Two-Channel Linearly Represented Digital Audio Data,” Audio Engineering Society, New York, 1985. http://www.aes.org/publications/standards/search.cfm?docID=13. EXTERNAL
Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) Recommended Practice A/85, “Techniques for Establishing and Maintaining Audio Loudness for Digital Television,” ATSC, Washington, DC, 2013; http://atsc.org/recommended-practice/a85-techniques-for-establishing-and-maintaining-audio-loudness-for-digital-television/. EXTERNAL
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J. Patrick Waddell; The Turbulent Path to CALM TV: Bumpy Progress and Unintended Consequences, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 124, Issue: 7, October 2015); SMPTE, 2015. Available at https://doi.org/10.5594/j18615

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J. Patrick Waddell; The Turbulent Path to CALM TV: Bumpy Progress and Unintended Consequences, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 124, Issue: 7, October 2015); SMPTE, 2015. Available at https://doi.org/10.5594/j18615

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<span class="citation">J. Patrick Waddell; <cite>The Turbulent Path to CALM TV: Bumpy Progress and Unintended Consequences</cite>, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 124, Issue: 7, October 2015); SMPTE, 2015. Available at <a href="https://doi.org/10.5594/j18615" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://doi.org/10.5594/j18615</a></span>

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J. Patrick Waddell; The Turbulent Path to CALM TV: Bumpy Progress and Unintended Consequences, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal ( Volume: 124, Issue: 7, October 2015); SMPTE, 2015
doi: 10.5594/j18615
url: https://doi.org/10.5594/j18615

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<span class="doi">10.5594/j18615</span>
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