Audio Volume on TV Commercial--What is the Law?

[samclem]

F*ing tv. Watching a movie with my daughter, when the commercial comes on you have to turn the volume WAY DOWN because it so freakin’ loud.

So, what’s the law on how loud a commercial can be, relative to the volume of the show you were watching?

[gotpasswords]

Here’s a recent news article about this very subject.

[Oslo_Ostragoth]

Sounds kinda thorny, with lots of squabbling over definitions, etc., but hell yeah. That issue makes me crazy.

[Critical1]

I know that it would make me want to shoot Billie Mayes in the face a hell of a lot less if he wasnt coming at me 400 decibels louder than whatever my roommate was watching.
I wont even turn on the tv but when its on thats one thing that really gets on my nerves is the sudden blast so loud it startles you.

[lobotomyboy63]

Circa 1985 I heard that some VCR mfrs were going to build units that would pause when commercials came on, resume when they finished—based on loudness, of course. But I guess they never got the bugs out of the system for it to work.

And that Billy Mayes (sp?)—I bet he’s equally annoying IRL.

[zagloba]

I wish the TV ad volume legislation would be applied to radio as well.

[Flander]

Aren’t TV’s and home entertainment receivers built with audio compressors and hard limiters now? Just turn that mofo on.

[aldiboronti]

For once we’re a step ahead in England.

The UK government body that regulates advertising passed new rules this month banning TV commercials that are too loud.

I remember that the advertisers would always insist that the commercials weren’t louder at all, they just seemed that way. Yeah, right.

[IAmNotSpartacus]

Could have sworn it was illegal and the FCC took in complaints. But upon further research it appears I’m incorrect.

Loud Commercials. The FCC does not regulate the volume of broadcast programming, including commercials. Surveys and technical studies reveal that the perceived loudness of particular broadcast matter is a subjective judgment that varies with each viewer and listener and is influenced by many factors, such as the material’s content and style and the voice and tone of the person speaking. The FCC has found no evidence that stations deliberately raise audio and modulation levels to emphasize commercial messages.

source: http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/decdoc/public_and_broadcasting.html

[jasonh300]

Commercials could not have an “average maximum loudness” that exceeds the programming that they accompany.

This language right here means that you’ll end up with a 30 second commercial with 25 seconds of silence and then 5 seconds of blaring “HEAD ON, APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE FOREHEAD”

[Captain_C]

Damn it jasonh300, I came into this thread to specifically make a joke about HEAD-ON, and now you’ve gone and stolen my thunder.

[jasonh300]

@Captain_C

Damn it jasonh300, I came into this thread to specifically make a joke about HEAD-ON, and now you’ve gone and stolen my thunder.

The earlybird gets the worm!

In all seriousness, I fell asleep last night with the TV on, volume low, and was awakened by this loud racket–and it was either a Vonage commercial or one of those silver banknotes from Liberia–it had me bolt upright in bed with my heart pounding. Scared the living hell out of me.

[Gbro]

I hate the high volume commercials too.

We are connected to a cable box, and there is a volume control within it. During normal programing I have to set the TV volume up high and also the cable box and its still very poor sound, But those commercials sure come through loud. When I put a disc or tape on to play it just about blow out the windows.

Must be some serious suppression somewhere.