The FCC and audio level consistency standards.

Once upon a time, before going to bed I turned on the television and lowered the volume just enough to understand it and still be able to fall asleep.

When I graduated from Ivy Tech with a degree in commercial television technology, there were strict standards concerning audio output levels. If you produced television commercials, you were required to stay within the limits specified so the audio signal was consistent with the programming signal. When I was working for TCI Cable Advertising, and even when our TCI office became AT&T Media Services, we still adhered to strict audio standards.

Comcast has mostly overrun the cable industry and audio level consistency standards, at least from my personal viewing experience, are out the window with the baby and the bath water.

I don’t know how the standards are on ABC, NBC and CBS, because I only watch “60 Minutes” and occasionally local news, and that’s it. No kidding. Every night I watch BBC News, Nightly Business Report, and News Hour on PBS, then switch over to MSNBC if there are no movies on FX, AMC, TNT, Spike, SyFy, or other channels that usually have movies or a whole series that I missed watching, like CSI and Burn Notice.

The problem now is really, really loud commercials. I get really annoyed when I have to pick up my remote control and mute commercials because they are so damn loud! Comcast’s own commercials are twice as loud as the programming, especially on the FX network when they are featuring a film that has Dolby surround sound.

Fantastic Four, Rise of the Silver Surfer is a perfect example where the dialogue is very soft, and the background sound effects are extra loud. I would pick up the remote without thinking and turn up the sound so I could hear the dialogue, then get blasted by the sound of explosions. Unfortunately, the commercials are at the same volume as the explosions.

There are no explosions on MSNBC or during the Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central, but the commercials are startling and annoying, creating a negative emotional impression for Comcast and other products.

I finally went to the website of the Federal Communication Commission (www.FCC.gov) and tried to find information on audio level standards so I could write a letter of complaint with some legal weight. NOPE.

I emailed the FCC requesting information about audio level standards and within minutes I received from them a document that stated the following:

Whether or not something is “too loud” is a judgment that varies with each listener. The decision is influenced by many factors like content and style, the speaker’s voice and tone, background sounds, and music.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) does not currently regulate the volume of programs or commercials. Broadcasters and program producers, however, have considerable latitude to vary the “loudness” of the program material.

The document goes on to suggest measures that consumers can take to control the volume on their own. You can see it at: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/backgroundnoise.html

Or, since I don’t care to spend money on such equipment as an automatic gain control circuit, I can turn off my television and select programming on the Internet where audio levels are more stable, and spend the rest of my time reading or listening to the radio.

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