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Activity Forums Audio audio levels for TV broadcast

  • audio levels for TV broadcast

    Posted by James Nickell on March 2, 2017 at 8:24 pm

    Hello all, hopefully I’m in the right place. I work on a docu series and we received QC notes for our first episode, the issues were fixed on the broadcast side but we are being asked to stay within these guidelines going forward. The QC issues are

    -10db ceiling

    -20db floor

    ——-

    -6db peak

    Claps / yells etc

    The way I read this is that all dialog should be between -10 and -20DB or should all the sound be between those levels?

    I actually don’t know what —– means, possibly pieces of audio that have no tone or music?

    and that when someone yells or claps it can’t go above -6DB. If someone has experience with this and can confirm I’m right that would be of great help.

    Thanks!

    Bruce Watson replied 9 years, 2 months ago 3 Members · 3 Replies
  • 3 Replies
  • Peter Groom

    March 3, 2017 at 3:47 pm

    Hi.
    So I think you are reading the specs correctly, although the floor and ceiling doesnt just refer to dialogue, but anything. I dont see any words that specify this range as dialogue?

    Like you I have never seen ———- on any spec sheet.

    Is this US or UK. Im very surprised youre not being asked to deliver to a Loudness value.
    Peter

    Post Production Dubbing Mixer

  • James Nickell

    March 3, 2017 at 6:26 pm

    Thanks! we are in the US. My CO-Worker actually thinks the —— is them separating the top note from the bottom note, as in the audio levels should float between -10 and -20 and the peaks shouldn’t go above -6

    The reason we think it refers to the dialog is because raising the music to -20 would make it very loud but thank you for the feedback.

  • Bruce Watson

    March 3, 2017 at 10:23 pm

    The safest thing you can do is ask the specifier for clarification. They wrote the specs; they must know what they mean (or at least they should know what they really want). All I can do is guess, which I’m disinclined to do.

    I too am mystified at the lack of a LUFS target.

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