[Paul Maunder]

For stereo TV broadcasts, the peak level is usually either -10dB, or -12db. It varies from station to station, so it’s worth checking. If your audio currently has a very wide dynamic range, you might want to consider applying some dynamic range compression using something like the Dynamics Processor, which ships with Final Cut as an Audio Units plug-in. This will allow you to keep the peak level at -12, whilst bringing the average program level up.

One other thing to consider is that there are also standards for dialogue levels. To add to the confusion, this is typically measure on another scale, called the PPM scale. Normally, a broadcaster will require dialogue to fall between PPM 3 and PPM 5 (UKPPM), although it can peak at 6 briefly. I’d recommend looking into how the PPM scale relates to the standard digital (dBfs) scale. Here’s a useful reference chart.

If all of the above seems too much, just follow these simple rules (I’m assuming that the station has a -12dB peak level:

1: Make sure no dialogue falls below -20dB on the final cut pro meters.
2: Make sure the overall peak level of the whole mix doesn’t exceed -12dB on the same meters.

[Paul Maunder]

Thanks for the quick response David. It sounds like purchasing in the UK is probably the safer option in that case.