Deliberation of July 19, 2011 on the technical characteristics of the loudness of television programs and commercials

Deliberation no. 2011-29 of July 19, 2011 on the technical characteristics of the loudness of television programs and commercials.

Article 177 of law no. 2010-788 of July 12, 2010 on the national commitment to the environment requires TV channels to abide by the same volume of sound between TV programs and advertising pages. Article 14 of amended decree no. 92-280 of March 27, 1992, implementing articles 27 and 33 of law no. 86-1067 of September 30, 1986 on freedom of communication, stipulates that " the sound level of advertising sequences and the screens preceding and following them must not exceed the average sound level of the rest of the program , particularly with regard to the treatment of sound dynamics ". To enable television service editors to comply with these provisions, the French Superior Audiovisual Council, after extensive consultation, defined the technical settings for the loudness value during the diffusion of commercials and television programs. This was based in particular on the notices on loudness issued by the European Broadcasting Union (1) (EBU) and the International Telecommunication Union (2) (ITU).
In order to support the efforts of television service editors, the Council makes provision for the progressive implementation of the objectives set out below.
A review of the application of this resolution will be carried out one year after its entry into force, and a second in 2015.

I. -Scope of application
This resolution applies to all television services.

II. -Average sound intensity during diffusion
The average sound intensity, measured in accordance with ITU Recommendation No. ITU-R BS-1770-2, of advertising sequences and each of the messages they contain, for programs produced before and after January 1, 2012, and for live programs, is set at - 23 LUFS during diffusion, in accordance with the implementation procedures detailed below.

III. -Implementation deadlines
1° For average daily diffusion noise levels :
As of December 19, 2011, the value for the average daily loudness of a television service is set at - 23 LUFS.

2° For commercials:
From January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012:
. the average measured loudness is less than or equal to - 22 LUFS ;
. short-duration sound intensity is less than or equal to -18 LUFS.

Effective January 1, 2013 :
. the average sound intensity measured is less than or equal to - 23 LUFS ;
. short-duration sound intensity is less than or equal to -20 LUFS.
In the case of multi-channel sound diffusion using the low-frequency effects channel (known as "LFE" and usually reproduced by the loudspeaker summoned "subwoofer"), the sound energy transmitted on this channel must not significantly increase the sound intensity perceived by the viewer from the other channels.
Where appropriate, television service editors carry out the necessary operations on commercials until they reach the required values, where appropriate by proportionally reducing the volume of these messages.

3° For programs produced before January 1, 2012 :
From January 1, 2012:
. with the exception of silent programs, the average sound intensity measured is - 23 LUFS with a variation around this value of - 2 LU to + 3 LU,
. as far as possible, the sound dynamics of dialogues is ± 7 LU around the value - 23 LUFS.

4° For programs produced as of January 1, 2012 and for programs shown live:
From January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012:
. with the exception of silent programs, the average loudness measured is - 23 LUFS with, when the program lasts more than two minutes, a tolerance around this value of - 1 LU to + 3 LU, and - 1 LU to + 2 LU otherwise,
. with the exception of silent programs, the sound dynamics of dialogues is ± 7 LU around the value - 23 LUFS.
From January 1, 2013 :
. with the exception of silent programs, the average measured loudness is - 23 LUFS, with a tolerance of ± 1 LU around this value when the program duration exceeds two minutes;
. the sound dynamics of dialogues is ± 7 LU around the value - 23 LUFS when the program duration exceeds two minutes;
. for programs lasting more than two minutes, the LRA value is less than or equal to 20 LU, and whenever possible greater than 5 LU.

IV. -Final schemes
The present resolution is applicable throughout France.
It will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.

Paris, July 19, 2011.
For the French Superior Audiovisual Council :
Le président,
M. Boyon

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(1) EBU-R 128: " Standardization of loudness and maximum permissible level of audio signals " and associated technical bulletins EBU-Tech 3341, EBU-Tech 3342, EBU-Tech 3343 and EBU-Tech 3344.
(2) ITU-R BS.1770-2 " Algorithms for measuring the loudness and peak audio level of a program ".

A N N E X

Definitions

• Perceived loudness is a function of the energy transmitted by a sound, and is translated by the loudspeakers into acoustic pressure. It determines the viewer's perception of sound, which can vary from person to person and from moment to moment.
• Short duration loudness is the loudness value of an audio sequence measured over a period of three seconds.
• The average loudness of an audio sequence is the average of the short-term loudness values measured from the beginning to the end of the sequence.
• The sound dynamic range of an audio sequence is the difference between the minimum and maximum values that short-time loudness can assume over the course of the sequence. This value is not modified when the viewer presses the "volume" buttons on a remote control, since this operation does not change the ratios of the sequence's short-term sound intensities, but does modify the minimum and maximum values.
• An isosonic weighting curve is used to calculate the contribution of each constituent frequency of a sound to the impression of sound energy it gives off when listened to under given conditions. The weighting curve used to characterize this impression in television loudness measurement is the ITU K curve.
• LUFS designates the full-scale unit of measurement of the loudness of an audio sequence according to an isosonic K weighting curve. The LUFS scale is graduated in steps of 1 LU, equivalent to a step of 1 dB.
• LU designates the unit of variation of the loudness of an audio sequence.
• The LRA parameter characterizes the statistical distribution of short-duration sound intensities measured in an audio sequence.
• Compression or reduction of the sound dynamics of an audio sequence is a process that modifies the short-term loudness values while retaining the maximum value, so as to increase the average loudness. The sequence is then perceived as "louder" by the viewer, while the "volume" set by the remote control remains unchanged.