Apr 25, 2008 11:13 pm US/Central
Good Question: Why Are Commercials So Loud?
(WCCO)
We've all had that "grab the remote" moment after a crazy-loud commercial blasts into our living room. It's one of the biggest questions submitted to the Good Question Team: Why are commercials so much louder than the regular TV programming?
"They are perceived as louder, but technically from a volume standpoint, they're the same," said Gary Kroger, WCCO-TV Director of Engineering.
According to Kroger, the loudest point in a commercial is just as loud as the peak volume in a TV show. But the average volume for commercials is indeed louder than most types of programming.
"The philosophy that 'louder is better' is alive and well," he said.
According to Kroger, there is no technician at TV stations jacking up the volume when it's commercial; there's no magic machine that adjusts the volume upwards. In fact, there is a machine that attempts to raise the volume levels of the regular programming.
"We do everything we can to keep that level as consistent as possible," he said. Kroger said, at times, it's a shock to go from a quiet, dramatic, low volume moment in a drama to a high-volume moment in a commercial. WCCO-TV and most television stations use compression technology to try and match the level of programming.
While the peak loudness of programming and commercials is the same, the average volume of commercials is designed to be consistently higher.
"They [producers] compress it to the point where it all comes out approximately the same," Kroger said.
The Federal Communications Commission does not regulate the exact volume, but the F.C.C. does require broadcasters to have equipment that limits the peak power they can use to send out their audio and video signals.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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