FCC forces TV advertisements to be quieter

[choxorn]

Those ultra-loud TV commercials will soon be a thing of the past.

The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday passed regulations requiring broadcasters and cable and satellite TV systems to maintain constant volume levels. The order, which goes into effect one year from now, "says commercials must have the same average volume as the programs they accompany," says FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

Last year, President Obama signed into law a measure that Congress passed giving the FCC authority to address the problem. A Harris poll taken around that time found that 86% of people surveyed said TV commercials were louder than the shows themselves — and, in many cases, much louder. "It is a problem that thousands of viewers have complained about, and we are doing something about it," Genachowski says.

Article

to this. I always hate annoyingly loud things, and ads are already annoying anyway.

Not particularly huge, but it's still nice to see that the FCC and Congress can occasionally act sane. Now if only we can get a law banning pop-up ads...

 

[Smellincoffee]

Obnoxious behavior on the part of advertisers is part of the reason I watch so little TV, and when I do, that I keep the commercials muted. The worst offenders are those who use an audio "spike" -- a second-long burst of LOUDNESS to get your attention, and then quickly return to normal value to ward off complaints. The local news station likes to do this, which is why I have abandoned them for Weather.com and breakfast on Sundays at a local downtown church...both deliver more reliable local news.

 

[squall78]

Finally. They also need to lower the music/dialog ratio. Why is it every tv show/movie I have to turn up the volume to hear a very important plot device, and then the music booms in which totally screws up the story.

 

[Rashiminos]

Sound mastering is a forgotten art in some forms of entertainment.

 

[Skwink]

YES!!!! I'm so glad.

But I swear they did this a while ago...

 

[Joecoolyo]

But I swear they did this a while ago...

Same.

I distinctly remember reading about this in a thread here like, half a year ago.

 

[choxorn]

According the article, Congress passed a law letting them do this, and now they've done this, which will take effect a year from now.

Progressive, amirite?

 

[sophie]

Yeah. Old news is old; we definitely had a thread on this awhile ago. Still, great news.

 

[Leoreth]

Don't be too happy. We have the same kind of law in Germany already, and "average volume" turned out to be quite different from perceived volume.

 

[Maniacal]

TV commercials killed TV for me, I cannot stand watching them due to the extremely high levels of stupid.

 

[Verarde]

Thank you God. Most of the time our TV is on mute, due to the inanity and high volume of the commercials.

That said, it will still likely stay on mute due to the inanity, but still, yay.

 

[Ajidica]

Tivo.
Just Tivo. No need to worry about commercials when you can just fast forward through them.

 

[MjM]

Tivo.
Just Tivo. No need to worry about commercials when you can just fast forward through them.

Yeah. DVR (DigitalVideoRecorder) is the term for the actual piece of equipment, TiVo is just a brand name.

 

[Murky]

Commercial interuptions are really bad lately. I just recently got Cable and my God, most of the time it's just the same, inane promotional ad for some upcoming show that they show every five minutes.

 

[Disgustipated]

I've seen some new tv's that automatically adjust the sound on advertisements. So is this really a problem? I admit I haven't watched my TV in over a year, so I have no idea what advertisements are like now days.

 

[warpus]

Yeah. DVR (DigitalVideoRecorder) is the term for the actual piece of equipment, TiVo is just a brand name.

I've heard them called PVRs (personal video recorders), not DVRs

 

[sophie]

I've heard them called PVRs (personal video recorders), not DVRs

Sounds to me like just another example of Canadian weirdness.

 

[warpus]

Possible. Our PVRs come in bags, too.

 

[choxorn]

Do they come with that weird bagged milk you guys have?

 

[.Shane.]

Yeah. Old news is old; we definitely had a thread on this awhile ago. Still, great news.

This is so much common sense I'm still amazed its going to happen.