[Tig] OT-Audio levels for theatrical use from digital post

[Dominic Case]

 >I've assumed the problem was the spot was ingested into the server with
too hot a level...

>Watching shows with a lot of dynamic audio range can be challenging.    

The problem bites both ways.

Ioan Allen's work on loudness and the LEq meter showed that it isn't just
peak level that is the problem: the spectrum is an issue, with different
frequencies contributing different amounts to the subjective sense of
"loudness" as compared with the objective measure of "level". But also, the
dynamic range, and the frequency with which peak levels are hit is a problem
too. Highly compressed audio sounds louder than uncompressed, because more
of it is at a higher level, on average. A _good_ cinema mix saves peak
levels for the climactic shock effects: too many films now are 120 minutes
of full-pitch shock effects.

Some DVD players have a "Cinema" mode for full dynamic range, and a "Don't
wake the neighbours" mode that you can select to compress the sound for late
at night. 

I wish my car radio had a selectable audio compression mode: I prefer to
listen to classical music while driving (it's better for the rage factor),
and the classical stations tend to transmit completely uncompressed in the
belief that their audience is sitting in a fully insulated listening room.
In the car, if you turn it up to hear the 'piano' over the traffic, the
'forte' blows out the speakers.

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Dominic Case
Atlab Australia
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