OP-59: Measurement and Management of Loudness in Soundtracks for Television BroadcastingOn January 1st 2013 broadcasters are expected to comply with FreeTV OP-59 (Operational Practice). OP-59 sets out guidelines for measuring and matching the loudness of programmes, promotional spots and commercial advertisements that are presented contiguously in digital television broadcasting on Australian television services. It is intended as an aid to avoid the excessive loudness contrasts that can be annoying to consumers. Compliance with OP-59 in Australia implies compliance with ITU-R BS.1770, the ITU standard for loudness measurement and monitoring. ITU-R BS.1770 or its derivatives have recently been enforced in Europe, the US, and other parts of the world with severe penalties for non-compliance.Loudness and Level are two different things. A loudness meter compliant with BS.1770 is a long term integrating meter developed for measuring the finished product e.g. a 30 second commercial or a 90 minute movie. It is NOT a production tool to be used for mixing. Its purpose is to normalise the finished soundtrack to a standard loudness value and to that end such meters will be found in Post/Mastering, Distribution and Broadcasting. The architecture and workflow of each production or operation will be different and normalisation may occur at different points, including the Ingest or quality control point of a broadcast plant. Production techniques will remain as present with VU/PPM or equivalent meters, using standard levelling techniques. The production process can now be completed by normalising the soundtrack using the BS.1770 loudness measuring method.
It is important to note that:
All content delivered to broadcasters will need to be compliant by 1st January 2013.
Pre-ingested material for airing post-January 1 2013 will need to be checked and possibly adjusted for compliance with OP-59.
The implementation of OP-59 is imminent and it is important that your organisation is prepared as non-compliance with OP-59 will no longer be accepted by Australian Television Broadcasters. Additionally, content producers adhering to the FreeTV operational practice will ensure compliance with the new United States CALM Act which is due to take effect on December 13, 2012. Importantly for local content producers, the CALM Act enables the national regulator to impose significant fines on broadcasters, and potentially content producers for each infringement. Furthermore, compliance with OP-59 also ensures compliance with EBU standard R-128 in Europe.
Below you will find a selection of Techtel solutions that will help ensure your facility is OP-59 compliant. For further information on OP-59, click here.
Harris Videotek LLM-1770 Loudness Logger & Monitor
The Videotek LLM-1770 loudness logger and monitor is a compact audio monitoring tool that makes it easy to confirm compliance with the latest loudness requirements. Loudness and true peak measurements are made to the ITU-R BS.1770 standard with five times oversampling.
Settings are included that match the EBU R 128 and ATSC A/85 recommendations. Internal memory stores five days of loudness and alarm data. Logs can be exported via Ethernet or USB. Remote control and monitoring can be performed from any Web browser.
The LLM-1770 comes with four AES inputs and has an option for SDI embedded from SD, HD or 3 Gb/s sources. There is a headphone jack for local confidence monitoring.
LLM-1770 Back Panel
Click here to learn more about the Videotek LLM-1770 Loudness Logger & Monitor.
Harris Videotek CMN-LA Loudness Analyser
Part of the Videotek Compact Monitor Series, the CMN-LA loudness analyser is a comprehensive audio monitoring tool that allows you to easily confirm compliance
with loudness requirements. Loudness and true peak measurements are made to the ITU-R BS.1770 standard with five times oversampling. Built-in modes offer quick setup to ATSC A/85 or EBU R 128 recommendations. Up to five days of loudness data are stored internally and easily retrieved through the USB port or internal web server. Metering of up to 16 channels simultaneously makes for rapid alignment checks.
Integrated into the CMN-LA is the TC Electronic loudness radar meter, which shows loudness on short-terms meters, graphs covering periods from one minute to 24 hours, and numeric display of the long-term center of gravity (average loudness) and consistency (loudness range). The flexible display of the CMN-LA presents data in a format most useful for the job at hand. Use the integrated TC Electronic loudness radar meter during production, the audio status display during program ingest, and the combination of loudness and true peak meters, numeric display and trend chart for master control monitoring. The chart data can be exported for compliance reporting. Adjustable audio output delay compensates for video monitor processing in critical evaluation suites.
Short mounting depth makes the CMN-LA loudness analyser ideal in a QC monitoring rack or on the meter bridge of an audio console.
CMN-LA Screen Shot
Click here to learn more about the Videotek CMN-LA Loudness Analyser.
Telestream Vantage Analysis with ITU 1770 loudness measurement
Telestream Vantage Analysis is a fully-integrated part of the Vantage transcoding and workflow solution and provides a range of audio/video signal analysis features, including ITU 1770 loudness measurement.
Vantage Analysis allows you to add automated media analysis and quality control checks directly into your media processing workflows. Identify file properties, perform video and audio analysis, and compare files. Results can also be used as a data feed for XML reporting, dynamic encoding profiles, 3rd-party system notification, and more. Vantage Analysis goes beyond content verification to enable you to automate using intelli
