Worldwide Loudness Delivery Standards

Mike Kahsnitz Senior Director of Product Management, RTW

October 24, 2024

If you are part of the vast audio production community that provides content for broadcasters or streaming services, you are constantly faced with different requirements to comply with various delivery standards.

In recent years, adhering to specific loudness standards has become increasingly important, and these days, loudness is part of practically any audio spec sheet.

But depending on distributor, geography, content type and more, the loudness LUFS requirements can differ, and it can be hard to find out exactly which standards are relevant for each situation.

This blog article is made to give you an overview of the many standards that are being used all over the world. We provide the most important LUFS numbers and link to relevant documentation for further details.

Please note that the present list may not be complete or 100 % updated at all times. Delivery specifications and standards may be updated occasionally or new ones may emerge, and we will of course update this page accordingly as soon as this should happen and it comes to our attention.

In conclusion, please consider this data general information that we provide to the best of our knowledge and belief.

If you are aware of any recent updates or new standards, please bring it to our attention by contacting us.

Tools for delivering on-target loudness content In order to hit the targets as described below, you need to measure your audio carefully.

Our hardware meters can help you achieve those goals with ease.

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Recommendation for Loudness of Audio Streaming and Network File Playback TD-1004

Loudness Type AES Streaming

Integrated (I) -16 to -20 LUFS

True Peak (TPmax) -1 dBTP

Reference: AES Technical Document (is under revision)

Please note: A 20 LUFS lower limit has been chosen as the lowest current practical value for streaming, as some current mobile devices have insufficient gain to allow the common production targets of 23 or 24 LUFS to be heard at a satisfying loudness even if the volume control is turned all the way up.

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LINK:	https://www.rtw.com/blog/welcome-to-our-blog-1/worldwide-loudness-deli...
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