LKFS Meters

[Stashu]

With the new loudness parameters for TV post, are there any LKFS Meter plugins available? I know that following the guidelines will get you the -24 for TV Voice levels. And, you can get close, but with ADR and Video post, there seems to be a move to be very precise in the range of levels rendered.

[CurtZHP]

http://www.voxengo.com/product/span/


Not sure if this would help, but it's free, so I figured I'd suggest it. It's a spectrum analyzer but it's got some calibrated meters included.

[Ian Alexander]

Sorry, Stashu, I don't know of any meters, but I have a question. Has anyone digested the new rules enough to know if we're just going to have the same smashed flat audio at -24 now? Or do the new rules address compression in some way? I have seen blurbs for entire seminars about techniques and gear for broadcasters to comply. I have not and probably will not have time to read and comprehend the whole topic. But it may start to matter for supplying VO tracks for TV spots.

Thanks,

[Sean McCoy]

There are many meter plugins available, with a wide range of costs. Nugen Audio makes arguably the best one, but it's pricey. Waves WLM is also very good, but still on the expensive side. I've been using this one from Toneboosters:

http://www.toneboosters.com/tb-ebuloudness/

Very inexpensive (15 Euros), nice visual feedback, and works great in SAW. I tried the Nugen demo, and it's really well laid out. More importantly, it has an extremely small CPU hit compared to all the others I tried (haven't tried the Waves), so if you're doing mondo heavy broadcast mixes this could be a consideration. If you're working with really picky networks you may need to use the logging features some of these meters offer. I haven't had to deal with that yet so I haven't researched the differences extensively. But if you're just mixing for local TV and want an accurate meter to ensure CALM compliance, the Tonebooster version will do it for you.

[Sean McCoy]

So, it looks like we, in the Broadcast end, have to find the definitive answer on how to send that "There will NEVER be a better time to BUY!" car spot to radio stations.

TV seems to be a more involved mix. Narrations and voice tracks have to stay in a certain range throughout the entire program.

The CALM Act has nothing whatsoever to do with radio, so we're still free to scream and squash away to stay competetive with the screaming, squashed music that will bookend our spots.

The practices of U.S. TV broadcasters have a bit of 'play' in them, because the document refers to 'current specs', which have been updated internationally but not officially in the U.S. That's why these meters provide presets both for ATSC and EBU. The main difference is the 'gating' aspect, which takes silent spaces into consideration when calculating average volumes by ignoring them. The other potential complication is that each network can also demand ridiculous limitations on short-term peaks, such as -10 dBfs. This is really stupid because it kills any dynamic range advantages the new average level standards would have allowed, and shows they don't have a clue about how this works.

For general U.S. TV mixing, using the ATSC A/85 preset, keeping your average level between -22 and -26 and peaks at -2 dBfs will comply with CALM requirements. If you're mixing for networks with additional demands, you'll have to get those directly from them, and have fun trying to meet them!

I've told all my clients that unless they specify otherwise, this will be my default practice for all TV mixes. Naturally, I lean toward the -22 side of the spec.

[Adam Christopher]

Not sure if it is the exact type of meter you are looking for. There's a lot of buzz about the Bob Katz K Meter. I know that Harrison Mixbus has one included in that software.

If you aren't locked into one specific type of meter, you will find that the free T-Racks meter in the free T-Racks Custom shop is fantastic.

Go to the Ik website and download. It includes a parametric eq and a loudness meter, that measures not just peak/rms values in full scale but also actual perceived loudness, which is much more practical for this purpose.

And it's incredibly useful as it has a static green colored meter that shows you what typical levels of a commercial mix so that you can move closer to that as you wish to get a sense of where your perceived levels stand.

Note that T-Racks is a self-contained plugin that allows you to add on more plugins to use within the wrapper. However, the free version of T-Racks Custom Shop also allows you to use the parametric eq and loudness meter as a standalone.

I am not familiar with broadcast levels but maybe this tool could be of some value. Good luck.

- AC

[Sean McCoy]

Not sure if it is the exact type of meter you are looking for. There's a lot of buzz about the Bob Katz K Meter.

The K-Meter is excellent for music mixing, but has nothing to do with LKFS levels. Many of the LKFS (or LUFS)-capable meters also include the Katz scale as an option. The 'K' in 'LKFS' stands for a 'K-weighted' measurement method, which is often confused for the Katz K-Meter. As if we needed more areas of confusion.

[Carl G.]

The CALM Act ... is really stupid .... 'current specs' - have fun trying to meet them!

Abridged version for clarity and accuracy

As some one once said... "There ought to be a law against this law"

[Sean McCoy]

Abridged version for clarity and accuracy

As some one once said... "There ought to be a law against this law"

I couldn't have said it better. Obviously.

[brettbrandon]

I don't know if this will help but Melda has a metering plugin called "MLoudnessAnalyzer" in the free bundle. The RTA is quite cool as well.
http://www.meldaproduction.com/plugi...eEffectsBundle

Brett