[mythtv-users] FCC releases CableCard changes

[Brian Wood]

On Monday, October 18, 2010 10:19:07 am Ben Kamen wrote:
> On 10/18/2010 11:04 AM, Brian Wood wrote:
> > Those locally-inserted ads on cable seem to be the easiest for Myth to
> > identify as commercials, brutal, abrupt sometimes not even synchronous
> > transitions and large differences in both APL and loudness, pretty easy
> > to spot.
> 
> I worked at a local CATV company about 20yrs ago.

Likewise, but in my case over 30 years ago (pressure taps, .412 feeder, 30-volt power, single-ended amps. We had moved to 
solid-state amplifiers by them though)

> 
> I remember how much our CATV tries to keep the levels consistent with a
> knob -- the problem was, the knobs, er, Interns were running around
> recording local content on cameras that were set all over the place.
> 
> OR the source (pick and upstream provider) wasn't consistent in their knobs
> either.
> 
> Funny how compressor/limiters still seem to be a nebulous concept for the
> engineer trying to control the source->customer equation.
> 
> And now with things being digital, you'd think it could be in the stream
> someplace as a simple matter of programming. Heck, there's an AGC someone
> wrote as an accessory for my Empeg car player. CONCEPT!

Controlling audio levels is always a problem, the only reliable method is a good audio mixer operator with a decent pair 
of ears, in a good listening environment.

The problem is that a lot of audio, especially commercials, is highly processed. There is a vast difference between what a 
VU meter will show and the "psycho-acoustic perceived loudness" (a term invented by Orban), which is what the listener 
perceives as "how loud it is".

This is why the recent congressional action to stop loud commercials is doomed to fail. Broadcasters do NOT want to have 
to hire qualified people, it's too expensive. It's nice to know that Congress had nothing more important to deal with 
though.