Broadcast Quality Audio

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syncanonymous
Posts: 477
Joined: 16 Mar 2015
Location: UK and France
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23 Feb 2018

I just thought I'd open up a thread on this as I was pretty confused when I first started delivering interview recordings after having come from a music background where we like to master to -0.1db. Clearly, my units reference to db is not fully accurate...we can get into semantics and processes within the thread.

My main audio paid work is mixing and mastering interviews typically recorded with lavalier microphones.

So I will start off by proclaiming what format I typically mix and master to for online delivery:
I use podcast suggested -10db peak/ -18db RMS
I typically export our film audio to 48KHz/24bit and the video editor publishes to 4816 for online distribution.

I find any audio delivered louder than -10db peak / -20db rms will tend to rattle plastic speakers in TVs, laptops and smaller devices. Obviously EQ is important too, usually requiring a low cut from 80-100hz down, but everybody knows that ;-P

I want my meters to look something like this:
Image
this DAW is SAWStudio Lite
Toneboosters TB Barricade 32 bit VST (discontinued); I do not care for the 64bit version. The thing I love about this meter is it is very good at ISP detection and the Peak and RMS values freeze until reset. I am currently looking for a 64bit alternative...not sure what to get yet...
The LUFS meter is Klangfreund
https://www.klangfreund.com/lufsmeter/

I am only using these as meters to deliver to a loudness standard...I do not use their limit/normalise functions.
These VSTs are patched into an output track post fader. The source in this case was a mono voice only mix.

anyway, just kicking this off if anyone wants to talk about it. I had done a lot of research and hitting head on the desk before arriving at this deliverable online format
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EthicistBeats
Posts: 82
Joined: 18 Jan 2015
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26 Feb 2018

so if im reading this correctly ...you limit your audio to -10dbfs? need to get me a dedicated LUFS meter ..i usually just guestimate based on the vu-peak offset in the master fader.

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selig
RE Developer
Posts: 11685
Joined: 15 Jan 2015
Location: The NorthWoods, CT, USA

26 Feb 2018

EthicistBeats wrote:so if im reading this correctly ...you limit your audio to -10dbfs? need to get me a dedicated LUFS meter ..i usually just guestimate based on the vu-peak offset in the master fader.
You don’t need an LUFS meter to hit -10 dBFS - this is easily done using the Big Meter (assuming you’re using Reason) in peak mode. No need to guesstimate using the meters in Reason!

Broadcast is a different beast to music work, but in both cases there is no distortion or other artifacts introduced if the level stays below 0 dBFS. If you hear rattling or other artifacts, it’s not coming from your audio levels. It probably means you have your volume control too high on the playback device (TV, laptop, etc).

In the end, with broadcast audio the only “rule” is to deliver content at the requested levels.
[emoji3]

(BTW, this thread appears to be about broadcast levels, not “broadcast quality”.)

Sent from some crappy device using Tapatalk
Selig Audio, LLC

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EthicistBeats
Posts: 82
Joined: 18 Jan 2015
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26 Feb 2018

selig wrote:
26 Feb 2018
EthicistBeats wrote:so if im reading this correctly ...you limit your audio to -10dbfs? need to get me a dedicated LUFS meter ..i usually just guestimate based on the vu-peak offset in the master fader.
You don’t need an LUFS meter to hit -10 dBFS - this is easily done using the Big Meter (assuming you’re using Reason) in peak mode. No need to guesstimate using the meters in Reason!

Broadcast is a different beast to music work, but in both cases there is no distortion or other artifacts introduced if the level stays below 0 dBFS. If you hear rattling or other artifacts, it’s not coming from your audio levels. It probably means you have your volume control too high on the playback device (TV, laptop, etc).

In the end, with broadcast audio the only “rule” is to deliver content at the requested levels.
[emoji3]

(BTW, this thread appears to be about broadcast levels, not “broadcast quality”.)

Sent from some crappy device using Tapatalk

selig that's what i meant ... guestimate was just a quick choice of words ... yea and thats where i was leading ... was wondering what would be the reasoning behind this ... i started a podcast with a friend, and upload it to soundcloud, and once i get the vocals as best as i can in the mix ... i'll gently add an L2...with a usual output of .07, forget where i got that level (maybe recording revolution?) its working i suppose, hahah but always looking to improve ...anyways, always taking note to when you post selig. cheers!

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