Slashdot Mirror
"Loud Commercial" Legislation Proposed In US Congress
Hackajar writes "Have you ever caught yourself running for the volume control when a TV commercial comes on? Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA) has, and is submitting legislation that would require TV commercials in the US to stay at volume levels similar to the programming they are associated with. From the article: 'Right now, the government doesn't have much say in the volume of TV ads. It's been getting complaints ever since televisions began proliferating in the 1950s. But the FCC concluded in 1984 there was no fair way to write regulations controlling the "apparent loudness" of commercials.'"
Unfortunately, dynamic volume control also affects sound in programs you want to watch, not just adverts. Imaging if you were watching a movie, and all the whispers were louder and the explosions quieter. Not so great. "Turn it on only for the adverts" is just making a more complicated and less useful mute button.
As an alternative to legislating the volume of adverts, I propose that before any advert is allowed to air, the director of that advert must be forced to watch it on repeat for 12 hours, locked in a room with a loaded gun and no controls for the TV (with the TV protected by bullet-resistant glass, of course). If the director survives, the ad can be aired.
Many TVs have the ability to auto-level stuff.
But if you've got audio running to a receiver, the receiver has to do it (and likely doesn't).
At best, you've got dynamic range compression modes, which kill off the sound quality for normal programming.
Even if we have a magical loudness law that everyone magically decides to abide by, the latest tactic I've seen is far more annoying.
Commercials now exploit surround sound to the extreme. The soundstage is either panning back and forth and around, or the ad is done in such a way that billy is on my left and molly is on my right and mom is shaking and baking that chicken directly inside my fucking subwoofer.
That's a rather low standard isn't it? How about making a neutral third party watch the ad for 12 hours on repeat, and only then add the director and a pair of big sticks to the room.
The solution to the problem is very easy.
1. Put forth legislation saying that the new policy will be "anytime any consumer complains about commercial volume levels, the network will be fined $100, with no oversight or guards against abuse." I.e., threaten to put complete ultimate power in the viewers' hands. Bitchy viewers will be able to drain as much money from the companies as they want--the only limiting factor will be how many times they can dial the phone number.
2. Continue to advance this plan while the networks scream in protest. If they don't believe you will actually implement the new policy, it won't work.
3. Notice how suddenly commercials don't seem to be louder than the programs around they anymore. Almost as if the networks have always had the technical capacity but just never had the *motivation* to do it.
4. Quietly drop the legislation you no longer need.
Loud commercials are the perfect reminder that I've forgotten to fast forward the DVR. Commercials that employ this behavior are really just shooting themselves in the foot (not to mention the station's foot).
No but the guy three doors down hears them and might buy something.
..ah, they must be what you poor devils who don't have TiVo or some other DVR have to sit through.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
The FCC mandates a maximum signal level - let's call it X - that represents the loudest audio that you're allowed to broadcast within the signal specs. Regular television, because it's not run by complete bastards, actually understands that if you have quiet parts of your show then when something gets loud it will actually provoke a response in the viewer. Therefore, they usually broadcast at .5X and save 1X for the absolutely most exciting parts. Commercials, however, are frequently made by complete bastards who just want to bash their message into your ear with all the subtlety of Van Helsing hammering a stake into Dracula's chest. They run their audio at 1X the *entire frigging time*, and that's why the commercial seems "loud." Is it louder than the show you were just watching? No. Is it maximum loud the entire time? Yes.
And now that I look up and read your post again, I realise that I've just said the exact same thing.
MAYBE I SHOULD DO IT AT MAXIMUM VOLUME SO THAT EVERYONE HEARS IT!
IF YOU HATE LOUD COMMERCIALS YOUR GOING TO LOVE THIS!
THE COMMERCIAL KILLER!
Stupid Filter it won't let me shout the whole time, if I stream my tv through
Filter error: Don't use so many caps. It's like YELLING.
Knowledge = Power
P= W/t
t=Money
Money = Work/Knowledge so the less you know the more you make
More likely, considering the current quality of TV shows, you snoozed away and the noise should wake you so you know that you should take a leak.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Guess it's a bit like working at a burger joint and never going there to eat: You know how it's made.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
I assume it looks for blank frames. when the stream switches from the content to the ads.
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28694
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Now, nobody's saying that marketers are less than human and deserve to be marched into the ocean
I am.
"All these years believing you're the signified monkey, only to find out you're just a big hunk of nobody cares."
Actually, the beauty is that if you've already got one of their gizmos, you're already a customer and they don't need you to hear them.
Though they could put an uncompressed track on their commercial, saying something like "If you have one of our devices, don't you love it that this is the only commercial you can hear? Isn't the lack of shouting just glorious? If you don't have one of our devices, please enjoy this quiet ad and buy our product so this is the only type of ad you will hear from now on - eliminate the shouting by calling 1-888-STFU-ADS..." :)
"This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."