TOWARDS A RECOMMENDATION FOR A EUROPEAN
STANDARD OF PEAK AND LKFS LOUDNESS LEVELS
Complaints due to loudness variations between program items is a well known issue in television broadcasting world wide. The cause is found in skilled operators being replaced by automated broadcast systems. To facilitate automated leveling of program items, the ITU-R has published recommendation BS-1770 introducing the LKFS loudness measurement. Since the broadcaster's goal is uniform dynamics, a standardized loudness level needs to be accompanied by a standardized peak level. Most stations in Europe use EBU's PPM standard of -9 dBFS and any new standard should comply to this. The analogue PPM falls short in indicating fast (digital) peaks. These do however add to the perceived dynamic range. An additional digital peak standard is therefore needed before an LKFS level can be selected. Our research into the level practice of 50 international television stations suggests setting max digital peak levels to -5 dBFS and nominal loudness levels to -21 LKFS (a dynamic range of 16 dB).
