NEW YORK—The Audio Engineering Society’s Committee on Broadcast and Online Delivery has updated its loudness website with an ear toward dialogue intelligibility.
Based on the group’s “Improving Dialogue Intelligibilty in Media” report, the AES site now offers what it calls a brief and authoritative introduction to the many reasons why dialogue can’t be understood and ways to improve intelligibility.
Some 50% of viewing is now done using captions and subtitles, AES said, which shows intelligibility is a growing consumer concern.
“When dialogue is not understood, it distracts the listener from being immersed in the story, leading to frustration or channel-changing,” Jim Starzynski, co-chair of the TOC-BOD committee and chair of the TD1009 study group, said. “The site shows how these issues arise and how they can be solved in the many steps from capture to consumption.”
The site now offers a summary of the topics in AES’s series of technical documents on loudness and intelligibility (TD1006, TD1008, TD1009) and of the AES71 and AES77 standards, which give recommendations for broadcast and online audio and video content. A new glossary defines loudness and intelligibility terms, including hearing science terminology that may be unfamiliar to audio production professionals.
“Loudness regulations are expanding to include online content,” David Bialik, co-chair of the TC-BOD committee, said. “This website has been updated to help professionals better understand loudness management.”
The Technical Committee on Broadcast and Online Delivery can also be reached via email.
