Level and distrortion in digital broadcasting

The purpose of this article is to justify and recommend more fitting ways of measuring and controlling the audio level in digital broadcasting than looking at isolated samples or quasipeak levels. The new ITU-R BS.1770 standard, specifying long-term loudness and peak-level detection, is evaluated and a centre of gravity approach to loudness control is suggested. Metadata associated with Dolby AC3 is shown to be insufficient at tackling the level and distortion issues across broadcast platforms, while legitimate control practices may be derived more cheaply and without ambiguity using statistical descriptors and real-time metering derived from BS.1770.