You’d swear someone had grabbed your remote and turned the TV volume up to 11. The difference between the somnolent tones of the guys announcing the Red Sox game and the shouting car dealer is real. It’s actually a clever use of technology. But if a bill making its way through the House of Representatives becomes law, that clever technology will be banned.
HR 1084, the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation — or CALM — Act would prohibit TV advertisements from using volumes that are noticeably louder than the programs on which they are broadcast. Maine’s 1st District Rep. Chellie Pingree, a supporter of the measure, reports that loud commercials are among the chief complaints made to the Federal Communications Commission.
“Consumers should not have their hearing assaulted in an attempt to grab their attention,” Rep. Pingree said. “Under the CALM Act, consumers will no longer have to hit the mute button because of excessively loud television ads.” She called it “an easy fix for a tremendous nuisance.”
If you’ve ever wondered how the TV suddenly seems to get louder, the explanation is interesting. Normal programming allows a wide range of volumes, so the sound of a closing door is appropriately quieter than the sound of a tray of dishes crashing onto a tile floor. That range is critical in a dramatic TV show or in any program that aspires to reflect experiential reality.
But a soft breeze through the pines, a whisper, even the proverbial pin dropping can be electronically amplified so it is equal to the top audio range possible on your TV. And that’s what the producers of many commercials do. So instead of the natural dips in volume that would be heard as the car dealer makes his pitch, each syllable is pumped up to the maximum.
Spencer Critchley, a digital audio expert quoted on MSNBC’s Web site, explained it this way: “The peak levels of commercials are no higher than the peak levels of program content. But the average level is way, way higher, and that’s the level your ears care about. If someone sets off a camera flash every now and then it’s one thing; if they aim a steady spotlight into your eyes it’s another, even if the peak brightness is no higher.”
A bill similar to the CALM Act is working its way through the Senate. Among its supporters is Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who explained his position with this personal revelation: “Since I control the channel switcher in my house, I get tired of my wife telling me to turn it down every time a commercial comes on.”
Maybe the Senate version should be called the SPAT — Spousal Peace About Television — Act.