Sound Levels for DVD, question

Jon Fairhurst · July 28th, 2011, 05:24 PM

So true. Mastering for popular music is all about crushing it in order to compete in the loudness war. Fortunately, TV and movies don't compete on dB. (Commercial advertisements do, and the FCC has responded with the CALM ACT. Say what you will about the FCC and the CALM ACT, but if the end result is preservation of dynamic range for TV and movies, it might not be all bad.)

One of the best scores from last year was from How to Train Your Dragon. I own the Blu-ray, and they really left a ton of headroom on the disc. I have to crank the volume louder on that than anything I own. And it sounds great. :) I wonder if the DVD mix is similar?

Vincent Oliver · July 29th, 2011, 02:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve House

Two highly recommended books are "Sound for Film and Television" and "Sound for Digital Video," both by Tomlinson Holman.

Damn,

just looked the Sound for Digital Video book up and it sounds just the thing I need.

Here goes another £30 from my bank.

Vincent Oliver · July 29th, 2011, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vincent Oliver

Thanks again Steve,

I have just ordered a book "Mastering Audio: The art and the science by Bob Katz", hope this will shed some light on audio techniques.

Just had the book delivered today, OMG this is very dense reading and at first glance seemingly of limited use for video work. May just send it back.

Steve House · July 29th, 2011, 12:32 PM

Katz is a noted authority but you do need to interpret what's there in the light of the different requirements for sound for film and video versus music recording and mastering.

July 28th, 2011, 05:24 PM	#16
Jon Fairhurst Inner Circle Join Date: May 2006 Location: Camas, WA, USA Posts: 5,513	Re: Sound Levels for DVD, question So true. Mastering for popular music is all about crushing it in order to compete in the loudness war. Fortunately, TV and movies don't compete on dB. (Commercial advertisements do, and the FCC has responded with the CALM ACT. Say what you will about the FCC and the CALM ACT, but if the end result is preservation of dynamic range for TV and movies, it might not be all bad.) One of the best scores from last year was from How to Train Your Dragon. I own the Blu-ray, and they really left a ton of headroom on the disc. I have to crank the volume louder on that than anything I own. And it sounds great. :) I wonder if the DVD mix is similar? __________________ Jon Fairhurst

July 29th, 2011, 12:32 PM	#19
Steve House Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Posts: 5,742	Re: Sound Levels for DVD, question Katz is a noted authority but you do need to interpret what's there in the light of the different requirements for sound for film and video versus music recording and mastering. __________________ Good news, Cousins! This week's chocolate ration is 15 grams!