As of today, Flemish public broadcaster VRT along with all of the Flemish commercial TV channels will deliver audio that complies with EBU's Loudness Recommendation R 128. This means that viewers will no longer experience significant volume jumps when zapping through different channels or across different types of content on the same channel.

French-speaking services in Belgium made the switch last August, which means that all Belgian TV services now comply with R 128. Adoption of the Loudness Recommendation has been spreading throughout Europe, with R 128 now applied in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the Spanish Autonomous Community of Catalonia, Belgium and, on DAB radio, Norway.

The Flemish channels switching to the new Loudness regime today are Eén, VTM, Vier, Canvas, 2BE, Vijf, Ketnet/OP12, Vitaya, VTMkzoom and JIM. The switch, which involves adjusting audio levels against averages rather than peaks, i.e. using Loudness meters rather than the traditional peak meters, applies to all programming as well as announcements, advertising, live events, etc.

The work of the EBU's Loudness project group, PLOUD, continues. During 2013 there will be a particular focus on the role that Loudness normalization can play in radio, building on early experiences of broadcasters in, for example, Norway and France.

Photo: Loudness normalization is applied at EBU Member VRT from today.