If there are two things that the PLOUD participants consistently show, it is love for their profession and for solving problems together. At this week's meeting at the ORF in Vienna, a milestone in the Group's work was reached with the fixing of the Loudness Target Level: -23 LUFS and gating method: -8 LU relative. This is in
| line with the Group's subjective evaluations from December/January and recent tests performed by NHK (Japan).
At the meeting it also was decided that it would be more consistent to use the abbreviation LUFS (Loudness Units relative to Full Scale) instead of LKFS (Loudness K-weighted relative to Full Scale) for absolute measurements, as this is in line with the ISO 80000-8 naming convention. Other topics discussed included the permitted Maximum True Peak Level, the specification of a Safety Gate and many details on what to require from loudness meters.
Practical Guidelines |  Mr Hamasaki presenting the NHK study results. |
The main task for the Group is now to complete the set of Practical Guidelines, which will accompany the EBU Loudness Recommendation. In parallel the PLOUD metering subgroup is finalising its detailed Loudness Metering specification, including 'EBU Mode' and the distribution subgroup is adding the last dots and commas to guidelines for rebroadcasters (such as cable operators). In the meantime PLOUD participants have stepped up the number of events at which the Loudness work is being disseminated. More information via http://tech.ebu.ch/loudness