WASHINGTON — The House on Tuesday voted to level off the abrupt spikes in volume suffered by television viewers during commercial breaks.
The bill is aimed at stopping TV ads from playing noticeably louder than programs.
“It’s very frustrating,” said Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va. “It’s an annoying experience, and something really should be done about it.”
Irritated by loud commercials, Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., drafted the measure after discovering it was a common complaint with the Federal Communications Commission.
Managing the transition between programs and ads without spoiling the artistic intent of the producers poses technical challenges and may require TV broadcasters to purchase new equipment.
To address the issue, an industry organization recently produced guidelines on how to process, measure and transmit audio in a uniform way.
The bill requires the FCC to adopt those recommendations from the Advanced Television Systems Committee as regulations within a year and begin enforcing them a year later.
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