Sound Mix
Viewers will forgive a weaker picture sooner than bad sound. Intelligible dialogue, clean ambience and loudness that suits the target platform are the minimum that decides whether anyone watches the video to the end.
- microphones
- dialogue
- room tone and ambience
- sound effects
- mixing
- loudness
What this section answers
- What loudness target for television and for the web?
- What are LUFS and true peak?
- Which microphone for an interview?
Articles and tools
Quick reference
| delivery | integrated loudness | true peak | source |
|---|---|---|---|
| European broadcast | −23 LUFS | ≤ −1 dBTP | EBU R 128 |
| US broadcast | −24 LKFS | per A/85 | ATSC A/85 |
| Netflix (near-field) | −27 LKFS dialogue-gated ±2 LU | ≤ −2 dBTP | Netflix v1.6 |
| broadcaster streaming | −23 LUFS (temporarily −20 to −16) | — | EBU R 128 s2 |
YouTube does not publish an official LUFS target; it only states that it may adjust loudness automatically.
Terms
- LUFS / LKFS loudness units relative to full scale
- The unit of integrated loudness according to ITU-R BS.1770. LUFS (EBU) and LKFS (ITU, ATSC) are the same quantity. More
- True peak dBTP
- An estimate of the actual peak of the analogue waveform between samples (using oversampling). It protects against distortion during conversion and compression.
- Loudness range LRA
- The difference between the quieter and louder parts of a programme in LU, according to EBU Tech 3342.
- Cardioid
- A heart-shaped microphone polar pattern: sensitive at the front, rejecting sound from the rear.
- Room tone ambience
- A recording of the ‘silence’ of a location. It is used to fill gaps in dialogue and smooth over cuts.
In preparation
Topics we are working on. They are not published yet — we would rather have fewer pages, but verified ones.
- Microphones: polar patterns and placement
- Lavalier vs. shotgun on a boom
- Room tone and why you should record it
- Mixing dialogue: EQ, compression, noise reduction
- Stems and the M&E version
Sources for the tables
Checked .