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http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/story/2011-12-12/fcc-loud-commercials/51848692/1

The Federal Communications Commission today is expected to pass 
regulations requiring broadcasters and cable and satellite TV systems to 
maintain constant volume levels. The order, which goes into effect one 
year from today, "says commercials must have the same average volume as 
the programs they accompany," says FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

Last year, President Obama signed into law a measure that Congress 
passed giving the FCC authority to address the problem. A Harris poll 
taken around that time found that 86% of people surveyed said TV 
commercials were louder than the shows themselves � and, in many cases, 
much louder. "It is a problem that thousands of viewers have complained 
about, and we are doing something about it," Genachowski says.

While normal listening levels average about 70 decibels for a typical TV 
broadcast � 60 is equivalent to a restaurant conversation; 80 to a 
garbage disposal � levels on a TV channel can vary by as much as 20 
decibels.

To comply with the new law, broadcasters can use audio processors to 
measure the loudness of a program over its entirety and adjust the 
volume of commercials accordingly, says Joe Snelson, vice president of 
the Society of Broadcast Engineers. He said the goal is to avoid an 
abrupt change in volume when a show goes to commercial break.

Some broadcasters and pay-TV providers already have begun implementing 
the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM). DirecTV 
spokesman Robert Mercer says the satellite provider is "ensuring that 
our commercial inserts are at the proper volume level and � (we) are 
working with our programmers to be in compliance with the rules the FCC 
adopts."

Similarly, Cox Communications plans to make sure that local ads and 
commercials on national networks "are compliant," says Cox spokesman 
Todd Smith.

"Slowly but surely, consumers are going to get something they have been 
wanting," says David Butler of the Consumers Union.

"I never characterized this as saving the Union," says Rep. Anna Eshoo, 
D-Calif., the original sponsor of the bill. "But consumers have been 
asking for it. We may not have peace in the world, but we may have more 
peaceful homes."