CALM Act finally went into effect today banning loud TV commercials

By Mike Flacy December 13, 2012

Watching TV — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Detailed on the loud commercials and CALM act page within the FCC’s Encyclopedia, today marks the first day that the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act went into effect after being passed during mid-December of 2011. This new federal law forces television stations, cable operators and satellite TV providers to make sure television commercials are broadcast at the same volume level as the regular programming during that time slot. If these companies are utilizing the ATSC A/85 RP set of methods to control audio volume, television watchers shouldn’t have to fumble for the remote’s mute button to silence an overly loud commercial.

While the Federal Communications Commission passed the act a year ago, the organization allowed the television industry a grace period to become compliant with the new rules. However,the FCC is relying on the public to help catch organizations that aren’t complying with the rules.

Television viewers that spot an overly loud commercial can call 1-888-TELL-FCC, mail a form, send a fax or simply use the FCC site to report the commercial. When reporting a loud commercial, viewers must provide their personal information in addition to the name of the company connected to the complaint.

In addition, the viewer must specify if the commercial was viewed through cable, satellite or over-the-air on an antenna. After providing the name of the station, the viewer has to supply the name of the product advertised within the commercial, the date and time of the commercial and the program that was playing during that time slot. The viewer can also include additional notes regarding the volume level.

Depending on the amount of complaints are being submitted to the FCC about a particular station, network or provider, the federal organization will decide how to enforce the CALM Act and penalize the entity playing loud commercials. The FCC also recommends that consumers look into utilizing “automatic gain control, audio compression, or audio limiters” in order to help keep programming volume at a constant level. These features can be found within newer televisions and home theater systems.

Contributing Editor

By day, I'm the content and social media manager for High-Def Digest, Steve's Digicams and The CheckOut on Ben's Bargains…

Audio / Video

This 85-inch Samsung 8K TV has an incredible $3,000 price cut this week

The Samsung QN900C Neo QLED 8K TV in a living room.

One of the best upgrades you can make to a home theater system is grabbing yourself a large and high-end TV, and for that, you may want to consider this massive 85-inch Samsung QN900C. Not only is it one of the best TVs on the market, but it even runs at an 8K resolution, so even if you have it up close, you won't notice the pixel density. Of course, it is an expensive piece of kit, and it usually goes for an eye-watering $8,000, although you can get it from Samsung directly for $5,000, which is a whopping $3,000 discount and probably one of your few chances to grab such a high-end TV for a lower price.

Why you should buy the 85-inch Samsung Neo QLED 8K QN900C
Like some of the other best QLED TVs, the Samsung QN900C is packed with a lot of excellent features, starting with the Neural Quantum Processor 8K, which can upscale your content up to 8K resolution. That's absolutely needed given that there essentially isn't any 8K content available on the market right now, so having an upscaler like this means it's compatible with your current and even older content, although the results will vary depending on the source material. It also comes with Neo Quantum HDR 8K, which is just Samsung's own high-end proprietary HDR, but at least it also supports HDR10+, so you can access pretty much all HDR content.

Audio / Video

Our favorite headphones, Sony WH-1000XM5, are $70 off today

Woman wearing Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones.

With how loud and crowded the world has gotten, having a solid pair of headphones to keep all the noise out can be really helpful. When it comes to active noise cancellation (ANC), our pick for the best headphones on the market is the Sony WH-1000XM5, which easily competes with the likes of the AirPods Max. That said, the XM5s can get really expensive, which is why we're happy to see this deal on Amazon that brings the price down to $329 from its original $400 price, saving you a solid $71, which may not seem like much, but it's a great amount for one of the best headphones you can grab.

Why you should buy the Sony WH-1000XM5
There is a lot to love about the Sony WH-1000XM5, and the excellent audio fidelity is one of them. Ironically enough, it has smaller drivers than the previous generation, and yet it still manages to upgrade the audio quality with a balanced overall sound and a surprisingly great bass response that makes it thumpy but doesn't muddy the sound. Realistically, you can pretty much listen to any genre of music you want on the XM5s, although it does slightly favor those who prefer a more neutral sound rather than something a bit more bass-heavy.

Audio / Video

Staring deep into the anti-glare abyss of the Samsung S95D

Samsung S95D Anti-Glare

From the moment the Samsung S95D OLED made its first appearance at CES 2024, I’ve called its anti-glare, anti-reflection technology a game-changer for OLED TVs. But the moment those words left my mouth, concern that this technology might somehow degrade the picture quality started up.

Since then, I’ve seen the S95D in a couple of other settings, but I’ve always said I would reserve my final opinion until I properly review the TV. And I'm prepared to be proven wrong.