TV COMMERCIAL BROADCAST STANDARDS

TV commercials uploaded for delivery to Australian television stations must meet these technical specifications:

VIDEO SPECIFICATIONS

  •  PAL 25fps

  • Upper (top) field dominant. No mixed fields

  • SD Frame size: 720 x 576. HD Frame size: 1920 x 1080

  • Luminance scope: 0mV – 700mV +3%, 0% tolerance

  • Black level not to drop below blanking level 0mV luma

  • Chroma level not to exceed 100% (see OP29)

  • Ensure titles are within graphics safe area (see OP36)

  • Avoid macro-blocking, dup frames, high compression, motion jitter, aliasing, and mixed aspect ratios

  • Minimum bitrate: 15Mbps. Bitrate >25Mbps is recommended for best video quality

AUDIO SPECIFICATIONS

OP 48 settings:

  • Digital – permitted maximum level peak program meter (PPM) -9dBFS assuming peak levels are infrequent and less than 10ms

  • 12 frames of complete silence at the head and tail within the duration of the TVC

OP 59 settings:

  • This is the latest amendment to Operational Practice 48 for the measurement and loudness of audio:

  • Audio loudness global standard (Normalised) -24 LKFS (Loudness, K-weighted, Full Scale)

  • Measurement by ITU BS 1770 – 2&3, (standardised by the International Telecommunications Union)

NOTES ON PIXEL ASPECT RATIO

  • For all 16:9 projects export frame size as 720 x 576 4:3 (non-square).

  • After export some CODEC types display an anamorphic or vertically-squeezed image.

  • SD stations require 4:3. The 4:3 aspect is stretched to 16:9 for broadcast.

  • SD 720 x 576 and HD 1920 x 1080: For correct pixel/display aspect ratio, ensure the aspect settings are based on the exported size. 100% of source. Default for size.

CLAPPER

The video file should be accompanied by a clapper: A JPEG image – 720 x 576 for SD or 1920 x 1080 for HD. The clapper should contain the following information:

  • Client

  • Product

  • Key No.

  • Date

  • Aspect Ratio

  • Duration

  • CAD No. (optional)

  • Compliance with OP 48 Audio Loudness.