Loudness Measurement Scopes

Loudness can be measured using three different time scopes. In the integrated mode, the loudness level of a game can be determined at a larger scope.

Term	Description
Momentary	Loudness level calculated using a sliding rectangular time window of length 0.4 seconds. The measurement is not gated.
Short-term	Loudness level calculated using a sliding rectangular time window of length 3 seconds. The measurement is not gated.
Integrated	Loudness level calculated using the user capture. The integrated loudness uses gating (all values below -70 LUFS are ignored) and is a long term measurement (an integration over the entire measurement time) based on the momentary loudness. The measurement starts when clicking the Measure button, and stops when clicking it again. Clicking the Reset button restarts the measurement.

More on integrated loudness

EBU R128 recommends a target level of -23 LUFS for integrated loudness. Selecting -23 LUFS specifically for a game as the target loudness level helps game users obtain a more consistent output level on the output device (television, mobile device etc.) they are using, with other sources. Selecting a specific loudness target level for the whole game also ensures consistent loudness over the different levels or parts of the game. A deviation of ±1.0 LU is acceptable for parts where an exact normalization to the target level of -23.0 LUFS is not practically achievable, due to the dynamic content of games. The loudness levels of a game part are often unpredictable. When a part consists of only background elements (for example, the background music), or where parts are deliberately mixed lower, the loudness level may lie outside the tolerance.

The Sony Worldwide Studios Audio Standards Working Group (ASWG) recommends in ASWG-R001 the following elements:

The Average Loudness Level of audio content within a title developed for home-based platforms should be normalized to a Target Level of -23 LUFS, with a tolerance of ±2 LU, and this tolerance is acceptable considering the non-linear nature of interactive entertainment audio content;
The Average Loudness Level of audio content within a title developed for portable platforms should be normalized to a Target Level of -18 LUFS, with a tolerance of ±2 LU;
Audio content should be measured as a whole, and should not focus on dialogue, sound effects or music specifically;
Audio content should be measured for as long as is practical and for a minimum of 30 minutes, and the measured sections of any title should be a representative cross section of all different parts of any title, in terms of game play;

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