code-charity / code-charity/youtube
Set target loudness for normalization
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- Dominant language
- JavaScript
- Stars
- 4.6k
- Forks
- 996
- Avg merge
- 2d 15h
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 7
Description
YouTube currently uses -14 LUFS to normalize videos to. However, it doesn't gain any videos that are too quiet (many are mastered to -23 LUFS, which is standard for TV productions), which leads to uneven volume levels. For people with adequate headroom to spare, being able to reduce the target level will result in more consistent volume.
Side note: boosting the volume of audio that is quieter than the reference level is only safely possible if you also know the audio's peak level (which YouTube doesn't tell you). Otherwise, gaining may result in clipping, or otherwise a reduction in the audio's dynamic range (which may be acceptable for some users and usecases).
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by locating the JavaScript code that controls YouTube playback volume and audio normalization. Determine how the current -14 LUFS reference is applied and where a user-adjustable lower target could be exposed; done means quieter videos can use the selected target without unsafe clipping assumptions.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- javascript
- Domain
- frontend
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 42/100