EBU R128 Broadcast Loudness Validator

EBU R128 (v5.0) normalises programmes to an average loudness of -23.0 LUFS. This validator measures each file the way an EBU-Mode meter does: ITU-R BS.1770-4 K-weighted blocks with the two-stage gate (an absolute gate at -70 LUFS discards silence, then a relative gate 10 LU below the ungated level discards quiet passages), so long pauses no longer drag the reading down. Produced programmes must land within ± 0.5 LU of target; a wider ± 1.0 LU is the informative tolerance for live broadcasts. The Maximum True Peak limit is -1.0 dBTP, measured oversampled — a sample-peak meter can read -1.0 dBFS while inter-sample peaks sit above the limit. Loudness range (LRA, EBU Tech 3342: the span between the 10th and 95th percentiles of gated 3-second blocks) is reported as a descriptor: R128 itself sets no limit, individual broadcasters bolt their own on top. The R128 s1 short-form profile (ads, promos, trailers) keeps the same loudness target and true-peak limit but does not apply the LRA descriptor. Momentary (400 ms) and short-term (3 s) maxima plus a short-term timeline chart show whether the programme lives inside the target band or only averages there. FFmpeg's ebur128 filter performs the measurement; files are only read, never modified.