Congress turns down ads

Dayton, Ohio (WDTN) - Those shouting TV ads that bombard your last good nerve are soon to become a thing of the past as a new law goes into effect Thursday, December 13.

It mandates that the volume of commercials has to be within a range of 2 decibels more or less than the programming around them.

 According to engineers, it's to encourage viewers to leave the remote alone, because right next to the volume button is the channel button.

The reason the commercials are so loud is that TV engineers set their overall volume levels just high enough as to not damage their equipment ..as well as effectively accommodate a gunshot or explosion during your favorite show.

Advertisers then produce commercials just shy of that peak level, so what you have is an entire commercial playing at the equivalent of a 30-second bomb blast.

Well, it took an act of congress, but you should now notice a change as the "Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act," or CALM Act, is now in effect.

The FCC says it is possible that some loud commercials may still get through and they encourage you to report any rogue commercials by calling them at 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-225-5322).