Electronic Communications Act, 2005 (Act No. 36 of 2005)RegulationsMunicipal Elections Party Elections Broadcasts and Political Advertisements Regulations, 2011Annexure ASchedule 2 : Technical Standards and Quality |
ANNEXURE A
SCHEDULE 2
TECHNICAL STANDARDS AND QUALITY
Audio and video recordings must be clearly labelled to indicate the name of the political party or independent candidate and nominated representative and should indicate whether it is a PA or PEB.
Audio and video recordings must be submitted electronically or physically to the BSL, using the contact details and/or address of the BSL to be published by the Authority.
For Television
HD (High Definition)
| • | Commercials to comply with the 1920 x 1080i HD Standard in a 16:9 aspect ratio at 25 frames per second. |
| • | Digital Audio Reference level is defined as 18dB below the maximum coding value (-18dBFS) as per EBU recommended practice R128 |
| • | Timecode of commercial start is at 10:00:00:00. |
| • | Stereo audio on tracks 1&2, (Any additional audio tracks should not be MUTE but rather be duplicates of track 1&2) |
| • | Fade to silence at commercials end. |
File format:
MXF OP-1a (SMPTE 378M), XDCAM HD 422
Video:
| • | Codec: MPEG-2 422P@HL LongGOP |
| • | Bit rate mode Constant |
| • | Bit rate: 50 Mb/s (CBR) |
| • | Resolution: 1920 x 1080 |
| • | Interlacing: Upper Field First Display aspect ratio 16:9 |
| • | Frame rate: 25 fps (50i). |
For Radio (Audio)
| • | Track 1 (AES1) Stereo Left / Lt |
| • | Track 2 (AES1) Stereo Right / Rt |
| • | Codec: Uncompressed (PCM) |
| • | Sample Rate: 48 kHz, |
| • | Sampling Size: 24 bit |
| • | Additional tracks: Duplicate tracks 1&2. |
Additional element: WAV 48 kHz/16-bit PCM and high-quality MP3 320 kbps, as accepted radio formats alongside MPEG-2, reducing transcoding errors and turnaround time.
[Annexure A (Schedule 2) substituted by section 10 of the Municipal Political Elections Broadcasts and Political Advertisements Amendment Regulations, 2026, Notice No. 3867, GG54459, dated 2 April 2026]