Dolby Showcases Broad Industry Support For Dolby Digital Plus

Broadcom, Conexant, and STMicroelectronics to Offer Chip Designs for Digital Set-Top Boxes Based on Dolby's Audio Technology for Next-Generation Broadcast Systems

April 17, 2007

Today at the National Association of Broadcasters NAB2007 Conference, Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:DLB), highlighted broad industry support for Dolby(R) Digital Plus technology. Dolby announced that Broadcom(R) Corporation, a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications; Conexant(R), a worldwide leader in semiconductors for broadband communication and the digital home; and STMicroelectronics, one of the world's leading semiconductor companies and a leading supplier of chips for set-top boxes; will offer chip designs that support Dolby Digital Plus as an audio solution for next-generation broadcast systems. Broadcom, Conexant, and STMicroelectronics showcased chip designs on digital set-top boxes at Dolby's NAB2007 booth (#N2513), including: -- Broadcom's family of AVC/MPEG-2/VC-1 high-definition (HD) digital video decoder chips, including the BCM7411 -- Conexant's CX2417x family of high-definition broadcast decoders on an AVC/MPEG-2/VC-1 set-top box -- STMicroelectronics' STi710x chipset, a single-chip video decoder supporting multiple high-definition standards, such as the H.264/AVC advanced video decoding standard "We're thrilled that the world's leading chip makers have chosen Dolby Digital Plus for some of their important and innovative designs," said Page Haun, Worldwide Broadcast Director, Consumer Division, Dolby Laboratories. "Dolby Digital Plus is an exciting complement to highly efficient new video compression technologies like H.264. We're committed to working with implementation companies such as Broadcom, Conexant, and STMicroelectronics to offer broadcast operators more choice and flexibility in audio technology." Based on Dolby Digital (AC-3), Dolby Digital Plus is a scalable technology designed specifically to meet the evolving demands of content delivery. For broadcast applications where bandwidth is at a premium, Dolby Digital Plus is measurably more efficient than standard Dolby Digital, allowing broadcast operators to deliver more HD movies and TV with spectacular surround sound. Dolby Digital Plus offers the following benefits to operators choosing audio technology for their systems: -- More surround-sound channels: Dolby Digital Plus can offer 7.1 channels of surround sound for tomorrow's HD broadcasts, providing a more involving entertainment experience. -- Richer, more interactive audio: Dolby Digital Plus adds interactive mixing to broadcast audio, enabling multiple new audio tracks to be mixed into the single bitstream, such as audio descriptors of the video for the visually impaired, or a movie director's commentary streamed from a studio website. -- Increased flexibility: Dolby Digital Plus easily scales from limited-bandwidth systems to high-bandwidth video-on-demand scenarios. The Dolby Digital Plus bitstream can be configured for available system resources, giving operators the option to deliver enhanced sound. -- Compatibility with existing systems: More than 500 million consumer products today feature Dolby Digital; Dolby Digital Plus offers maximum compatibility with existing home entertainment systems by offering a conversion tool. Dolby Digital Plus is a mandatory part of the revised ATSC broadcast standard for robust mode transmission of E-VSB, and is one of the designated options in DVB's broadcast and IPTV audio/video specifications as standardized by ETSI. In packaged media, Dolby Digital Plus is a mandatory standard in the HD DVD format and an optional audio standard in the Blu-ray Disc format. About Dolby Laboratories Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB) develops and delivers products and technologies that make the entertainment experience more realistic and immersive. For more than four decades, Dolby has been at the forefront of defining high-quality audio and surround sound in cinema, broadcast, home audio systems, cars, DVDs, headphones, games, televisions, and personal computers. For more information about Dolby Laboratories or Dolby technologies, please visit http://www.dolby.com.

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