NBC To Present 2000 Summer Olympics In DolbyÆ Surround Sound

DolbyÆ Provides Surround Equipment For 2000 Summer Olympics Broadcast

27-Jul-00

DolbyÆ Laboratories announced that it will provide the necessary equipment and expertise for NBC to broadcast major events of the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Dolby SurroundÆ sound. NBC viewers who have Dolby Surround Pro LogicÆ systems will be able to experience theatre-like sound while watching this yearís Olympic Games broadcast from Sydney, Australia (September 13-October 1, 2000).Multiple microphones will be placed throughout the audience to better re-create the sensation of ""being there."" In addition to the opening and closing ceremonies, feature events such as gymnastics (a top-rated Olympic sport), swimming, and track and field will be mixed in Dolby Surround. A separate feed of nonverbal background sound, to which NBC will later add voice-overs for different uses, will also be mixed in Dolby Surround.""Millions of people all over the U.S. will be able to enjoy the games in rich surround sound, and feel as if they were actually in Australia,"" said Dolby Surround Applications Engineer Jim Hilson. Mr. Hilson will be on hand for five weeks during the Olympic Games, helping NBC engineers install and fine-tune all of the equipment and providing on-site training and supervision to the audio mixers.Dolby Laboratories will install and calibrate Dolby Surround sound equipment at the NBC Broadcast Center and at selected venues where several of the most popular events (athletics, aquatics, and gymnastics) will be held. In addition, Dolby will provide technical assistance to NBC and its affiliates to ensure a smooth transition to multichannel sound at the event. NBC will also use Dolby Surround for its Olympic Games promotions produced on-site in Sydney.NBC currently broadcasts many of its top-rated shows in Dolby Surround, including ""Frasier,"" ""Law & Order,"" ""Saturday Night Live"" and ""Late Night With Conan OíBrien,"" as well as specials such as the All-Star baseball games. Dolby Surround EquipmentThe following equipment is being provided by Dolby Laboratories for use during the broadcasts: - (13) SEU-4 Dolby Surround encoders for encoding four-channel program material (left, center, right, and surround) into the two-channel Dolby Surround (Lt/Rt) format - (10) SDU-4 Dolby Surround decoders to translate two-channel program material (Lt/Rt) back into four-channel program material (left, center, right, and surround) - (5) Dolby 430 noise-suppression systems for reducing broadband noise caused by wind, traffic rumble, and air conditioning that often mars location recordingsAbout Dolby SurroundDolby Surround encodes stereo TV broadcasts and other program sources for playback with enveloping, four-channel surround sound on home systems equipped with Dolby Surround Pro Logic decoders. More than 46.5 million surround decoders have been sold worldwide to date - approximately 25 million of these were sold in the United States. According to the CEA, nearly 20 percent of U.S. households watch TV with Dolby Surround decoders and four or more speakers.About Dolby LaboratoriesDolby Laboratories is the developer of signal processing systems used worldwide in applications that include motion picture sound, consumer entertainment products and media, broadcasting and music recording. Based in San Francisco with European headquarters in England, the privately held company also has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Beijing, and Tokyo.

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