InterVideo's WinDVD Player Receives DolbyÆ Headphone Certification

Technology Emulates State-of-the-Art DolbyÆ Digital 5.1 Theatrical Sound Environment In Headphones

4-Aug-00

InterVideo, Inc., the leading developer of PC video software, announced its award-winning DVD player for PCs, WinDVD, has received DolbyÆ Headphone certification from Dolby Laboratories. The certification enables InterVideo to offer Dolby's leading-edge headphone technology to WinDVD users, re-creating full movie theatre surround sound via standard audio headphones. Dolby Headphone, a proprietary sound processing method licensed by InterVideo through Dolby from Lake Technology, allows conventional stereo headphones to create the illusion of more realistic speaker-based audio reproduction. The process can emulate up to five speakers from any multichannel source including Dolby Digital 5.1 (DD5.1), the advanced surround sound format used in most commercial movie theatres since 1992. Dolby's certification, awarded on July 3, 2000, authorizes InterVideo to begin offering Dolby Headphone-enabled WinDVD players to PC OEMs. First availability for manufacturers is expected by late summer, with a retail rollout slated for later this year. ""The Dolby Headphone certification extends the commitment InterVideo first made to Dolby technology in 1998,"" said William Wang, Director of Marketing for InterVideo. ""It means that once again, WinDVD has set a mark for DVD playback quality that paces the entire PC industry. Manufacturers and end-users alike can count on WinDVD to provide the finest DVD video and audio experience possible."" ""Dolby Laboratories is pleased to continue its solid working relationship with InterVideo,"" said Richard Hockenbrock, General Manager of Licensing Services at Dolby Laboratories. ""InterVideo has a history of excellence in media technology and is committed to the highest audio and video standards. We are excited that they have chosen to offer Dolby Headphone capabilities to enhance the PC DVD playback environment."" WinDVD has been praised by many of the leading trade magazines in the PC and DVD industries, and has passed the Microsoft Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) certification process for Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT/4.0, and Millennium Edition. It has an advanced, intuitive user interface, software scaling to eliminate artifacts when the user shrinks or enlarges the display window, and software de-interlacing for rock-steady imaging in playback. WinDVD includes state-of-the-art support for VCD disc and MP3 audio file playback, DVD region control and the most powerful and responsive DVD navigator in the industry. The solution also supports all industry standard DVD APIs, including DirectShowô, DirectDrawô, and DirectSoundô, and is legacy compatible with the MCI interactive title standard. Dolby Headphone will help give WinDVD users an enhanced experience by creating the illusion that they are listening to a speaker based home theatre when using normal stereo headphones. ""Lake developed this unique technology to allow people to benefit from the improved audio quality of DD5.1,"" said Andy Jane, Dolby Headphone Manager at Lake Technology, who developed the technology in conjunction with Dolby Laboratories. ""Traditional stereo playback through headphones creates an effect that appears ""in your head,"" whilst Dolby Headphone allows the listener to enjoy a movie or listen to music more naturally and always from ""the best seat in the house."" WinDVD is available for licensing to OEMs, system integrators and corporations directly. Single copies of WinDVD can also be purchased online at the InterVideo Web Store. For more information about WinDVD or InterVideo's other video products, contact the company at 510 651 0888 or visit www.intervideo.com.About InterVideo, Inc. (IVI)InterVideo's executive team is comprised of PC veterans instrumental in the formation of the PC multimedia industry, coming from industry pioneering companies such as NexGen, LuxSonor, Sigma designs, Chromatic Research, Conexant, Zoran, MetaCreations and E4. IVI will release a series of products in 2000 to cover the full spectrum of advanced video and audio software in areas including DTV, streaming video and video encoding. InterVideo's popular DVD playback software, WinDVD, has won a number of awards worldwide. InterVideo is privately held, with headquarters in Fremont, California, and with regional offices in Europe, Taipei, Redmond (Washington) and Japan.

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