DolbyÆ Laboratories Introduces Reference Design Qualification Program

30-Nov-00

To improve time-to-market and time-to-license for its customers, DolbyÆ Laboratories has introduced the Reference Design Qualification Program. Reference designs provide a schematic and layout for using a Dolby licensed integrated circuit in a complete application, such as a DVD player or a surround sound decoder. The Reference Design Qualification Program allows licensed semiconductor manufacturers to submit product reference designs along with technical documentation and performance data to Dolby Laboratories for testing. These designs undergo the same battery of tests used by the product licensing groups. Any problems can be identified and corrected before the reference designs find their way into the final products, which can save time for manufacturers and licensees. Dolby Laboratories provides this pretesting service free of charge to its implementation licensees. ""Dolby recognizes the need for fast turnaround in licensing and certification to speed time-to-market,"" said Richard Hockenbrock, General Manager, Licensing Services at Dolby Laboratories. ""With the formal introduction of this program, we hope that we can promote the development of reference designs and the merits of using them.""With rapidly emerging technologies and markets, timing issues become critical, and companies face sizeable challenges when designing new (and often highly complex) digital products. Reference designs provide companies with integrated product solutions that enable them to quickly bring their products to market, while simultaneously allowing them to develop the necessary engineering expertise. Being able to count on a prequalified reference design greatly reduces risk and the revision-retest cycles that can impact critical delivery schedules.Consumer electronics manufacturers rely on reference designs as the basis for DVD players, DTV receivers and many other licensed products. By using a reference design that has been pretested by Dolby Laboratories, products are more likely to gain approval on the first pass, helping them reach the market much faster. Additionally, customers new to licensing and the latest digital technologies involved are given a convenient aid to product development and certification.""This is a win-win-win situation for semiconductor companies, product manufacturers, and Dolby Laboratories alike,"" said Martin Lindsay, Manager of Technical Licensing Development at Dolby Laboratories. ""We are proud to be able to offer this testing service. By ensuring the viability of qualified reference designs, this program makes these designs all the more attractive to product designers.""A number of companies have already taken advantage of this testing, including Broadcom, C-Cube Microsystems, Crystal Semiconductor Products, ESS Technology, Mitsubishi Electric Semiconductor, Momentum Data Systems, Motorola Semiconductor Products, National Semiconductor/Mediamatics, Philips Semiconductor/TriMedia, Sample Rate Systems Oy, Sanyo Electric Semiconductor and STMicroelectronics. For more information about Dolby Laboratories or Dolby technologies, visit www.dolby.com.

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