Dolby Unveils ""Dolby In PC"" Initiative

30-Oct-02

DolbyÆ Laboratories announced its new ""Dolby in PC"" initiative, a comprehensive overview of how Dolby audio technologies affect today's evolution of the personal computer into a home entertainment gateway. The ""Dolby in PC"" initiative is part of Dolby's strategy to expand its presence in the PC market. The company has been working closely with its licensees and key technology partners on a number of strategic projects, including the NVIDIA Sound Storm program and new premium sound cards from Creative Labs. Dolby has also teamed with its licensees (including CyberLink, InterVideo, and NVIDIA) and with Microsoft to ensure that consumers can access all the features of their DVD player from the new Microsoft Windows Media Player 9 interface. ""Consistent with our efforts in cinema, home theatre, and digital television, Dolby technologies are defining new standards of multichannel audio quality for the PC,"" said Bill Jasper, President of Dolby Laboratories. ""Quite simply, if you want a richer, fuller, more enveloping PC entertainment experience, you need great sound, and that means Dolby technologies."" Dolby audio technologies are found in more than 100 million PCs around the world, enriching a host of entertainment experiences, including watching DVDs or listening to stereo content via CDs and MP3 files. PC licensees and manufacturers delivering products that incorporate Dolby technologies include Apple Computer, ATI, Creative Labs, CyberLink, Dell, Fujitsu, Fujitsu-Siemens, Gateway, HP, IBM, InterVideo, MedioStream, Microsoft, NEC, NVIDIA, Packard-Bell, Sonic Solutions, Sony, Sharp, and Toshiba.""Dolby audio technologies are an essential ingredient of a great entertainment experience, whether people are going to the cinema, watching movies on DVD or digital TV, listening to music, or playing video games,"" said Ron Vitale, Director of Consumer Marketing for Dolby Laboratories. ""Dolby technologies are increasingly incorporated in products that people use every day, including home theatre systems, game consoles (Microsoft's Xbox, Nintendo's GameCube, and Sony's PlayStation 2), PCs, TVs, DVD players, and cassette decks.""A growing trend is the use of PCs for personal entertainment--watching DVDs, listening to music, or playing games. Two Dolby technologies for the PC--Dolby Headphone and the new Dolby Virtual Speaker--further enhance PC entertainment in situations where multiple speaker setups may not be practical. Dolby Headphone recreates multichannel surround sound through a conventional pair of stereo headphones, and Dolby Virtual Speaker provides 5.1 surround sound from two speakers. Dolby Laboratories is involved throughout the entire production chain of entertainment products, from the creation of the sound by the original artists to the delivery of sound to the listener's ear. Globally, Dolby technologies have been adopted as the primary audio standard for DVD players, digital television, digital cable, and satellite broadcast, and the de facto multichannel audio standard for PC and console games. Dolby has entered into an agreement with Microsoft to enable access to Dolby audio technology in the PC's software DVD players within the Windows XP Media Center Edition and Windows Media Player 9.""Consumers have come to expect surround sound from electronic entertainment, whether it's at the movies, in video arcades or from their own home theatres and game consoles. They'll also want the same immersive audio experience from PC-based entertainment,"" said Bill Ablondi, an analyst affiliated with the Dallas research firm Parks Associates. ""Dolby is already well known for multichannel audio. I expect that consumers will embrace Dolby audio for the PC just as they have in other areas of electronic entertainment.""Dolby technologies also play a role in home networking, with high compression solutions and a protocol-neutral solution to use Dolby Digital technology to transport audio from one room of the house to another, including over wireless networks. Dolby Digital audio coding is already prevalent in all digital video entertainment media: DVD, DTV, digital cable, and satellite broadcasting. This media can be integrated seamlessly onto PCs and shared across home networks. Dolby Digital audio transmitted over a home network leaves ample bandwidth for high-definition video. In all areas of PC entertainment--music, movies, gaming, TV, personal video recording (PVR), and content creation--Dolby technologies contribute to the overall experience. Dolby Technologies In MusicFor CD or MP3 music playback, a software DVD player that includes Dolby Pro Logic II (such as InterVideo's WinDVD 4 Plus or CyberLink's PowerDVD) is required, and the computer must be hooked up to a surround speaker system. Creative Labs and Dolby have been working together closely to bring audio innovations to the PC market. The most recent example of these efforts is Creative Lab's Sound Blaster Audigy 2 sound card, which uses MLPô Lossless technology licensed by Dolby to bring DVD-Audio playback to the PC platform. The Sound Blaster Audigy 2 also supports Dolby Digital Surround EXô, which delivers a cinematic experience. Creative Labs is the first company to license MLP Lossless technology from Dolby for the PC. For nearly two years, Creative Labs has been deploying Dolby Digital worldwide in all of its premier sound card offerings, commencing with the Sound Blaster Live 5.1, and continuing with all Sound Blaster Audigy models.For streaming music or audio/visual content over the Internet, Apple Computer's new QuickTime 6 includes MPEG-4 AAC technology licensed by Dolby. Dolby Technologies In MoviesEvery PC DVD player includes Dolby Digital technology. Dolby Digital Surround EX, which adds a center rear speaker, and Pro Logic II can also be incorporated into PC-based products.For those who watch movies on a PC with headphones or with two speakers, Dolby Headphone and Dolby Virtual Speaker technologies can enhance the value of the entertainment experience. Many leading PC manufacturers are incorporating these Dolby technologies into their product lines. Consumers can also upgrade their PC's existing software DVD player to include these Dolby technologies by purchasing upgrades from Dolby licensees CyberLink and InterVideo. Dolby Technologies In GamingPlaying games with Dolby technologies is like stepping into the action, making the experience more lifelike, authentic, and involving. Dolby is working closely with game developers and publishers to bring more PC game titles out with Dolby Surround and Dolby Digital 5.1 encoding. The NVIDIA nForce2 MCP Platform Processor provides an integrated audio processing unit and real-time Dolby Digital encode. Leading PC OEMs and motherboard manufacturers have begun to adopt NVIDIA's new nForce2 processors into their product lines.Dolby Technology In TV/Personal Video Recorder Applications As the PVR is an extension of the TV, Dolby anticipates consumers will demand multichannel audio capabilities from their PC's PVR solutions for DTV.Dolby Technology In Content CreationIncreasingly, video enthusiasts are using their PCs and digital video recorders to create and edit their own DVD movies. With DVD burner hardware and software, and Dolby Digital encoder technology, enthusiasts will be able to edit, produce, and play back their own movie creations, replete with soundtrack and audio effects in full Dolby Digital sound.For more information about Dolby Laboratories, visit www.dolby.com.

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