ABC's Monday Night Football Opens Season In HDTV With Thrilling 5.1-Channel Dolby Digital Sound

Dolby Laboratories has announced that ABC Monday Night Football this season will be broadcast for the first time in 720 progressive high-definition television (HDTV) with 5.1-channel Dolby Digital sound, beginning with the Miami at Denver game on September 13, 1999.The first of several Monday Night Football broadcasts to be produced in HDTV, the Miami at Denver game will take advantage of the full multichannel surround-sound capability of Dolby Digital, the audio standard for digital broadcast TV (DTV) in the U.S. and other countries. ABC will transmit a live feed with 720p high-definition video and six discrete channels of audio of the game to the ABC studios in New York. To capture the aural experience of the fans in attendance, many microphones will be placed throughout the stadium bringing the feeling of ""being there"" right to the fans at home.""Watching Monday Night Football will never be the same,"" said Mark Mandell, Director of Sports Publicity at ABC. ""When people at the game scream, yell, and whistle, TV viewers will feel like they are right there in the stands.""HDTV Monday Night Football ScheduleSeptember 13Miami at DenverSeptember 13Miami at DenverSeptember 20Atlanta at DallasSeptember 27San Francisco at ArizonaOctober 4Buffalo at MiamiOctober 11Jacksonville at New York JetsOctober 18Dallas at New York GiantsOctober 25Atlanta at PittsburghNovember 1Seattle at Green BayNovember 8Dallas at MinnesotaNovember 15New York Jets at New EnglandNovember 22Oakland at DenverNovember 29Green Bay at San FranciscoDecember 6Minnesota at Tampa BayDecember 13Denver at JacksonvilleDecember 20Green Bay at MinnesotaDecember 27New York Jets at MiamiJanuary 3San Francisco at AtlantaDolby Digital, which debuted in movie theatres in 1992, provides up to five full-range sound channels plus a sixth channel for low-frequency effects. Now the most popular digital film sound format, Dolby Digital is also a worldwide standard for DVD-Video discs, and is being used increasingly for direct-broadcast satellite and digital cable systems.""With Dolby Digital, viewers can attend the game without leaving their homes,"" said Tom Daily, Marketing Manager of Broadcast Products, Dolby Laboratories. ""Dolby Digital adds an amazing audio capability to the spectacular video resolution of HDTV to produce an immersive experience.""