For further information, contact Dolby Laboratories, Jim Arnold, 415 645-5116, or jja@dolby.com.
Record DolbyÆ Digital Sales Reported
New Developments In Digital Sound Technology Fuel Exhibitor And Consumer Sales
As the century ends, DolbyÆ Laboratories announced another record-setting sales year, reinforcing the company's position as the world leader in multichannel sound for the cinema and consumer. Sales for Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Surround EXô, introduced this year, as well as dramatic growth in licensing, brought revenues to more than $125 million for the fiscal year which ended in September. ""Trends in the market were very favorable for us in 1999,"" said Bill Jasper, President of Dolby Laboratories. ""In particular, there were noteworthy gains in demand for our cinema formats and home entertainment technologies. ""Given a strong sales year in fiscal 1999 and some exciting new technologies in the pipeline, including Dolby Headphone and DVD Audio, we think this points to an impressive start to our next year, which is also Dolby's 35th anniversary as a company."" Strong Growth In Cinema Market Dolby Digital is the leading digital cinema format. With more than 25,000 theatre installations worldwide, this is as many as all the other formats combined. In 1999, the company sold 7,000 Dolby Digital film processors, up 1,600 over the previous year. Dolby Digital is the world's most successful digital film release format in history with 2,250 films released. Nearly every print includes the Dolby Digital soundtrack automatically. Dolby Digital Surround EX is the fastest-selling product in cinema sound history with more than 5,000 Dolby Digital Surround EX adapters (SA-10) sold in its introductory year. Jointly developed by Dolby and Lucasfilm THXÆ, Dolby Digital Surround EX is quickly becoming the format of choice for blockbuster hits. Recent titles in Dolby Digital Surround EX include ""Toy Story 2"" from Buena Vista, ""The World Is Not Enough(R)"" from MGM, ""The Fight Club"" from Twentieth Century Fox, ""The Bone Collector"" from Universal, and ""The Messenger: The Joan Of Arc Story"" from Columbia. ""Our sales figures send a clear signal that Dolby Digital continues to be the film industry's audio format of choice,"" said Marketing Vice President Tim Partridge. ""Dolby sound systems are installed on over 54,000 screens worldwide and continue to be the preferred equipment in almost all new construction around the world."" Digital Revolution Fosters New Growth In Home Theatre Sales Dolby Digital is the world's leading digital multichannel format for home theatre. Every consumer with a 5.1 channel system in his or her home has Dolby Digital. With over 3 million Dolby Digital 5.1 decoders sold worldwide, there are four times as many Dolby Digital decoders in consumers' homes than the nearest competitor. Additionally, Dolby Digital has a growth rate at least twice that of any competing format. As multichannel surround sound is no longer the exclusive province of movie theatres, Dolby Digital has become the standard for 5.1 movies and music on DVD, digital television, and digital satellite systems in the U.S. and other countries around the world. More than 3,700 DVD-Video titles have been released with Dolby Digital soundtracks. Over half of all ""Hollywood"" DVD movie and music titles have Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks. Most of the remaining titles are older films released with either a Dolby Surround or 2-channel Dolby Digital mix. DVDs made in Dolby Digital 5.1 significantly outpaced those of a competitive, optional 5.1 audio format in both the number of titles and the number of copies sold per title. There were 24 times as many titles released in Dolby Digital 5.1, and these titles outsold the other format by factors ranging from 17 to 1 for ""Dances With Wolves,"" 36 to 1 for ""Apollo 13,"" to 45 to 1 for the ""Saving Private Ryan"" DVD (Source: VideoScan (see Note)). Dolby Paving The Way With New Audio Technologies Recently introduced, Dolby E permits digital television (DTV) broadcasters and program producers to distribute multichannel surround audio far more conveniently and economically than previously possible, and gives consumers greater access to 5.1-channel digital audio in their homes via Dolby Digital broadcasts. Since the technology's official launch in April of this year, numerous broadcasters and program producers have already purchased Dolby E systems including Walt Disney Company, Sony Pictures, Viacom's Showtime Network, and many others. In November 1999, Dolby established the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) licensing group to market a high-quality audio technology for the Internet. As the licensing administrator for the companies which developed AAC, Dolby is positioned to help this technology become a standard for consumers. Dolby Laboratories Inc. and Lake Technology of Sydney, Australia developed a new technology that allows consumers to enjoy multichannel surround sound on conventional stereo headphones. Dubbed ""Dolby Headphone,"" the system will be featured primarily in multichannel audio/video products incorporating Dolby Digital or Dolby ProLogic Surround decoding such as DVD Video players, upcoming DVD Audio players, set-top cable boxes, satellite receivers, digital televisions, VCRs, personal computers, video game consoles, A/V surround decoders, auto sound systems, multimedia speaker systems, and even headphone portables. The technology is currently available to Singapore Airlines (SIA) passengers on all classes of travel and will be incorporated into consumer products from manufacturers who have licensed the Dolby Headphone technology, beginning in 2000. Dolby is committed to improving the sound quality of games. The application of Dolby Surround to computer and video games was the first step, while the application of Dolby Digital multichannel sound added significantly to the excitement of game play. To date there are more than 260 console-based, CD-ROM and DVD-ROM video games featuring Dolby audio technology. Popular Dolby Digital multichannel titles include ""Lander"" by Psygnosis and ""Beneath"" by Activision. Most new PCs with DVD-ROM ship with a DVD-Video decoder, which includes Dolby Digital decoding. To date more than 15 million decoders have been shipped with a strong outlook continuing for 2000. Dolby is also working with leading PC audio technology companies to integrate Dolby Digital into Interactive PC DVD and the next generation Console games. Other Dolby Milestones In 1999 In 1999, a growing number of movie exhibitor chains committed to using Dolby Digital audio technology exclusively on all new installations, with United Cinemas International and National Amusements joining already announced Famous Players, Cinemastar Luxury Theatres and Pacific Theatres (in all auditoriums). In addition: There are 2,250 Dolby Digital films released or announced; up 750 from 1998. There are 9,520 Dolby encoded films; up 820 from 1998. Dolby films are mixed in 43 countries; up from 38 countries in 1998. There are 164 distributors of Dolby cinema products in 58 countries; up from 110 distributors in 50 countries in 1998. About Dolby Digital Surround EX Dolby Digital Surround EX adds a third surround channel to digital film sound, a concept first envisioned by sound designers at Lucasfilm's Skywalker Sound post-production facility. Jointly developed by Dolby Laboratories and Lucasfilm THX, Dolby Digital Surround EX gives mixers a new level of creative freedom. Dolby Digital Surround EX is fully compatible with all current 5.1 digital formats and theater systems. Prints that use it play normally with current systems but provide the extra surround channel when played over systems equipped only with a new Dolby SA-10 adapter. About Dolby Laboratories Dolby 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, and Tokyo. Note: VideoScan data contains only sell-through sales to consumers (consumer purchases) through channels of distribution covered by VideoScan's reporting retailers. VideoScan data will not include any product placed in rental. It also will not include sales that occurred in supermarkets, drug stores, mail order or direct mail, or any non-traditional channels of video distribution like bookstores, or specialty shops specific to the genre of any video. For a detailed list of reporting retailers, or to inquire about a specific retailer or channel, contact the VideoScan office.