DolbyÆ Surround Encoding Goes Digital

DolbyÆ Laboratories, the world leader in multichannel sound technology, announced the European launch at AES of a new digital Dolby Surround encoder, the Model DP563. Designed for recording, postproduction and TV facilities, the DP563 offers producers a fully digital encoding solution for Dolby Surround. The DP563 was featured at the 108th Audio Engineering Society (AES) Convention.""Currently within the audio industry, two certainties exist,"" said John Couling, Professional Product Manager at Dolby Laboratories. ""Multichannel audio has become a key requirement for new productions and more and more audio production is moving into the digital domain. Dolby Surround is an important stepping stone for many studios and production companies on the road from conventional stereo to Dolby Digital 5.1-channel audio delivery.""The DP563 complements the existing SEU-4 encoder within Dolby's professional audio product line. For those involved in analogue broadcast or postproduction, the Dolby SEU-4 Dolby Surround encoder, with its analogue inputs and outputs, may still be a suitable choice for production. However, for those working in an all-digital environment, the DP563 with its digital inputs and outputs will drop right into a digital studio, complementing the existing DP562 decoder that provides a digital reference version of Dolby Surround decoding, as well as reference Dolby Digital decode.Audio FacilitiesIn addition to providing a digital implementation of the industry standard SEU-4 Dolby Surround encoder, the DP563 can take up to 5.1 channels of audio in a preprocessing stage and premix within the unit to a four-channel input for the Dolby Surround matrix encoding stage. The balance of the premixed audio can be adjusted as necessary, since the Center, Surround, and LFE channels all have individual level trims. The Low-Frequency Effects (LFE) channel also includes a switchable limiter and low-pass filter.Among the postprocessing capabilities included in the Model DP563 are a limiter, an adjustable output word length with dither, a variable delay to compensate for corresponding video delays, and a bypass mode. Calibration to studio operating levels is quick and simple, utilizing a calibration mode and an internal test-tone generator to produce reference level outputs for associated recording equipment.About Dolby SurroundDolby Surround is the most widely adopted surround-sound technology ever. Originally developed for Dolby Stereo movie soundtracks in the 70s, it quickly moved into the home with VHS cassettes, laser discs, and stereo TV broadcasts and now has become an industry standard for multichannel audio delivery to consumers worldwide. Today, it is also used on DVDs and in digital TV transmissions to reach a huge audience of equipped listeners. Over 44 million homes worldwide have the capability to decode Dolby Surround encoded audio using the Dolby Pro Logic system. Market figures published by Understanding and Solutions noted that 16 percent of homes in the UK, 13 percent in Germany, and 18 percent in the Netherlands, watch TV on a home cinema system with a Dolby Surround sound processor and at least four speakers.About Dolby LaboratoriesDolby 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.