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Experience 5.1-Channel Surround Sound - First Public Demonstration of Dolby Digital Plus for Hi-Def Media Applications (4/11/2004)

Dolby Laboratories is proud to offer the first public demonstration of Dolby(r) Digital Plus-its new, highly sophisticated, and versatile audio codec-at the 117th AES Convention. Dolby Digital Plus is designed for next-generation audio, video delivery, and audio storage system technologies such HD-DVD and hard-disk-drive (HDD) media. The DVD Forum recently selected Dolby Digital Plus as a standard audio format for HD-DVD. Additionally, at Booth 1402, show attendees can learn about multichannel audio production for DVDs, television programming, and games, and see featured tools for pitch correction and loudness measurement.

Dolby Digital Plus Delivers Creative Power and Freedom

Dolby will demonstrate Dolby Digital Plus for HD packaged media during AES exhibit days in Room 203, East Mezzanine, in the Moscone Convention Center. This marks the first public demonstration of the technology. Dolby Digital Plus was selected as a mandatory standard for HD-DVD by the DVD Forum.

Dolby Digital Plus offers bit-rate and channel extendibility and is an extension of the popular Dolby Digital format, the audio compression standard for DVD-Video players worldwide and the mandated or de facto standard for many DTV systems around the world. The DVD Forum's selection of Dolby Digital Plus as a mandatory audio standard is intended to ensure future compatibility of HD-DVD software media and playback devices with the more than 39 million A/V receivers equipped with Dolby Digital in homes today.

Where higher bit rates can be allocated for audio playback, such as in HD-DVD, Dolby Digital Plus delivers higher quality audio performance from a highly sophisticated perceptual coding process. These extensions to the existing Dolby Digital format extend the peak data rate from 640 kbps up to 6 Mbps. Additionally, Dolby Digital Plus is designed to offer discrete channel coverage beyond the current 5.1 standard, such as 7.1 discrete channels and more.

Dolby Digital Plus also offers coding efficiencies for systems where bandwidth is at a premium or limited, such as next-generation cable, broadcast, and satellite systems. Earlier this year, the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) nominated Dolby Digital Plus as a Candidate Standard for future robust channel transmission. In anticipation of future packaged media business models and format flexibility, the efficiency of Dolby Digital Plus will also enable simultaneous streaming of audio content and software playback. This capability would allow consumers to watch a movie while listening to artists' or directors' commentary streamed directly from the studio website, for example.

"Dolby Digital Plus will enable superior audio performance for next-generation packaged media formats such as HD-DVD and other home theater applications such as hard-disk-drive media, while maintaining our commitment to the millions of households worldwide that have adopted Dolby Digital 5.1 as their entertainment standard," said Tom Daily, Director of Marketing, Dolby Laboratories. "We encourage all AES attendees to see our Dolby Digital Plus demonstration and hear the difference its advanced coding makes in sound quality and efficiency."

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