Dolby Laboratories Features Newest Audio Technologies for the Consumer at ICES 2001; Consumers Can Enjoy Latest Dolby Audio Advances to and Throughout the Home

Business Wire, Jan 2, 2001

Business Editors/Technology Writers

CES 2001

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 2, 2001

Dolby Laboratories will feature its latest consumer electronics technologies spanning home theater, personal computer and gaming sound, DVD-Audio, Internet music delivery, and virtual, personal surround sound at this year's CES show in Las Vegas (January 6-9, 2001, Booth 8005/5368).

Home Theater Booth, Booth No. 8005, Las Vegas Hilton Ballroom:

Pro Logic II

Dolby representatives will demonstrate Pro Logic II, the next generation in Dolby Surround Pro Logic technology. Pro Logic II brings the excitement of surround sound to any existing stereo mix, while making existing Dolby Surround mixes sound more like discrete 5.1-channel surround sound. It works with CDs, Dolby Surround-encoded VHS tapes and TV shows, even MP3 files and radio broadcasts, converting all of these sources to surround sound, without the artifacts created by other matrix decoding technologies.

DVD-A

Dolby will play the latest music titles produced with MLP Lossless technology in the new DVD-A format. MLP Lossless allows producers to put 5.1 channels of 24-bit/96 kHz resolution audio on a DVD, for the highest quality sound ever available in the home.

"DVD-Audio and Pro Logic II are changing what the consumer can expect from their multichannel home-theater setups," said Brent Butterworth, Director, Consumer Technology Marketing, Dolby Laboratories. "We are eager to show how Pro Logic II brings some of the excitement and spatial experience of Dolby Digital 5.1 to stereo CDs and Dolby Surround material, and how DVD-A will become the standard for high-quality music playback."

Multimedia Booth, Booth No. 5368, Las Vegas Convention Center:

PC/Gaming Surround Sound

Dolby will show the latest gaming titles released in Dolby Surround and Dolby Digital 5.1 for PC and gaming platforms such as the Sony PS2, Nintendo 64, and Sega Dreamcast. Featured titles include Squaresoft's Final Fantasy IX, EA's NHL 2001, Rare's Perfect Dark, and Diablo II from Blizzard Entertainment.

Dolby Headphone

Dolby Headphone is a unique signal processing system that enables conventional stereo headphones to realistically portray the sound of a Dolby Digital five-speaker playback system. Dolby will demonstrate the technology using Dell's new Inspiron 8000 notebook computer. The product is the first computer system sold in North America offering this innovative new technology.

Advanced Audio Coding (AAC)

AAC is high-quality audio coding technology and the solution of choice for many broadcast and electronic music-distribution applications. Widely viewed as the successor to MP3, AAC is 30 percent more efficient than MPEG Layer III audio, allowing users to store more songs and enjoy higher fidelity music reproduction. AAC has been licensed by over 35 companies and has been adopted for commercial music distribution by Universal Music Group, Bertelsmann Music Group, and Warner Bros. Using songs downloaded from these new commercial services, as well as other sources, Dolby will demonstrate the quality and efficiency of AAC. In addition, Dolby will display AAC-enabled portable audio devices, which can be used to store and play back AAC-encoded audio files.

"Dolby's multimedia technologies are designed to improve the quality of audio that consumers are able to enjoy throughout the home," said Dennis Staats, Director, Computer and Gaming Technology Marketing for Dolby Laboratories. "Dolby has improved the entertainment experience in computer games, made high-quality multichannel audio portable and private, and enabled the Internet and home networks to deliver audio to the consumer more efficiently."

Panel Discussions:

As part of session HE9 "Multichannel Sound: The Ultimate Listening Experience," Brent Butterworth will give a presentation on surround sound marketing techniques. The presentation will be held on Sunday, January 7, 2:30-3:30 p.m., at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Room N260.

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, Beijing, and Tokyo. For more information about Dolby Laboratories or Dolby technologies, please visit www.dolby.com.