A
look ahead
2001
looks to be quite a year for Dolby labs. There are five main
areas of focus:
Dolby
Surround Pro Logic II - Dolby's Surround Sound made things
sound lifelike even though you were at home. Now they are
getting set to release the new and improved Dolby Surround
Pro Logic II. Pro Logic II brings 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
(audio) - There are currently two competing standards
to improve upon CD audio; Super Audio CD (SACD) and DVD-A.
The latest music titles produced with MLP Lossless technology
in the new DVD-A format will sound incredible. 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.
PC/Gaming
Surround Sound - At CES, Dolby showed the latest gaming
titles released in Dolby Surround and Dolby Digital 5.1 for
PC. The are also supporting other gaming platforms such as
the Sony PS2, Nintendo 64, and Sega Dreamcast. Featured titles
included 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 demonstrated 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. CyberLink announced that PowerDVD 3.0 now
offers Dolby Headphone Technology support. Now users can receive
virtual five-speaker surround sound playback with any standard
pair of stereo headphones. This should be good for those who
have all the necessary components to enjoy Dolby Digital surround
sound, but not all the speakers.
Advanced
Audio Coding (AAC) - AAC is high-quality audio coding
technology and the solution of choice for many broadcast and
electronic music-distribution applications. AAC may end up
being the successor to MP3. It 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.
The
outlook? It's a good bet that Pro Logic II, Surround Sound
for games and Dolby Headphone will do quite well in the marketplace.
We have an insatiable desire to have the best sounding and
best looking experience possible. The battle between SACD
and DVD-A has really just begun. It's much too early to determine
which format will win. The battle to the successor to MP3
is much more complicated. There are many competing formats
to MP3 including Windows Media Format, Liquid Audio and mp3Pro.
By the time that war ends, it may be a format we don't even
know about yet.
