,Thursday, January 13, 2000
Dolby E the Solution as Broadcasters and Producers Prepare for DTV and Multichannel Audio
Dolby Laboratories has announced that numerous digital television (DTV) broadcasters and program producers, local television affiliates, and post-production facilities have purchased the company’s Dolby E Encoder Model DP571 and Dolby E Decoder Model DP572 in preparation for the widespread adoption of DTV and multichannel audio. Walt Disney Company, Sony Pictures, Viacom’s Showtime Networks, Pacific Ocean Post and HD VISION (mobile HD production truck joint venture of WRAL Digital, DTV Resources and HD VISION) were among the first to purchase the new Dolby E system since it began shipping in September, 1999.
“With an influx of DTV programming on the horizon, many companies are gearing up for the broadcasts with the installation of Dolby E,” said Tom Daily, Dolby’s marketing manager, Broadcast Audio. “It is the only technology available today that provides the DTV multichannel audio distribution solution.”
Dolby E is a professional coding technology that permits the distribution of multichannel surround sound through broadcast facilities far more conveniently and economically than previously possible. Though consumers will never receive a Dolby E signal, its availability is already increasing the amount of 5.1-channel digital audio in homes via Dolby Digital broadcasts.
Robert Tarsio, director of engineering at Viacom’s Showtime Networks, notes, “Without Dolby E, it would be almost impossible to provide multichannel programming for viewers.”
www.dolby.com