Dolby Laboratories Showcases Advanced Technologies at CES 2005

Dolby Laboratories today announced it will be demonstrating innovative entertainment technologies at the 2005 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), to be held January 6-9, 2005 , in Las Vegas . To underscore Dolby's focus on advancing entertainment through innovation, the Dolby exhibit will feature a new booth layout that illustrates how Dolby(R) technologies impact the entertainment experience in real-life environments such as the living room, game room, media room, and in the car. Dolby's key focus for the show is Dolby Digital Plus, a technology which represents a substantial enhancement to audio delivery in broadcast and packaged media formats.

"Dolby continues to pave the way for audio innovation, with recent technology introductions that include Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Pro Logic(R) IIx, Dolby Digital Stereo Creator, Dolby Digital 5.1 Creator, Dolby Digital Recording, and MLP Lossless(TM)," said Ron Vitale, Director of Marketing, Consumer Division, Dolby Laboratories. "These technologies offer consumers a high-quality audio entertainment experience -- wherever the entertainment takes them."

Dolby's advanced audio technologies are featured in a wide range of products from the consumer electronics, personal computing, automobile, and game industries.

Dolby and the Future of Audio

The highlight of the CES booth is Dolby's main theater where the company will showcase leading multichannel audio entertainment with Dolby Digital Plus and MLP Lossless.

Dolby Digital Plus is an advanced, highly sophisticated and versatile audio codec that promises to significantly improve the home entertainment experience. Dolby Digital Plus is designed for future multichannel entertainment in broadcast and packaged media, such as high-definition DVD (HD-DVD) and hard-disk-drive (HDD) media.

The DVD Forum recently selected Dolby Digital Plus as a mandatory audio format for next-generation optical storage media (HD-DVD). For broadcast, Dolby Digital Plus was elevated to candidate standard by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) for possible adoption in future broadcast specifications.

MLP Lossless was also selected by the DVD Forum as the mandatory lossless codec for HD-DVD. MLP Lossless, licensed by Dolby, is the core technology of Advanced Resolution(R) stereo and multichannel DVD-Audio. MLP Lossless delivers music with discrete 5.1-channel surround sound and playback fidelity that is bit-for-bit identical to original studio masters. DVD-Audio is a key technology incorporated in the new DualDisc(TM) (CD and DVD combination) audio format.

DVD-Audio playback is now available in original equipment and aftermarket automotive audio systems, and in dedicated and universal DVD players and PC applications as well as portable DVD players. The Dolby exhibit at CES will feature DVD-Audio demonstrations of the latest DualDisc titles from Silverline Records. The initial DualDisc offerings from Silverline also include "second session" high-efficiency AAC (HE-AAC) files pre-encoded with Dolby Headphone technology. These files are designed to be transferred to Apple(R) iPod(R) players for a realistic multichannel surround sound experience from any set of connected headphones.

Consumer Electronics in the Home

Dolby will be demonstrating the most recent advancement in digital video recording -- the ability for consumers to record and produce personal videos in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. In addition, the exhibit will feature the industry's first television sets with integrated personal video recorders (PVRs) and two-channel Dolby Digital Recording technology.

The Dolby PC Entertainment Experience

In the PC arena, Dolby has teamed with Intel to provide home-theater-quality audio to Intel(R)-processor-based PCs. Dolby is enabling PC manufacturers to offer a range of digital home PCs with integrated system-wide support for Dolby premier technologies under the Dolby PC Entertainment Experience program. Using Intel-based PCs with HD-Audio featuring Dolby licensed software applications and integrated audio codec solutions, Dolby will be demonstrating the following technologies: Dolby Digital Live, Dolby Digital 5.1 Creator, Dolby Headphone, and Dolby Pro Logic IIx.

Automotive Surround Sound

As a testament to the increase in cars with surround sound, Dolby will be featuring the recently announced 2005 Volvo S80 equipped with Dolby Pro Logic II and the new 2005 Acura RL with DVD-Audio. Dolby continues to partner with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) so that drivers and passengers can enjoy the benefits of surround sound in the comfort of their automobile. Currently, 17 models are available globally that incorporate a Dolby automotive surround technology. Dolby partners Visteon (LVCC North Plaza/NP1) and Boston Acoustics (LVCC North Plaza/NP4) will also feature Dolby demonstration vehicles at CES that integrate Dolby Pro Logic II, DVD-Audio, and the first-ever wireless Dolby Headphone solution available from OEMs for the ultimate in-car surround sound experience.

The Next Level in Gaming

With Dolby technology, game consoles and home theater systems are offering a compelling combination for the next-generation of gaming. Gamers are hooking up game consoles such as the Microsoft(R) Xbox(R) or the Sony(R) Playstation(R) 2 to home theater systems to take full advantage of current and future game titles. Games with Dolby Digital and Dolby Pro Logic II technology offer gamers an interactive, compelling, surround-sound gaming experience.

Dolby's booth at the 2005 International CES, booth no. 20913, is located at the Las Vegas Convention Center 's (LVCC) south hall, on the lower level, from January 6-9.

For more information about Dolby Laboratories or Dolby technologies, please visit http://www.dolby.com .

Dolby, Pro Logic, and the double-D symbol are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. MLP Lossless is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories. All other trademarks remain the property of their respective owners.

(C) 2004 Dolby Laboratories, Inc. S04/XXXXX