Dolby Digital 5.1 Camcorders

Dolby Laboratories showed off the first implementation of Dolby Digital 5.1 Creator in a consumer camcorder product. T he Sony DVD Handycam camcorder model DCR- DVD 403 debuted in the Sony and Dolby exhibits at CES. The product incorporates built-in multichannel microphones and Dolby Digital 5.1 Creator, enabling consumers to record their home movies in dramatic 5.1-channel digital surround sound.

Dolby Digital 5.1 Creator is a sophisticated audio coding technology that formats audio content into a multichannel Dolby Digital bitstream, allowing consumers to create home movies with full surround sound that captures the entire setting. As a result of encoding efficiencies, 5.1-channel Dolby Digital requires less data than stereo PCM, resulting in savings in disc space and allowing consumers to make longer recordings or store higher-quality video content by assigning a higher data rate to video.

"Dolby Digital 5.1 Creator opens up a whole new world for the camcorder enthusiast," commented Ron Vitale, Director of Marketing, Consumer Division, Dolby Laboratories. "Now consumers can bring home all of their vacation memories - in both sound and picture. Whether it's a street corner in Prague , or the theater where a daughter is performing her first piano recital, the entire ambience of the event is captured and preserved in Dolby Digital 5.1."

The Sony Handycam camcorder DCR- DVD 403 records to a 3-inch DVD, which is simple and convenient to shoot, play, and share. Played back in most DVD players, and connected to 5.1 audio system, special memories such as birthdays, concerts, or graduations are delivered in realistic and immersive multi-channel sound.

A major area of concern for camcorder users has always been the recording of narration tracks on home movies. One added bonus is that w ith Dolby Digital 5.1 Creator built into a camcorder, the person recording no longer needs to shout into the microphone to be heard. The narration can be easily picked up by the rear channels without masking the sounds of objects directly in front of the camera.