Dolby Volume Technology

We were able to speak a bit with Dolby about an upcoming technology that will help level out the uneven volume found in a lot of program material sent out by broadcasters to consumers. Dolby Volume is a new audio-processing technology designed to help television manufacturers address the annoyances of inconsistent loudness in broadcast TV. Dolby Volume brings a fundamentally new approach to TV entertainment by delivering consistent volume levels. It models how humans perceive audio to finally eliminate variable loudness when changing channels or programs, without disruptive audio artifacts. It also delivers a robust and vibrant audio experience at low volume by dynamically compensating for the human ear's lower sensitivity to bass and treble sounds as the volume level decreases. These adjustments are automatic and do not require user intervention as the volume changes.

We spoke with Craig Eggers and he said the effect went way beyond the typical "loudness" or smiley face grapghic EQ adjustments typically found in consumer products today. Dolby Volume maintains a real amount of clear and performance-enhancing bass - even at lower volume levels.

Dolby Volume builds on more than 40 years of pioneering research into human hearing and capitalizes on other loudness control products such as the DP600 found in the Dolby Digital broadcast system. Dolby expects to commence delivery of Dolby Volume code to integrated circuit manufacturers in Q1 of 2007.

This is a cool product that solves a very relevant problem and we're hoping it quickly makes its way into the broadcast market.

For more information please visit www.dolby.com .