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AUSTRALIA RECOMMENDS DOLBY DIGITAL
AS AUDIO STANDARD FOR DIGITAL TV

 

Dolby Laboratories, the world leader in multichannel sound technology, announced on 20 August 1998 that Australia has selected Dolby Digital as the audio standard for its digital television initiative. After a careful evaluation, Australia's Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting (DTTB) Selection Panel named Dolby Digital (AC-3) the preferred method of audio encoding prior to modulation. The milestone decision will expedite the introduction of high-definition digital television broadcasting (HDTV) to Australia in January 2001.

The DTTB chose Dolby Digital coding based upon its superior technical performance, the widespread availability of consumer products with Dolby Digital decoding, and the large number of Dolby licensing partners. Beginning in November 1996, Australia's Government Communications Lab evaluated two HDTV formats on behalf of the DTTB, then picked the internationally developed digital video broadcast modulation system (DVB-T) as the recommended format.

While the European DBV standard specifies Motion Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) video and audio, the recommended Australian DBV HDTV format combines MPEG video and Dolby Digital audio coding.

"On the heels of the US, Canada and Taiwan, selecting Dolby Digital as the audio standard for digital television, we are pleased that Australia has also recognized the quality of our digital audio technology," said Bill Jasper, President of Dolby Laboratories. "We look forward to establishing Dolby Digital as the digital audio standard worldwide, for both digital television broadcasting and the digital video disc."

"We believe that using Dolby Digital audio encoding will help provide Australia with the best available HDTV service," said Bruce Robertson, Chairman of the Federation of Commercial Television Stations (FACTS) Specialists Group-DTTB. "Our recommendation brings Australia into line with the US HDTV audio format which, in particular, will allow for pricing advantages within this growing and evolving marketplace."

 

About FACTS-DTTB

Facts, which represents the three Australian commercial networks and affiliated and independent stations, operates in a manner similar to the National Association of Broadcasters in the US. The organisation has five main functions: Policy Establishment, Lobbying on behalf of the Industry, Commercial Acceptance, Industrial Relations and Engineering.

 

About Dolby Digital

Dolby Digital is a perceptual audio coding algorithm that takes advantage of auditory masking and both intra- and inter-channel redundancy to enable the efficient storage and transmission of high-quality digital audio. Conceived as a multichannel system, it was first introduced in 1992 for cinema sound. Due to its unmatched combination of audio quality, low data rate, and flexibility, Dolby Digital has since become available on laser disc, a mandated audio format for DVD-Video discs worldwide, and the audio standard for ATSC digital broadcast TV and SCTE digital cable TV.

 

About Dolby Laboratories

Dolby Laboratories is the developer of audio signal processing systems used worldwide in consumer audio and video products, on consumer audio and video entertainment media, and in professional sound applications that include music recording, broadcasting, and motion picture sound. The privately held company is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in New York and Los Angeles and European headquarters in England.