Dolby improves on Enhanced AC-3 format
April 17, 2012

Dolby improves on Enhanced AC-3 format

LAS VEGAS — Dolby is showing enhancements to its Dolby Digital Plus format at this year’s NAB show. Dolby Digital Plus (sometimes referred to as Enhanced AC-3) is designed for evolving media, including Webcasts, mobile applications and Blu-ray discs. The format can efficiently delivers up to 7.1 channels of surround sound.

At NAB, the company is demonstrating enhancements to the core encoding process, which enables cinematic 5.1 surround sound to be delivered at 192kbps — half the datarate typically used by broadcast services today. These reductions can translate into more space for HD channels on congested terrestrial platforms, more opportunity to deploy added features, such as 7.1 surround and multiple languages on pay TV services, and multiroom capability on IPTV systems. Online content providers can also leverage the savings to reach more consumers with optimized audio.

Dolby Digital Plus’s ability to support seamless bit rate switching for online and over-the-top delivery enables service providers to deliver a consistent, high quality audio experience even as available bandwidth changes. The format is currently supported in more than 

640 million products worldwide.