Dolby Digital Sound for HDTV in Europe

Broadcasters in France, Germany and the UK Select 5.1 Surround Sound for Upcoming High-Definition Services

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Sep 09, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Dolby Laboratories (NYSE: DLB) announced today that the first three broadcasters to launch high-definition (HD) television in Europe will all be featuring Dolby Digital surround sound on their channels as an integral part of the service. These three broadcasters, the French pay-TV operator Canal+ Group, German pay-TV operator Premiere, and BSkyB in the UK, are all market leaders for satellite TV in their regions. Dolby technology will be featured in every receiving set-top box for the high-definition services of these three subscriber platforms.

"Dolby delivers the perfect sound for the perfect HDTV picture," said Hans Seger, Chief Program Officer, Premiere. "The combination of Premiere HD quality and Dolby Digital surround sound will make television an exciting experience."

Joseph Guegan, Executive Vice President, Technology and Information Systems, Canal+, commented, "HD with Dolby Digital surround sound is a natural evolution for Canal+ Group, which already provides its premium content with the very best of technology to its subscribers."

According to the May 2005 Digital Television Market Report Western Europe from Understanding & Solutions, an international research company, HDTV will drive "major renewal" in the European consumer broadcast products market. The report suggests that European consumers will need to purchase both HD-ready television sets and broadcast set-top boxes in order to enjoy HDTV services. It also points out that the current install base of standard-definition televisions will not display HDTV broadcasts to their full advantage. The report forecasts that by 2009, 43.4 million European homes will be connected to digital satellite services and 10 to 15 percent of these are likely to have HDTV decoders.

"In terms of the European HD market, we now see this becoming a very positive environment after a period of time when it was widely felt that Europe would severely lag the US, Japan, and other parts of the world. The drivers of HD in Europe are the leading pay-TV satellite broadcasters, several of whom are aiming to launch HD services within the next 12 months," said Graeme Packman, Principal Analyst, Understanding & Solutions.

"European broadcasters already have experience providing thrilling 5.1 surround soundtracks with their standard-definition programming, so they are well equipped to make 5.1 TV audio as important a part of HD here as it has already proved to be in the US, Japan, and Australia," said Jason Power, Market Development Manager, Dolby Laboratories. "Dolby Digital has been chosen by many market-leading broadcasters as a way to innovate, prove technical leadership, and offer an extra incentive to customers to subscribe."

In addition to Dolby Digital 5.1, many broadcasters are including Dolby Digital Plus in their set-top-box specifications in order to take full advantage of new coding efficiencies, higher fidelity, and the flexibility to add more audio channels in the future. Dolby Digital Plus is included in the Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) Project's audio-video specifications, and has been selected as a mandatory standard for the new disc formats for HD DVD and as an optional standard for Blu-ray Discs.

Dolby Digital Plus, an extension of Dolby Digital, is a sophisticated and versatile audio codec, designed specifically to adapt to the changing demands of future audio and video delivery and audio storage systems. Due to its enhanced efficiency, it can offer extremely high-quality audio while reducing the size of the overall program package.

About Dolby Laboratories
Dolby Laboratories (NYSE: DLB) develops and delivers products and technologies that make the entertainment experience more realistic and immersive. For four decades Dolby has been at the forefront of defining high-quality audio and surround sound in cinema, broadcast, home audio systems, cars, DVDs, headphones, games, televisions, and personal computers. Based in San Francisco with European headquarters in England, the company has entertainment industry liaison offices in New York and Los Angeles, and licensing liaison offices in London, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.

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

Certain statements in this press release, including statements regarding the performance and capabilities of Dolby Digital for broadcast, the potential benefits that broadcasters and consumers may derive from this technology, the demand for this technology, the growth of broadcast markets in general, and the European broadcast market in particular as a result of the adoption of this technology and the related anticipated growth in sales of digital satellite services and HDTV decoders are "forward-looking statements" that are subject to risks and uncertainties.

These risks and uncertainties, which could cause the forward-looking statements to differ materially from anticipated results, include, without limitation, risks associated with successfully going on air with Dolby technologies, risks associated with consumer demand for surround sound broadcasts, rapid changes in hardware devices for receiving broadcasts, risks associated with building market acceptance of and demand for Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus technologies; risks associated with building market acceptance for HD formats in general; competition in the market for high-quality audio technologies; rapid changes in technical requirements for high-definition technologies; risks associated with introducing new technologies to broadcasting products; risks associated with having Dolby technologies adopted as industry standards; and other risks detailed in Dolby's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including its quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC for the quarter ended July 1, 2005.

Dolby disclaims any obligation to update information contained in these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

SOURCE: Dolby Laboratories

Slightly edited by Rob Crabtree