News

Dolby Labs Wins Technical Emmy

San Francisco (October 28, 2003)--The National Academy for Television Arts and Sciences awarded Dolby Laboratories an Emmy Award in recognition of the Development of Surround Sound for Television at the recent Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards event in New York.

Dolby was recognized for its contributions to the success of surround sound for broadcast, specifically for the development of its original matrix surround technology, which was created for compatibility with home video, television broadcast, and cable. The company was also noted for its policy of royalty-free services for content creators, the design and standardization of a consumer decoder and the company's offering no-cost sublicensing of earlier surround-sound-related patents. Additionally, Dolby was recognized for its continued development of new technologies, right through to today's era of discrete Dolby Digital for broadcast.

Charlie Jablonski, chairman of the technology and engineering committee of NATAS, commented, "Dolby Laboratories has been, and continues to be, a pioneer in surround sound for television through its contributions to the growing amount of surround sound programming, its continuous development of new and better technologies, and its worldwide acceptance in consumer electronic products. The Academy is happy to be able to present this award to such an influential company, which has improved the entertainment experience of television viewers everywhere."

"Dolby surround sound has become an essential part of high-quality television broadcasting, and we are very honored to be recognized by the Academy for our contributions," said Tom Daily, director of marketing, professional audio, Dolby Laboratories.

More than 155 million Dolby Surround decoders have been sold worldwide. The CEA reports that 30 percent of U.S. households are equipped with a Dolby Surround decoder and four or more speakers. Hundreds of programs are broadcast every year on all the major networks.

Dolby Laboratories
www.dolby.com