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April 21, 2003
Shanghai, PR China, April 21, 2003--Dolby Laboratories will introduce key Surround
in Motion™ in-car entertainment technologies--Dolby® Pro Logic® II, Dolby Digital
5.1, and Dolby Headphone technologies--to the Chinese automobile market at the 10th
Shanghai International Automotive Industrial Exposition, being held here through
April 27. Show attendees can experience the Dolby in-car entertainment technologies,
displayed for the first time in China, at Alpine Electronics' booth, #5E-43.
"Dolby Surround in Motion audio technologies elevate the excitement and quality of incar
entertainment to an entirely new level, enabling consumers to enjoy in their cars the
same rich, full surround sound experience as in the cinema or at home," said Patrick
Artiaga, Director, Automotive and Broadcast Marketing, Dolby Laboratories. "With the
expected growth of the Chinese automotive industry, Dolby mobile entertainment
technologies provide automotive manufacturers and automotive after-market (retail)
industries within China a competitive advantage for the future of in-car entertainment
systems."
"As a world leader in mobile multimedia, Alpine is proud to be involved with the Dolby
Pro Logic II audio vehicle for the Chinese market," said Steven Crawford, Manager,
Aftermarket Strategic Planning Department of the Alpine Electronics headquarters in
Japan. "Certainly, we have high expectations for the future growth of this region, and
we are equally excited about being one of the first companies to show Chinese
consumers the advantages of Alpine multichannel entertainment systems for the vehicle
which incorporate Dolby technologies."
In addition, attendees at the Shanghai Auto Show will be able to see the first vehicle in
China to feature a factory-installed entertainment system with Dolby Pro Logic II
surround sound technology: the new Volvo XC90 Sport Utility Vehicle. Enthusiastically
received at its official debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit
in January 2002, the XC90 received Motor Trend's 2003 Sport/Utility of the Year award
and boasts a Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound system.
Dolby Surround Sound for the Car
Dolby surround sound adds depth and realism to any audio experience--music, movies,
television, and games--by enveloping the listener in a multidimensional sound field.
The current standard for surround sound is 5.1 channels: speakers for Left, Center, and
Right channels in front of the listener; speakers for Left Surround and Right Surround
channels behind; plus a subwoofer (referred to as the ".1") for the low-frequency effects.
Dolby mobile entertainment technology, such as Dolby Pro Logic II and Dolby Digital,
provide automotive customers the possibility of migrating surround entertainment from
the home to the car. As the presence of entertainment media such as compact discs
(CDs) and DVD-Video increases in cars, Dolby Laboratories is there to provide
effective audio technologies to optimize the mobile entertainment experience.
Dolby technologies, the standards for high-quality and surround sound audio for nearly
four decades, provide car audio and other mobile multimedia manufacturers tremendous
flexibility to create a wide range of in-car surround sound products for consumers. In
particular, our two key Surround in Motion technologies, Dolby Pro Logic II and Dolby
Digital 5.1, allow consumers to enjoy a consistent entertainment experience from the
cinema to the home and now to their automobiles.
Dolby Pro Logic II Technology Turns Stereo into Surround Sound
Dolby Pro Logic II, the most natural-sounding matrix decoding technology available,
takes two-channel stereo content from CDs, MP3 files, FM radio, and other sources and
converts it into realistic, natural surround sound. Perhaps the most innovative Dolby
Pro Logic II features are Dolby Center Width, Dolby Dimension mode, and Dolby
Panorama mode technologies, which work together to fine-tune the sound field, creating
a rich and enveloping surround ambience from stereo sources.
Dolby Center Width gradually spreads the Center channel sound into the front Left and
Right channels to help achieve a more spacious sound or a better blend of the front
speakers. In its narrow setting, Dolby Center Width presents a single center sound field
to listeners; at its widest setting, all the sound from the center is divided between the
Left and Right speakers, providing the effect of two separate Center channels: one for
the driver and one for the front-seat passenger.
Dolby Dimension mode adjusts the surround field, allowing the front passengers to
choose the depth of the surround sound balance from front to back. Dolby Panorama
mode wraps the sound from the front Left and Right speakers around the listeners for
an exciting perspective that makes it seem as if the sound is coming from outside of the
car.
Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Headphone Technologies Important for Rear-Seat
Entertainment
It is increasingly common for vehicles to be equipped with rear-seat entertainment
systems that include a video display for watching DVD movies or playing games.
Dolby Digital 5.1 is the state-of-the-art 5.1-channel surround format experienced in the
cinema, DVDs, high-definition television (HDTV), and games, while Dolby Headphone
technology provides a simulated 5.1 surround sound experience over stereo headphones.
In the car, Dolby Digital and Dolby Headphone technologies can be incorporated into
rear-seat entertainment systems featuring DVD players, or into mobile theater surround
processors to provide passengers their own personal surround sound environment.
About Dolby in In-Car Entertainment
Dolby audio technologies for in-car entertainment applications comprise a variety of
options that elevate the quality of in-car entertainment to an entirely new standard.
Dolby technologies such as noise reduction on cassette tapes, Dolby Pro Logic II on
compact discs, Dolby Digital on DVD-Video, and MLP Lossless™ on DVD-Audio give
consumers a host of in-car entertainment choices. Dolby mobile entertainment
technologies can be found in both OEM (automotive manufacturers) and automotive
aftermarket (retail) products. For additional information, please visit www.dolby.com/incar.
About Dolby Laboratories
Dolby Laboratories creates technologies that intensify and enhance the entertainment
experience, making it richer, fuller, and more involving. For nearly four decades, Dolby
has been instrumental in 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 privately held company has entertainment industry liaison offices in New York and
Los Angeles, and licensing liaison offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, and Tokyo.
For more information about Dolby Laboratories or Dolby technologies, please visit
www.dolby.com.
Dolby, Pro Logic, and the double-D symbol are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. Surround in Motion is a trademark of Dolby
Laboratories. All other trademarks remain the property of their respective owners. © Dolby Laboratories, Inc. S03/14733
Media Contacts:
Jim Arnold, Dolby Laboratories, Inc., Director of Public Relations, 415-645-5116 jja@dolby.com
Colleen Martell, Martell Communications, 408-374-7420 cmartell@martellpr.com
