(Dolby Laboratories, Wiltshire, England, www.dolby.com) An audio research laboratory founded in 1965 in London by American engineer and physicist Ray Dolby. The company introduced its noise reduction system for tape recording in that same year, which became known as Dolby A and has been widely used in music recording as well as movie theater soundtracks. Dolby B and C, introduced in 1968 and 1981 respectively, were geared for consumer audio tapes.
In 1986, Dolby SR (Spectral Recording) added signal processing techniques that doubled the noise reduction of Dolby A for professional use. Its derivative, Dolby S, is found in high-end cassette decks. Dolby circuits have been used in millions of audio tape recorders and players to eliminate the annoying hiss and improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of analog tapes.
Starting in the 1970s, Dolby's analog and digital audio encoding technologies have been mainstream audio formats for movie theaters and home theater systems. See Dolby Surround and Dolby Digital.
In 1986, Dolby SR (Spectral Recording) added signal processing techniques that doubled the noise reduction of Dolby A for professional use. Its derivative, Dolby S, is found in high-end cassette decks. Dolby circuits have been used in millions of audio tape recorders and players to eliminate the annoying hiss and improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of analog tapes.
Starting in the 1970s, Dolby's analog and digital audio encoding technologies have been mainstream audio formats for movie theaters and home theater systems. See Dolby Surround and Dolby Digital.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Ear Force X4
- Wireless headphones have been around for a while, but it's only been in the past few years that quality has gotten high enough for discerning listeners to consider using them. Many manufacturers, for instance, have turned to infrared IR technology for wireless signal transmission, which generally offers better sound quality...
- Product reviews 2008-08-08
- Sony BDP-S350
- Sony has been the public face of Blu-ray since the format's inception, and while most of the focus during the bitter Blu-ray vs. HD DVD format war was on the company's PlayStation 3, Sony has been making standalone Blu-ray players from the start, beginning with the $1,000 BDP-S1. Unfortunately, that...
- Product reviews 2008-08-05
- Samsung BD-P1500
- The most important question for any standalone Blu-ray player is whether it's better than the Sony PlayStation 3. Let's answer that one right off the bat: Samsung's new BD-P1500 is not. They both cost the same ($400 list), but the PS3 has better image quality, currently supports both Blu-ray Profile...
- Product reviews 2008-07-01
- JVC TH-F3
- When we looked at last year's TH-L1 from JVC, we were really impressed at the number of connectivity options the compact 5.1-channel home-theater-in-a-box HTIB packed in its tiny chassis. While the device didn't come with a built-in DVD player, it still was able to switch between two 1080p-capable HDMI ports....
- Product reviews 2008-06-16
- Panasonic DMP-BD50
- Sony may be the face of Blu-ray, and Samsung made the first Blu-ray player, but lately Panasonic has been leading the technological race among standalone (non-PlayStation 3) Blu-ray players. Last October, the company released the DMP-BD30K, which was the first Blu-ray Profile 1.1 player on the market, beating its competitors...
- Product reviews 2008-06-06
- Sony HT-CT100
- It's a familiar story in consumer electronics: start with a luxurious, expensive, and exclusive product category, and within just a few years, you'll see a sea of imitators delivering the same basic item with more features, less money, and--ideally--better performance. Take single-speaker audio. Once the exclusive domain of Yamaha Digital...
- Product reviews 2008-06-05
- Apogee HDMI 3x1 Mini Switcher
- HDMI connectivity is quickly becoming a must-have connection type for all kinds of gadgets. But while the list of gadgets with an HDMI output is growing, the number of HDMI inputs on HDTVs and receivers is limited. That's where HDMI switchers come into play, allowing you to add more HDMI-enabled...
- Product reviews 2008-06-05
- Xbox 360 HDMI Conversion Kit
- Unlike every version of the PlayStation 3, the first batch of Xbox 360 consoles didn't include an HDMI-out port. Yes, firmware updates eventually added 1080p output via the console's component cables--despite the fact that the matching inputs on most TVs didn't support that resolution. HDMI eventually came to the Xbox...
- Product reviews 2008-06-02
- Yamaha YSP-900
- The YSP-900 may be the entry-level model in Yamaha's YSP single-speaker surround lineup for 2008, but it sounds largely the same as its immediate step-up model, the YSP-3000, with which it shares the same basic design. Yamaha's single speaker surround systems all use advanced technology to project sound into the...
- Product reviews 2008-05-21
- Stream PC content to every HDTV in the house via coaxial cable
- In a similar vein to yesterday's post about wireless HDTVs, today's news arrives with a media streamer by ZeeVee that plugs into one's computer and sends on-screen content to every TV in the house over existing coaxial cable. In effect, the unit, called the ZvBox, enables users...
- Blog posts 2008-05-01
- Easy DVD to VCD Burner (exe)
- Easy DVD to VCD Burner is an easy-to-use DVD ripping, backup, and burning software for Windows. You can copy DVD to VCD (MPEG1), SVCD (MPEG2), or DivX (MPEG4)AVI files with just a few clicks. It produces movie with excellent audio/video quality and smaller file size compared with other softwares. The...
- Software downloads 2008-04-30
- Lenovo's 11-inch laptop now available
- Lenovo announced today that its new 11-inch widescreen laptop for consumers is now available online. The IdeaPad U110 was one of three notebook models Lenovo announced at CES in January when the company rolled out its new consumer brand, which includes IdeaPad laptops, and outside of the...
- Blog posts 2008-04-29
- Philips BDP-7200
- When first announced at CES, the Philips BDP7200 grabbed some headlines with its $350 price tag, which was $50 less than the Sony PlayStation 3. Well, a couple of months have passed and apparently Philips couldn't live up to its promise. The BDP7200 is now going for $400, precisely the...
- Product reviews 2008-04-28
- DJ Surface (zip)
- DJ Surface is a powerfull, lightweight, audio mixing software application for Windows. It has a working area, a surface, where you can work with different MP3 and WMA audio tracks. It uses Dolby 5.1 / 7.1 to separate audio channels in order to monitor decks out of the main mix....
- Software downloads 2008-04-17
- The highs and lows of digital camcorders: Flip Video Ultra vs. Sony Handycam HDR-TG1
- There's been a lot of renewed media interest of late in Pure Digital's Flip Video (aka, The Flip), the super-simple, low-res, flash-based video recorder (with flip-out USB dongle) that has taken the camcorder industry by storm in the year since it was launched. David Pogue reviewed the lastest version...
- Blog posts 2008-04-06
- Acoustic Research AWD510 Wireless Headphones
- "Wireless headphones" can mean different things to different people. Many envision Bluetooth portables--either the one-ear cell phone headsets or lightweight stereo models designed for on the go use. But there's also a large market for wireless home headphones, those larger models that are designed to be used around the house...
- Product reviews 2008-03-26
- Samsung HT-BD2T
- Now that Blu-ray has officially triumphed over its HD DVD rival, it's only natural to begin seeing the high-definition disc format begin to become a bit more, well, standardized. Take the Samsung HT-BD2T: It's the first home-theater-in-a-box system in the world to feature a built-in Blu-ray player. It's...
- Product reviews 2008-03-21
- HDMI survival guide for home theater
- HDMI survival guide for home theaterUm,the 1960s ended ;)It was UHF not UHV and it is still there.That is where the digital channels are placed.We still got them, but it's blocky when the signal is badWe still got them, but it's blocky when the signal is bad or insufficient. ...
- Discussion threads 2008-03-21
- Triple-core Phenom - Where does it fit in to the big picture?
- Triple-core Phenom - Where does it fit in to the big picture?give me IntelI would pay more for the Intel Q6600 because it has been out in the market longer with no serious issues unlike the phenom processor.RE: Triple-core Phenom - Where does it fit in to the big picture?We...
- Discussion threads 2008-03-13
- Microsoft cuts Xbox 360 prices in Europe
- Microsoft cuts Xbox 360 prices in EuropeMaybe they could bundle them with the OS . . .They could flood the market with x-Boxes the same way they flooded the market with IE and WMP.Wii still hugely outsellsRegardless of Blu-ray, PS3 price cuts and now XBox360 price cuts, the Wii still...
- Discussion threads 2008-03-10
Neighboring Terms
Premier Vendor Content Whitepapers, webcasts & resources from our Power Center Sponsors
The Green Enterprise
-
- A look into the enterprise to explore eco-friendly practices and innovations. In this ZDNet video series learn about what's motivating green tech, and how green technologies are impacting IT. 0:42
-
Harnessing the power of waves
3:13
-
Planting solar gardens
5:06
-
Fill your car for $1.10 a gallon?
1:43
- All series videos »
