Dolby demos two new sound technologies for broadcasts

Dolby has recently been showing off its new Dolby Digital Plus system, a digital audio technology based on standard Dolby Digital. Dolby Digital Plus is designed, says Dolby, ‘to meet the demands of future audio and video delivery systems, such as next-generation broadcast and HD packaged media formats’. It apparently features higher fidelity, more channel applications, and new coding efficiencies, while maintaining compatibility with existing Dolby Digital home theatre systems. Dolby Digital Plus has been selected as a mandatory standard for the HD DVD format and as an optional standard for the new Blu-ray Disc.

Dolby has also demonstrated the Dolby LM100 Broadcast Loudness Meter. Designed to tackle ifferences in loudness levels between programmes, or between programmes and commercials, the LM100 simplifies program audio level measurement by quantifying the perceived loudness of dialogue within broadcast programming, and presenting the results in an easy-to-understand numerical format.