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The Company's Founding
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The Formula for Film Sound Success
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By the early 1980s, this logo appeared on hundreds of feature films yearly and on thousands of cinema marquees worldwide. |
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Recognizing that the film industry was not eager for an improved mono format, Dolby Laboratories introduced a true breakthrough in 1975: a highly practical 35 mm stereo optical release print format originally identified as Dolby Stereo®. In the space allotted to the conventional mono optical soundtrack were two soundtracks carrying not only left and right information, but also information for a third center-screen channel and a fourth surround channel for ambient sound and special effects. Yet the new track was configured to allow mono playback too, requiring only one kind of release print.
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The CP50 sound processor provided cinemas a convenient, cost-effective means for decoding Dolby Stereo optical soundtracks (1976). |
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This new optical format provided both multichannel stereo and higher quality sound. As with the original mono format, Dolby noise reduction lowered the hissing and popping, and loudspeaker equalization was provided to adjust the theatre sound system to a new, wide-range standard response curve.
Unlike expensive magnetic prints, the Dolby optical four-channel stereo format prints cost no more than mono prints. What's more, conversion to Dolby optical was relatively simple and once the equipment was installed, very little maintenance was required, particularly compared to magnetic stereo playback systems.
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| Four-channel surround sound from stereo optical soundtracks remains the standard analog format today, although much improved with the application of Dolby SR beginning in 1987. |
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The Dolby Film Program
Although the potential for the new stereo optical format was far greater than the original mono Dolby format, success did not come overnight. Whereas Dolby noise reduction for professional tape recording was a relatively straightforward add-on and could be marketed as such, Dolby's new film format required significant changes throughout the film sound recording/producing chain, and thus throughout the film industry.
Dolby's ultimate goal seemed simple enough: to produce and profit from a new range of theatre sound-processing equipment. However, for that to happen, film producers had to be educated about the benefits of the new format. Sound mixers had to be brought up-to-date with new techniques. Distributors had to be reassured that stereo release prints were compatible with mono theatres. Theatre equipment suppliers had to be educated in system requirements and installation procedures. And theatre owners had to be convinced that investing in the new equipment would pay off at the box office. As a result, it was necessary to implement and staff a film sound program that would reach out to all these disparate segments of the film industry.
The resulting international program is multifaceted. Dolby film sound consultants assist at the mix of films slated for release with soundtracks utilizing Dolby technology (available today in every film production center in the world). Dolby has also established offices in New York and Los Angeles to further assist the US film industry, and it regularly conducts training courses for equipment installers and technicians on Dolby theatre sound equipment.
As with other media, Dolby builds the encoding equipment necessary to produce soundtracks incorporating Dolby advances. This equipment is not sold outright, but is leased to film companies and studios. This policy, along with the quality control applied to film soundtracks by Dolby consultants, the fact that Dolby manufactures theatre sound processors with the same standards as the encoding equipment, and the various Dolby training programs, helps ensure the high quality presentation audiences have come to expect from seeing the name Dolby on the cinema marquee.
One further element was needed to ensure Dolby's lasting presence in the field of film sound: audience awareness. This came in 1977, with the release of two immensely popular films that were recorded with the new Dolby technology: Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. These blockbusters were exhibited in enough theatres that had the new Dolby equipment for audiences and industry alike to sit up and take notice. Marketing research soon showed that moviegoers would seek out theatres exhibiting in the Dolby stereo format, and avoid mono presentations of the same films.
While "big" films were early adopters of the new Dolby technology, it wasn't long before films of all types were released with stereo optical soundtracks. This created a profound change in the moviegoing experience. In 1976, when you went to the movies, chances were that it would have low-fidelity, mono sound; multichannel hi-fi stereo was a rarity. Today, chances are your film will be presented with multichannel stereo sound—attributable directly to Dolby Laboratories and its film sound program.
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Dolby Surround and Home Theater
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| Dolby Surround encodes the two tracks of any stereo program source with four-channel surround sound, in much the same way as movie soundtracks (1982). |
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Recognizing the potential for decoding multichannel sound at home, in 1982 Dolby introduced Dolby Surround, a consumer extension of the Dolby film sound project. The first technology to be licensed to consumer electronics manufacturers was a means of decoding the surround channel in home systems. This was followed by Dolby Surround Pro Logic, a technology that made it possible to decode the center channel as well, and to take advantage of advanced circuitry developed originally for theatrical playback.
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| Home theater, now enjoyed by millions of consumers worldwide, was made possible by the inclusion of four-channel Dolby Surround Pro Logic decoding in products such as A/V receivers (1987). |
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Unlike the quadraphonic sound of the 1970s, Dolby Surround quickly gained marketplace acceptance. For one thing, the multiple channel configuration and its ideal utilization it were firmly established within one industry (film) in advance of its introduction to another. Also, it was developed with a clear objective, specifically to enhance the viewing experience. And third, software and hardware standards for both the film and consumer electronics industries are defined by one organization.
As home viewers began to set up more surround systems, the consumer electronics industry realized that a new category of home playback system was being forged. "Home theater," as it is now called, soon became the fastest-growing consumer electronics segment, bringing new life to a stagnating industry. Like Dolby noise reduction, Dolby Surround is administered by the Dolby Laboratories licensing program with quality standards both for hardware and for recorded and broadcast media.
Dolby Surround programming now includes television broadcasts—not only films with soundtracks encoded with Dolby technology, but also regular TV series, specials, and sports events transmitted in Dolby Surround. Dolby Surround has even spread to video games and other multimedia applications. As with Dolby films, material encoded with Dolby Surround is compatible with two-channel stereo, and even mono playback.
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| Home theater systems with Dolby Surround Pro Logic provide surround sound much like that in cinemas. |
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