Dolby: the company that created the sound
Ray Dolby led the Dolby company for 48 years. Over the years, the company's logo on audio equipment has become a sign of quality, movies with surround sound are shown in most cinemas in the world, home music systems are unthinkable without this sound. Thirty years ago, Dolby technology began to be used in audio players, and now it is used in smartphones and tablets.
Since 2001, Dolby Theater has been the scene of the Oscars.
Ray Dolby was born on January 18, 1933 in Portland. From the age of 16 he worked at Ampex in the group of engineers who designed the world's first VCR in 1956. A device the size of a dresser cost 50 thousand dollars, so it was not available to ordinary users. He was chosen by television stations, replacing the recorders with VCRs. On November 30, 1956, CBS broadcast a re-release of the news program from a magnetic tape. Ampex in 1957 received an Emmy Award for invention.
Ampex engineers and the world's first VCR
')
Ampex VR 1000B at the Communications Museum in Frankfurt am Main. Photo: Wikipedia
CBS Engineer
The passion for sound led Ray Dolby to create Dolby Laboratories. The American engineer founded it as a British research laboratory in 1965, and in 1968 transferred it to New York, then to San Francisco in 1976. The laboratory was needed to create the first noise reduction system, called Dolby A. System for professionals during Two years later, it became available for ordinary users under the name Dolby B. In a few years, Dolby A was adapted for audio recording on film. The first movie made using Dolby's noise reduction system was Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange in 1975.
From noise cancellation, the company turned to the development of an analog Dolby Stereo sound recording system with four sound channels, left and right for music and effects, central for dialogues and the fourth around to create a common atmosphere. George Lucas's Star Wars and Steven Spielberg's Close Relations of the Third Kind became pioneers in this field by playing in Dolby Stereo cinemas. George Lucas announced that he would remove the episode "The Empire Strikes Back" in this format. Prior to that, only fifty cinemas in the United States had this system, and then it began to appear everywhere. In 2015, it’s hard to imagine watching a movie in a movie theater, where the name Dolby wouldn’t sound before it began.
In 1982, the company entered the home sound market with a reduced version of Dolby Stereo - Dolby Surround, which uses three-channel sound: left, right and surround. In 1987, a full four-channel modification of the system - Dolby Pro Logic - was released for the home. The Dolby logo on the audio equipment was perceived as a sign of quality.
From the same year, Dolby began work on digital sound recording systems. In 1984 it was Dolby AC-1, in 1989 the line continues Dolby AC-2, and in 1992 Dolby Digital 5.1 with six channels of surround digital sound. The first film shown in cinemas, the sound to which is recorded in this format, was “Batman Returns”.
Especially for the “Hidden Threat” of George Lucas, the company in 1999 developed Dolby Digital EX 6.1 with an additional rear surrounding channel.
In 1979, Sony was a revolutionary in the world of music, releasing the world's first cassette audio player. Ten years later, the WM-DD9 model comes out with a Dolby B / C noise reduction system. Dolby is entering the portable device market.
Sony Walkman WM-DD9
Sony Walkman Dolby C Noise Canceling Players. Source
Mobile phones and smartphones have changed the way they listen to music, replacing portable devices. In 2012, Nokia 808 smartphones, Huawei Ascend D and 150 other smartphones and tablets from 16 manufacturers were equipped with Dolby Digital Plus surround sound compression technology. With the same system works, for example, a Sony PlayStation 3 game console.
The Dolby Atmos sound system, which premiered in the movie “Brave in Heart” in 2012, is also used in mobile devices - the first was the Lenovo A7000 smartphone. The cinema system works with 128 sound objects, which specify the volume and coordinates in three-dimensional space.
Cinema Dolby Atmos is configured under the supervision of engineers of the company. For each cinema, a project is created, in accordance with the specifications, where the number and location of the speakers necessary to correctly reproduce the format is determined. Each such project is approved by an authorized Dolby consultant.
For the first time a live broadcast in HDTV format with 5.1 Dolby Digital sound took place in 1998. The company has been working in this direction for many years and plans to bring the Dolby Atmos to the market with a full immersion of the viewer in what is happening. Broadcast television can be conducted in two or three languages, switching between them at the touch of a button. Atmos for sports broadcasts will create a certain atmosphere, the company has already begun to introduce this technology.
A new system is being prepared for implementation in game consoles, the company is in talks with major manufacturers.
Dolby Atmos cinema map in Russia
Ray Dolby died on September 12, 2013, two years before the 50th anniversary of the company he founded. He managed to issue several dozen patents, was the director of the Philharmonic of San Francisco, became the Knight of the Highest Order of the British Empire, received two Oscars and an Emmy Award. Since childhood, he adored music and played musical instruments, he was interested in the nature of sound and technique. His passion, he transformed the business and created the technology, without which modern sound is inconceivable.
Since 2001, Dolby Theater has been the scene of the Oscars.
Ray Dolby was born on January 18, 1933 in Portland. From the age of 16 he worked at Ampex in the group of engineers who designed the world's first VCR in 1956. A device the size of a dresser cost 50 thousand dollars, so it was not available to ordinary users. He was chosen by television stations, replacing the recorders with VCRs. On November 30, 1956, CBS broadcast a re-release of the news program from a magnetic tape. Ampex in 1957 received an Emmy Award for invention.
Ampex engineers and the world's first VCR
')
Ampex VR 1000B at the Communications Museum in Frankfurt am Main. Photo: Wikipedia
CBS Engineer
The passion for sound led Ray Dolby to create Dolby Laboratories. The American engineer founded it as a British research laboratory in 1965, and in 1968 transferred it to New York, then to San Francisco in 1976. The laboratory was needed to create the first noise reduction system, called Dolby A. System for professionals during Two years later, it became available for ordinary users under the name Dolby B. In a few years, Dolby A was adapted for audio recording on film. The first movie made using Dolby's noise reduction system was Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange in 1975.
From noise cancellation, the company turned to the development of an analog Dolby Stereo sound recording system with four sound channels, left and right for music and effects, central for dialogues and the fourth around to create a common atmosphere. George Lucas's Star Wars and Steven Spielberg's Close Relations of the Third Kind became pioneers in this field by playing in Dolby Stereo cinemas. George Lucas announced that he would remove the episode "The Empire Strikes Back" in this format. Prior to that, only fifty cinemas in the United States had this system, and then it began to appear everywhere. In 2015, it’s hard to imagine watching a movie in a movie theater, where the name Dolby wouldn’t sound before it began.
In 1982, the company entered the home sound market with a reduced version of Dolby Stereo - Dolby Surround, which uses three-channel sound: left, right and surround. In 1987, a full four-channel modification of the system - Dolby Pro Logic - was released for the home. The Dolby logo on the audio equipment was perceived as a sign of quality.
From the same year, Dolby began work on digital sound recording systems. In 1984 it was Dolby AC-1, in 1989 the line continues Dolby AC-2, and in 1992 Dolby Digital 5.1 with six channels of surround digital sound. The first film shown in cinemas, the sound to which is recorded in this format, was “Batman Returns”.
Especially for the “Hidden Threat” of George Lucas, the company in 1999 developed Dolby Digital EX 6.1 with an additional rear surrounding channel.
In 1979, Sony was a revolutionary in the world of music, releasing the world's first cassette audio player. Ten years later, the WM-DD9 model comes out with a Dolby B / C noise reduction system. Dolby is entering the portable device market.
Sony Walkman WM-DD9
Sony Walkman Dolby C Noise Canceling Players. Source
Mobile phones and smartphones have changed the way they listen to music, replacing portable devices. In 2012, Nokia 808 smartphones, Huawei Ascend D and 150 other smartphones and tablets from 16 manufacturers were equipped with Dolby Digital Plus surround sound compression technology. With the same system works, for example, a Sony PlayStation 3 game console.
The Dolby Atmos sound system, which premiered in the movie “Brave in Heart” in 2012, is also used in mobile devices - the first was the Lenovo A7000 smartphone. The cinema system works with 128 sound objects, which specify the volume and coordinates in three-dimensional space.
Cinema Dolby Atmos is configured under the supervision of engineers of the company. For each cinema, a project is created, in accordance with the specifications, where the number and location of the speakers necessary to correctly reproduce the format is determined. Each such project is approved by an authorized Dolby consultant.
For the first time a live broadcast in HDTV format with 5.1 Dolby Digital sound took place in 1998. The company has been working in this direction for many years and plans to bring the Dolby Atmos to the market with a full immersion of the viewer in what is happening. Broadcast television can be conducted in two or three languages, switching between them at the touch of a button. Atmos for sports broadcasts will create a certain atmosphere, the company has already begun to introduce this technology.
A new system is being prepared for implementation in game consoles, the company is in talks with major manufacturers.
Dolby Atmos cinema map in Russia
Ray Dolby died on September 12, 2013, two years before the 50th anniversary of the company he founded. He managed to issue several dozen patents, was the director of the Philharmonic of San Francisco, became the Knight of the Highest Order of the British Empire, received two Oscars and an Emmy Award. Since childhood, he adored music and played musical instruments, he was interested in the nature of sound and technique. His passion, he transformed the business and created the technology, without which modern sound is inconceivable.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/297060/
All Articles