DVB Project Adds Dolby Digital Plus to IPTV Specifications

The Digital Video Broadcasting Project (DVB), an industry consortium that develops global standards for digital TV, will include Dolby Digital Plus audio technology as an option in the latest version of its IPTV specifications. These specifications (TS 102 005) outline how IPTV digital television services may be delivered to home receivers over Internet protocol connections.



Dolby Digital Plus (technical name: E-AC-3) is an extension of the Dolby Digital format, an audio standard for DVD-Video players worldwide. Dolby Labs said its technology provides IPTV operators with a flexible and efficient multichannel audio solution that maintains many of the advantages of Dolby Digital, such as connectivity to millions of home A/V receivers, while offering lower data rates and added features. Support for the technology is being built into the current generation of chipsets for IPTV.

Dolby Digital Plus has been included in the DVB specifications at the request of operators and electronics manufacturers within the consortium. The Dolby Digital (originally known by its technical name, AC-3) format has also been included. According to the specifications, either technology may be implemented as the sole audio format in an IPTV system. Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby Digital are already also featured in DVB specifications for digital cable satellite and terrestrial transmissions (TS 101 154) and have been selected as audio formats for HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

""Viewers of IPTV services want home cinema-style sound, just like they get on DVD and other digital TV services," commented Jason Power, Market Development Manager, Dolby Laboratories. "With Dolby Digital Plus now included in the DVB specifications, telecom operators can deliver the full Dolby surround sound experience at a data rate that's practical for IPTV."http://www.dolby.com