Dolby Labs becomes player in digital cinema
Sheigh Crabtree
Hollywood Reporter
Mar. 26, 2004 12:00 AM
LOS ANGELES - A firm best known for audio has its sights set on the bigger picture.
Dolby Laboratories, having spent the past 18 months quietly buying up digital imaging and anti-piracy firms, has revealed its intentions to move into the digital-cinema arena.
"We realized there was opportunity to play in more than audio," said Tim Partridge, vice president-general manager of Dolby's professional division. "In fact, we realized that audio is no longer a completely separate path; with digital cinema, we're looking at an integrated system, and we need to understand all the aspects of that system."
Dolby has been exploring opportunities in digital cinema for five years. Three years ago, the firm hired an engineering team to look into digital-cinema systems architecture, and now Dolby is providing a first look at its digital-cinema blueprints at the ShoWest 2004 convention in Las Vegas this week.
At the top of the company's agenda is the goal of developing a dedicated digital-cinema presentation system that would include further implementing security products that could be used by the motion-picture industry from production through exhibition, developing an open-standards d-cinema server and providing d-cinema mastering services to the studios.
The digital-cinema presentation system includes image and sound components.
Dolby has begun deploying products centered on security. Integral to that effort is Cinea, the anti-piracy firm Dolby bought in the fall. Since then, Dolby has launched Stealth Track, an anti-camcorder watermarking technology used in theaters; StealthView, a secure DVD player technology that Dolby hopes will be used by studios for digital dailies; a d-cinema "research project" that entails digital-rights management; and in-flight entertainment security watermarking.
Executives were less forthcoming about development plans for an open-standard d-cinema server since video codecs are still under examination by the seven studios. Partridge offered that Dolby's system would be open and compliant with DCI specs
