Media playback may be shifting online, from hardware, in...

Media playback may be shifting online, from hardware, in the PC world, executives said on Dolby Labs’ Q3 earnings call. The company reported 80 percent growth in standalone Blu-ray players but “flat to moderate” growth in the attachment rate of Blu-ray players to desktop and notebook PCs. Viewers’ exposure to Blu-ray through standalone players and living-room TVs may spill over into demand for Blu-ray on laptop and desktop PCs, “but that’s a guess on our side,” Dolby CEO Kevin Yeaman said: “We're not seeing the strong double-digit growth that we saw around this time during the DVD uptake. Apples to apples, the Blu-ray uptake in PC attachment is significantly lower than the DVD uptake at the same time 10-12 years ago.” Yeaman pointed to the recent release of Cyberlink’s PowerDVD 10 software package, which supports multiple digital-video formats including Blu-ray, as an example of the shift. “It could mean that online is taking over the optical-drive experience in the PC, or it could be the consumer hasn’t gotten the full Blu-ray experience at home to transfer and put demand on the PC and laptop,” he said. “We're waiting and monitoring this area.” Dolby reported Q3 profit of $63.5 million, 55 cents a share, up from $51.1 million net income, 44 cents, a year earlier. Revenue was $230.3 million, up 34 percent, the company said, driven by the PC and broadcast markets. “We continued to make progress in important growth markets, including in broadcast, where, one of India’s leading commercial broadcast services, Airtel Digital TV, announced its selection of Dolby Digital Plus for its high definition programming, and in cinema, where we continued to experience strong demand for our 3D systems,” Yeaman said. The company is looking for growth in online, mobile and further penetration of “the growing 3D opportunity.” Dolby sees strong demand for 3D cinema continuing into next year and peaking in late 2011 or 2012, he said. Dolby shipped more than 1,000 Dolby 3D systems in Q3, making roughly 4,400 total, mainly overseas, Yeaman said. The company also released Dolby Surround 7.1, “which enables content providers to add more audio dimensions to the 3D experience,” he said. Disney and Pixar recently released Toy Story 3 around the world in Dolby Surround 7.1 and plan to do more, he said.