It's 'Good News' for Dolby That HDR Is on 'Everybody's Agenda,' Dolby CEO Says

It’s “good news” for Dolby Labs that high dynamic range is “clearly on everybody's agenda,” Dolby CEO Kevin Yeaman said on a Tuesday earnings call. Dolby was “very early to recognize that,” and “we've been in the game” with Dolby Vision “for five, seven years really,” Yeaman said. “And so as a result, we have the most complete and highest-quality solution available for the playback of consumer HDR content. And like most of our areas of focus that requires great content, it requires playback and on the content side, we're well on our way to broad adoption on the creative and distribution side.” Dolby is “really excited” about its first Dolby Vision TV design win through Vizio (see 1504130022), Yeaman said. The Vizio sets with Dolby Vision are “the most sophisticated and technologically advanced” TVs that Vizio has ever produced, he said. He described Dolby Vision as “our end-to-end imaging solution, which gives creative teams the freedom to use the full gamut of colors, brightness and contrast resulting in an enhanced entertainment experience.” Dolby Atmos for the home “continues to gain momentum,” with AV receiver and home theater-in-a-box product launches from Denon, Integra, Marantz, Onkyo, Pioneer and Yamaha and speakers from Atlantic Technology, Definitive Technology, KEF, Onkyo and Triad, Yeaman said. “We expect more product launches throughout the year,” he said. Dolby Atmos also “continues to be adopted in mobile devices to create immersive audio experiences on the go,” Yeaman said. “Our solution creates a richer and more compelling experience over headphones or speakers.” There are about 25 Blu-ray movies released or announced with Dolby Atmos, he said. Dolby Cinema, which theatrically combines Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos “to deliver the ultimate moviegoing experience,” will be installed in four AMC “sites” by May and up to 10 by the end of the summer, Yeaman said. Dolby plans to deploy Dolby Cinema at 100 sites “over time,” he said. AMC and Dolby announced Dolby Cinema on April 9, the same day DTS unveiled its long-awaited DTS:X object-based audio platform for cinema and home theater (see 1504090020).