Dolby Signs Middleware Firm to Boost Atmos Vehicle Adoption

Dolby is working with Cinemo, an automotive infotainment middleware company, to spur integration of Dolby Atmos in vehicles, the companies said Tuesday. Cinemo is the first global middleware licensee of the Dolby Car Experience. “Bringing high-quality audio to the automotive world isn’t like working in the consumer electronics space,” said Andreas Ehret, Dolby director-automotive, saying carmakers need infotainment specialists that understand the needs of the automotive world. Cinemo automotive solutions are deployed in millions of cars worldwide and adopted by many leading car manufacturers, it said. The combined offering allows for an easy upgrade solution, using established application programming interfaces “from a trusted player that carmakers are used to working with.” Dolby Car Experience technology can integrate into new and existing car audio subsystems and map to most speaker configurations. Dolby CEO Kevin Yeaman said on last month's earnings call (see 2107300048) that automotive is an area seen by artists and streaming services as an important segment to reach listeners. The executive believes Dolby Atmos Music “gives us an opportunity to make headway among car OEMs.”