Six Questions: Craig Eggers, Senior Manager at Dolby Laboratories

22 Nov, 2010 By: Chris Tribbey

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As senior manager of Dolby Laboratories’ Consumer Electronics Partner Marketing division, Craig Eggers is responsible for the marketing strategy and development of Dolby’s multichannel audio technologies, including Dolby Volume, Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD. Prior to coming to Dolby he was Toshiba’s point person for the promotion and launch of DVD in the United States.

He took the time to chat with Home Media Magazine regarding streaming 5.1, mobile sound, and what Dolby’s up to in the world of 3D.

HM: Dolby has made gains in the streaming space, most recently adding 5.1 support for Netflix on the PlayStation 3. What’s next for Dolby and streaming: New devices, new services, maybe even 7.1?

Eggers: Sonic Solutions recently announced support for Dolby Digital Plus through the RoxioNow Entertainment Platform.

We expect there will be additional hardware announcements of support for the Netflix service and Dolby Digital Plus Surround at the International Consumer Electronics Show in January, as hardware manufacturers ramp up their support for the complete Netflix entertainment experience.

Dolby Digital Plus is a highly efficient and scalable architecture that delivers high-quality, discrete multichannel audio performances. Built into this architecture is the capability of supporting 7.1 channel delivery.

HM: What’s Dolby doing to improve the sound quality in the mobile arena?

Eggers: Dolby Mobile is a suite of technology offerings that are designed to enhance the mobile entertainment experience. Besides providing improvement to digital compressed audio, an expanded stereo image and enhanced bass performance, Dolby Mobile brings a personal surround-sound listening experience to the portable (mobile entertainment) platform. While we can’t make the screen size bigger on portable devices, we can certainly make the listening experience bigger — and more immersive than ever before.

HM: Has the industry reached true, cinema-like quality with Blu-ray Disc or is there still work to be done?

Eggers: Lossless audio codecs like Dolby TrueHD can deliver up to 7.1 channels of 96/24 audio, and 5.1 channels of 192/24 audio. Today’s Blu-ray enthusiast has the ability to hear — in their home theater — unprecedented audio that is identical to what was captured on the soundstage, the concert hall or the mixing room.

Obviously, having a playback system that is capable of reproducing the dynamics and full frequency performance of lossless audio is an essential component of the playback experience.

HM: What kind of work has Dolby been doing in 3D for cinema, broadcast and 3D Blu-ray Disc?

Eggers: In 2007 Dolby launched Dolby 3D digital cinema with Beowulf on 75 screens in 12 countries. Since its launch we’ve shipped more than 5,500 Dolby 3D systems with more than 400 exhibitor partners in 67 countries. All the major studios and post-production houses have installed Dolby 3D to render their 3D movies. Dolby 3D brings the picture out of the screen and into the audience with dramatic realism.
Today, advances in technology allow us to deliver not only stunning 3D but also more multichannel audio capabilities. Dolby

Surround 7.1 is one example of how we are continually working the content creation community to provide them with the tools for an even more exciting and expanded surround sound listening experience in the cinema.

HM: Everyone’s pretty hip to 7.1 surround sound — Dolby worked with Disney and Pixar to deliver 7.1 for Toy Story — but now we’re hearing about 9.1. What are the benefits to this set-up, and the challenges incorporating 9.1 into home entertainment?

Eggers: Having a 7.1 pallet to work from when an artist creates a soundtrack for a cinematic release enables that same artistic expression and intent to be communicated directly to a 7.1 home theater experience. Simply, what you will hear in your home theater — when you are watching a movie that was mixed for Dolby Surround 7.1 in the cinema — is 100% true to what the artist intended you to hear.

Dolby recently introduced Pro Logic IIz, which, through the addition of two front height speakers adds an additional layer of dimension and immersion to the home theater experience. Dolby Pro Logic IIz can be implemented in a 7.1 channel configuration (traditional 5.1 plus two front height speakers) or as a 9.1 channel configuration (traditional 7.1 plus two front height speakers). When we designed Dolby Pro Logic IIz we were very careful to honor the artform — with Dolby Pro Logic IIz we are not introducing artificial DSP environments or making any changes to the audio mix. Dolby Pro Logic IIz identifies non-directional elements of the mix that create that sense of enhanced immersion and dimension. These signals are identified and presented in the two front height speakers. The results are impressive.

HM: Dolby’s technology can be found on plenty of Blu-ray Discs and players. Can you pick a favorite for each, where Dolby’s technology stood out on both the hardware and software sides?

Eggers: There are so many great titles and hardware offerings out there that to pick just one would be unfair. What I can say is that, increasingly, the entry points for a high-quality 5.1, 7.1 or even 9.1 channel surround-sound listening experience are becoming even more affordable. Hollywood is creating great, exciting content — including music concerts and movies — and that content can be enjoyed in a variety of ways: through packaged media, through video on demand, through broadcast and through over the top streaming services. And don’t forget the mobile entertainment experience, which is continually maturing.

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