Audio Video News

Last week, Dolby Laboratories announced that Home Box Office's primary channel will debut programming in Dolby Digital 5.1 with the pay network's premiere of The Perfect Storm. Dolby claims that the movie, which begins airing Saturday, July 14, is the first of many films and other programming to be broadcast by HBO in Dolby Digital 5.1-channel audio.

Dolby Laboratories estimates that by the end of 2001, ten million US households will have set-top boxes capable of playing Dolby Digital 5.1 via DBS and/or digital cable. Dolby also estimates that more than nine million US households will be equipped with Dolby Digital 5.1 home receivers. The company adds that as the number of Dolby 5.1-channel devices continues to rise, more networks are broadcasting in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound.

HBO's Bob Zitter explains that "many of our viewers have home theater setups, and with the growing number of set-top boxes equipped to deliver a Dolby Digital bitstream, we are able to enhance our subscribers' experience." In addition to The Perfect Storm, HBO says that upcoming programming in Dolby Digital 5.1 includes What Lies Beneath, The Contender, the HBO Film Dinner with Friends, and the ten-part HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.

Other networks currently broadcasting in Dolby Digital 5.1 include ABC, DirecTV, DISH Network, HBO HDTV, PBS, Showtime, and STARZ! For a listing of programs broadcast in Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, readers can visit www.dolby.com/tvaudio.