Dolby Instrumental in 50th Annual GRAMMY Awards Broadcast

SAN FRANCISCO, CA. (Top 40 Charts/ Dolby Laboratories) - Behind the performances and accolades of the 50th Annual GRAMMY Awards, taking place February 10 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, a significant technical achievement will occur in producing the world's most famous music telecast. For the first time, producers of the show will provide a single 5.1-channel surround sound mix, entrusting a quality two-channel mix to occur automatically at the CBS network center in New York.

To make this happen, Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:DLB), is providing equipment and onsite support to the Recording Academy to aid in eliminating the need for creating and delivering two separate mixes. Key factors for success are the ability to accurately monitor and coordinate the mixes made in five onsite locations, and to anticipate the downmixed two-channel output of the network center. The onsite mixing engineers will create a 5.1-channel program to accompany the HDTV broadcast that is encoded into the Dolby E format; they will then send the mix to the CBS master control facility in New York. From there, a separate two-channel downmix encoded in Dolby Pro Logic II will be created automatically for the analog broadcast using a DP563 Dolby Surround and Pro Logic II encoder.

"The wonder of the GRAMMY Awards is due in equal measure to the pageantry and to the technical complexity of producing one of the world's most famous events in live entertainment television. This year marks the sixth year we've worked with Dolby, and their support via equipment and technical expertise has really given us confidence in producing the 5.1 surround sound mix at the show,' said John Cossette, Executive Producer of the 50th Annual GRAMMY Awards. 'We thank Dolby for its remarkable contribution to our production; they've allowed us to consistently expand the impact of the GRAMMY'S to the viewing audience.'

In addition to providing equipment for multiple mix rooms, Dolby is also providing onsite engineering support by working closely with the show's audio mixers, coordinators, Recording Academy representatives, and production company personnel.

"This year's GRAMMY Awards broadcast is a testament to the Recording Academy's goal of surpassing each previous year's technical excellence. By allowing the show's mixers to focus on the 5.1-channel mix and to rely on our technology for monitoring and automatic creation of the two-channel program, surround sound and two-channel audiences alike will benefit,' said Rocky Graham, Director of Technical Marketing, Broadcast, at Dolby Laboratories. 'We are honored to again work closely with the Recording Academy in realizing the best possible audio for this state-of-the-art broadcast event."