Archive notice: This article was originally published on September 16, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Dolby Pulse is a complete system incorporating a bitstream format and proprietary encoding and decoding solutions. Compatible with the open-standard MPEG-4 HE-AAC audio codec, Dolby Pulse applies Dolby’s content-delivery experience to new developments across platforms including HDTV, mobile phones, portable players, PCs and online entertainment, while offering improved bitrate efficiency through HE-AAC.
For radio, film and television, Dolby Pulse is designed to meet the diverse requirements of broadcasters and operators in different regions. Complementing Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus, it targets next-generation applications in which bandwidth efficiency is especially important. Dolby Pulse is built on a consistent code base, supports varied metadata and is designed to deliver consistent, predictable results throughout the broadcast chain to the consumer’s television. For broadcasters with severely limited bandwidth, Dolby Pulse can transmit multichannel audio at low data rates.
With genuine Dolby metadata functionality, Dolby Pulse can use a single 5.1 stream to handle multichannel, stereo and mono signals with seamless switching, eliminating the need for bandwidth-intensive simulcasting. Dialnorm values embedded in broadcast streams establish loudness while preserving dynamic range. Dolby Pulse can therefore provide metadata functions comparable with Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus, delivering an excellent consumer experience and a highly efficient solution for broadcasters.
In a broadcast landscape encompassing IPTV, mobile and internet services alongside terrestrial, cable and satellite television, Dolby Pulse is an important addition to Dolby’s audio solutions. Dolby intends to implement it throughout the broadcast chain in hardware, OEM products and licensed encoding and decoding products. Dolby Pulse complies with new HDTV specifications defined by major European industry bodies including EICTA, the French and Spanish HD forums and NorDig.
Support for Dolby Pulse is planned across a broad range of professional Dolby products. Licensing development kits for file-based and real-time Dolby Pulse encoding applications are expected to become available in 2009.
Further links:
- Dolby