Dolby Laboratories DP570 Specifications download pdf (Page 5)

Standards and Practices for Authoring Dolby

Digital and Dolby E Bitstreams

1 Scope and Purpose

Dolby Laboratories has developed products and technologies that enable audio

professionals to create their own Dolby Digital data streams, allowing greater control

and precision. This document is intended to encourage the use of these tools by

mixers, engineers, producers, and directors to master their own audio.

Authoring Dolby Digital bitstreams is a mastering process, and great care should be

taken to properly select the metadata parameters that control the consumer’s decoder

or set-top box and affect the listening experience. It is therefore important to keep this

process as close to the creation of the content as possible so that the intent of the artist

is conveyed accurately to the consumer. The use of Dolby tools and technologies in

the authoring process provides the artist and/or producer unprecedented control over

how their work is experienced by the consumer.

2 Definitions

2.1 Dolby Digital

Dolby Digital (AC-3) is intended for the transmission of audio into the home through

digital television broadcast (either high or standard definition), DVD, or other media.

Dolby Digital can carry anywhere from a single channel of audio up to a full 5.1-

channel program, including metadata. In both digital television and DVD, it is

commonly used for the transmission of stereo as well as full 5.1 discrete audio

programs. Dolby Digital is designed for maximum fidelity and space efficiency, and

should only pass through one encode/decode cycle.

2.2 Dolby E

Dolby E is specifically intended for the distribution of multichannel audio within

professional production and distribution environments. Any time prior to delivery to

the consumer, Dolby E is the preferred method for distribution of multichannel/multi-

program audio with video. Dolby E can carry up to eight discrete audio channels

configured into any number of individual program configurations (including metadata

for each) within an existing two-channel digital audio infrastructure. Unlike Dolby

Digital, Dolby E can handle many encode/decode generations, and is synchronous

with the video frame rate. Like Dolby Digital, Dolby E carries metadata for each

individual audio program encoded within the data stream. The use of Dolby E allows

the resulting audio data stream to be decoded, modified, and re-encoded with no

audible degradation. As the Dolby E stream is synchronous to the video frame rate, it

can be routed, switched, and edited in a professional broadcast environment.

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Dolby Laboratories DP570 Specifications Page 5