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Additional Information
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital is a compression format which records the
sound of 6 channels of the theater surround system
(Dolby Digital) on the movie film digital track. Of the 6
channels, the sub woofer channel is intended for bass
only, and because the frequency range is smaller than
the main channel, it is expressed as 5.1 channel.
Dolby Digital is the name of the Dolby surround multi-
channel digital system that was developed after the
Dolby Surround System and Dolby Pro Logic Surround
System.
5.1 channel digital
surround track
AC-3
encoding
AC-3 for motion picture
The number of movies made using Dolby Digital since
1992 has exceeded 300 and continues to increase. For
compact disc players and laser disc digital sounds, 16
bits are used to sample the original analog audio
waveform and sampling is carried out 44,100 times every
second. However because an enormous amount of
recording signal data is required for the multi channel
system with this method, AC-3 is used to compress the
data.
No. of recorded channels
No. of playback channels
Playback channel structure
Sound processing
Rear (Surround) high
frequency playback limit
Other
4 channel analog
sound track (Matrix)
Dolby Digital
5.1 channels (Max.)
5.1 channels (Max.)
Front Left, Front Right, Center, Surround Left,
Surround Right, Sub Woofer
Digital discrete processing
20,000 Hz
• 5.1 completely independent channels
• High dynamic range
• Stable position, high phase characteristics, and
advanced surround effects reproduction
• High efficiency
(Compression rate of about one-tenth)
In reproducing audio signals, the smaller the bit number
used, the lower the sound quality. With AC-3, drop in
auditory sound quality is prevented by using masking
technology and digital filtering technology based on the
human auditory characteristics.
Laser disc format
Laser discs are now available on the market in large
numbers. This means that the recording of different
format audio signals on the laser disc raises the
important question of compatibility with existing laser
discs. Dolby Digital tracks on Laser Discs record signals
using the space of one analog audio channel so it will
maintain compatibility with existing discs and players.
As shown in the following figure, the digital audio
sounds of Dolby Digital discs can be played back as
currently done. Analog sounds are played back by using
the other channel without the Dolby Digital signals for
monaural audio signals.
Dolby Digital
Analog sound
sound
(Monaural)
(Monaural)
Digital
sound
2
4
6
Comparison with Dolby Pro Logic Surround
Dolby Digital is also known as the 5.1 channel system. It
is equipped with 5 channels (front left, front right, center,
surround left, surround right) in the frequency range
from 20 Hz to 20 kHz and an independent Low Frequency
Effect (LEF) channel. The sub woofer channel is also
called Low Frequency Effect (LFE).
The subwoofer channel can be used as desired to enjoy
strong bass sounds.
The following table shows the comparison with Dolby
Pro Logic Surround effects.
Dolby Pro Logic Surround
2 channels
4 channels
Front Left, Front Right, Center,
Surround
Analog matrix processing
7,000 Hz
Video
Frequency
8
10
12
14 MHz
<ARB7192>
43
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