After 10 years of being exclusively tied to its own cinemas, Dolby is now making its Dolby Vision video format available to all partners, combined with Dolby Atmos sound.
Update 11.4.2024: FlatpanelsHD has learned that it involves a new range of digital cinema projectors, including Christie, supporting Dolby Vision that cinema operators can acquire, giving them access to Dolby Vision (with Atmos) movie releases.
Since 2014, over 600 movies have been theatrically released in combined Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, today across 14 countries.
This week, the company announced that Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos availability will expand all premium cinema exhibitors, a move expected to significantly expand their footprint and bring a better moviegoing experience to more countries. No specific new partners were announced.
The Dolby Cinema experience is expanding
While Dolby Atmos has been available to partners since its inception, the Dolby Vision picture experience has historically been reserved for the company's own Dolby Cinema theaters.
- "At Dolby, our passion is creating immersive entertainment experiences, and we can't wait to bring the transformative power of Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos to even more theaters around the world," said Jed Harmsen, Head of Cinema and Group Entertainment at Dolby. "Coming off of Dolby Cinema's strongest year at the box office, we're thrilled to provide exhibitors this new offering, which will unlock significantly greater opportunities for moviegoers around the world to love movies more in Dolby at premium theaters."
Will compete with IMAX
In the cinema industry, Dolby Vision is often referred to as Enhanced Dynamic Range (EDR), as it does not achieve the same dynamic range in the picture as the best TVs with Dolby Vision HDR (High Dynamic Range), such as OLED TVs.
Dolby Cinema utilizes a special dual-laser 4K projection system from Christie (E3LH), delivering up to 108 nits. The company did not include the technical requirements for partners to support Dolby Vision in its press release. Further details will be provided to the industry next week at CinemaCon 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Update April 11: FlatpanelsHD has learned that it involves a new range of digital cinema projectors, including Christie, supporting Dolby Vision that cinema operators can acquire, giving them access to Dolby Vision (with Atmos) movie releases.
Also read: High Frame Rate movies gaining momentum
The decision to expand Dolby Vision to partners is a response to the growing demand for 'premium large format' (PLF) experiences. The move could position Dolby as a stronger competitor against other premium formats like IMAX.
