Located in Tokyo’s Tsujiki district, the Dolby Japan office was an experience of futuristic sights and sounds.
The first thing I noticed about the office was that everything there was sleek and modern. The conference room where we began learning about the history of Dolby looked especially modern, with laptop hookups at every seat and several state-of-the-art high-definition televisions (HDTVs).
We split up in to groups to see some of the new technologies being produced at Dolby Japan. My group started by checking out virtual surround sound on mobile devices. As we all know, speakers on mobile phones are not good enough to provide musical fidelity. Even with headphones, the sound is still tinny and of poor quality.
Dolby’s Mobile Simulated Surround Sound incorporates their well-known Dolby 5.1 technology in to mobile phones, so users with headphones feel like they are listening to live sounds. Combined with the HD screens available on Japanese mobile phones, this technology can give users a theater-like experience anywhere in the world.
Their mobile phones have great screens…
… and the simulated surround sound is so realistic
Next, we got to see a new television that’s in development. It’s called an LED TV (Light-Emitting Diode Television). LED screens are used for many electronic devices today, including many new computer screens and mobile gaming screens on the PSP and Nintendo DS.
An LED TV provides a much better picture
Most of today’s TVs have an LCD, or Liquid Crystal Display) screen, although some HDTVs use a plasma screen. We watched a video comparison on LED and LCD screens simultaneously.
LCD (left) vs LED (right)
Although the above picture does not illustrate the point very well, the LED TV is the most crisp, clear, and bright TV picture I have ever seen. The secret lies in the picture data. Old LCD screens use eights bits to represent a single pixel. This contains data on how much red, green, and blue (RGB) makes up the pixel. New LED screens use sixteen bits per pixel. This allows eight bits of RGB color and eight additional bits for how bright the pixel is.
Basically, a current TV shows red, green, and blue while a new LED TV shows that plus additional brightness. The result is an extremely clear image.
Even filtered through a camera lens, the LED picture is bright and crisp
The coolest thing we saw at Dolby was their home theater setup. The small rooms seats about sixteen people. Eight state-of-the-art speakers surround the seats, and a 100-inch 1080p HD video screen completes the setup. Wow!
Current surround systems use Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound – five speakers and a bass box. The new technology adds two full-range speakers, making the sound more robust. We watched a movie clip on Blu-ray DVD in the theater, and the sounds were so realistic that I felt like I was in the movie.
The best part, however, was the video game demonstration. We got to see Lost Planet played on a PS3 with full 1080p output with the magnificent sound system and video screen. Basically, I was blown away.
We played this scene, but in an amazing home theater
As my classmate Anthony battled a gigantic spidery creature, every breath and bullet on the game could be heard with crystalline clarity. Explosions rocked the room, and the creature’s cried gave me goosebumps. It was so realistic that I felt like I was in the game. This feeling highlights one of the most important factors of any video game: immersion. If they player feels like they are in the game instead of playing a game, then the game is successful in providing the intended gaming experience.
We played this scene, but in an amazing home theater
All in all, Dolby Japan was awesome. I can hardly wait for Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound and LED TVs to be available in American markets. Until then, I guess I’ll just have to get a boring old widescreen HDTV.
6 Comments
Dolby definitely was amazing (except for the presentations). I was really impressed by their sound system technologies within cell phones and more impressed by the fact that Japanese people are already using them in their daily lives. I used to have DMB phone and watch live TV programs or downloaded contents but stopped using it because there really was not special benefit other than getting my hand really hot at certain point. But, if I had Dolby sound system in my cell phone, I will definitely choose cell phone as a way of enjoying video and audio contents. Plus, the cost of cell phone with Dolby sound system was not crazy expensive. And the TV sets, I would definitely buy one only if I had enough money.
You know, being in the game design program at State, and being on 3 or 4 gaming websites as often as I can possibly be each day, I hear numerous things about how video games are influencing violence because people can’t tell the difference between reality and fiction. Playing that game, which I’ve played before, but playing it in that setting, with the crisp screen and amazing sound… that was the first time I actually felt immersed in a game. Rock Band is up there, but this definitely hit the score. I wonder how much better this technology can get before it really DOES begin to blur the lines?
Dolby was one of my favorite visits while in Japan. The home theater set they took us to was very very cool. The sound was almost unreal as to how good it was. I also liked the new tvs they were working on. The picture quality is so good that I almost couldn’t believe it. I can’t wait until those tvs are produced so I can hopefully get one.
I did not think I was going to like the Dolby company visit very much. Especially when they started out with that presentation. However it became one of my favorite places after we got to see some of the new products they were working on. I really liked the LED TV. Also the new headphones they had for your cell phone were really cool.
I was really impressed with Dolby’s new LED backlighting system. The picture that was created on the screen looked incredible. If I remember correctly, the TV had a contrast ratio of 1:300,000. It was if I was looking through a window in the office. Hopefully they get this technology out soon!
As with most of the places we went, the demonstrations were awesome, but the lecture was long and boring. I think the thing that blew me away the most was the headphones that were hooked up to that widescreen cell phone. I’d never experienced a true surround sound experience with headphones?! It legitimately sounded like I was sitting inside of a big movie theater watching a movie. The technology was incredible.