Dolby AC-4 Audio System

for Next-Generation
Broadcast Services

Improving Today
Enabling Tomorrow
 The Push and
Pull of Change

We know change is a constant in the broadcast industry.

Dolby® Digital brought you stereo
and 5.1 surround sound.

Dolby Digital Plus™ brought 7.1 audio, You can look at change in two ways: pressure to
visual descriptive services, and Dolby Atmos®. respond and opportunities to advance. That’s
exactly how we approached the architecture of
the Dolby AC-4 audio system for next-generation
Dolby AC-4 brings everything from before, broadcast services. It’s a standard that gives you
and so much more. more levers to pull to respond to change.

The Pull of Rapid Changes The Push of New Opportunities

Dolby® AC-4 is designed to address the needs
of everyone in the entertainment ecosystem
—from content creation to playback. Audience expectations change constantly. The rapid pace of change makes it imperative to
Regulatory demands impose time lines that dictate stay agile. Change signals opportunities. Whenever
Dolby AC-4 is one of the most exciting developments development and delivery. Online sites and mobile there’s movement in the industry, it’s an opening
from a company known for launching next- services are constantly raising the bar for to push forward. Get closer to all of your audiences.
generation broadcast solutions. It’s a modern, convenience, innovation and personalization. Outmaneuver the competition. Dazzle advertisers
elegant architecture that makes it refreshingly Responding to these challenges creates the worry with something different. Reach new audiences.
easy to solve big challenges. of added complexity. Which is why we architected A dynamic industry has an appetite for new
ease of implementation into the design of the offerings. Dolby AC-4 supports your ability to move
It provides a creative foundation for breaking new Dolby AC-4 audio system. with speed and efficiency to deliver those offerings.
ground in personalization, accessibility and reach.
All with industry-leading compression efficiency.

2 Dolby AC-4 Audio System Dolby AC-4 Audio System 3

 Decades of We share a passion with

Broadcast Innovation our partners to exceed

audience expectations of
what entertainment
can be.

For decades, Dolby has worked alongside We are extremely proud that Dolby has won 11 Academy
broadcasters to push the limits of sight and Awards and 14 Emmy Awards—achievements that all
sound. Together with our partners, we have of our 1,600 employees around the world have made
created ground-breaking and award-winning possible, thanks to their hard work and restless,
products and technologies. creative spirits.

To say that Dolby’s impact is far-reaching might Dolby deploys expertly engineered systems, based on
be an understatement: Dolby technologies can be close collaboration with industry partners. We are part
found in cinemas, professional recording studios, of a forward-thinking ecosystem of industry leaders,
video games, DVDs, mobile media, digital broadcast standards bodies, and consortia.
TV, digital cable, satellite systems and more.

Today, more than one and a half billion certified

products incorporating Dolby technology have
been tested for quality and reliability.

4 Dolby AC-4 Audio System Dolby AC-4 Audio System 5

 For decades, Dolby has collaborated with big ecosystems
to deliver magic in theaters, at home and on the go.

We Design and Build

with an End-to-End View

Content
Meeting the letter of a standard is not the same as meeting the Creation Distribution Playback
intentions and needs of the industry. We strive to be an enabling
force for our partners across the ecosystem to use to achieve their
technical, business and artistic goals.
Some of our key partners include:

Like all of our products, the Dolby AC-4 audio system for next-
generation broadcast services is designed from the ground up to Cinema Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney, Universal, AMC Theaters, Loews CIneplex,
meet the needs of our partners. It is a complete, end-to-end solution Dreamworks, Sony Pictures, United International Pictures, UCI, UCG Europalaces, Regal
New Line Cinema, 20th Century Warner Bros, Paché Cinemas, National Amusements,
designed with content creation, distribution and playback Fox, Columbia Pictures Medion, Cinemark
all taken into account.

Broadcast/ Turner, CCV International, PBS, DirectTV, Sky, Dish Network, Apple, Samsung, LG, Microsoft,
ORF, Foxtel, ABC, BBC, Netflix, Harmonic, Cisco, Ericsson, Amazon, Arris, STMicrosystems,
OTT Amazon, 20th Century FOX, Imagine Communications, MStar, Cisco, Broadcom,
Columbia Pictures, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Onkyo,
Warner Brothers, Dreamworks, Amazon Web Services Phillips, Panasonic,
Disney, Canal

Gaming DICE, Blizzard, Rockstar, Electronic Arts, Activision, Microsoft, Sony Computer
Treyarch, Epic Games, Bungie Ubisoft, Take-Two Interactive Entertainment

6 Dolby AC-4 Audio System Dolby AC-4 Audio System 7

 Standards body memberships

Active Participation • International Telecommunications Union

(ITU-R) WP 6B and 6C
• Society of Cable Telecommunications
Engineers (SCTE), Digital Video

in Industry Standards • Advanced Television Systems Committee

(ATSC), board member •
Subcommittee member

Society of Motion Picture and Television

Engineers (SMPTE), board member
• Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) project, CM
and TM groups, member of Steering Board • International Electrotechnical Commission
(IEC) TC-100
• The European Telecommunications Standards
Dolby has always recognized the importance Institute (ETSI) • ISO/IEC MPEG
of industry standards and actively participates
in those that drive the industry.

Industry body memberships

• Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), board member • Audio Engineering Society (AES)

• EBU working groups including Ploud and BWF • Digital Living Room Network
Alliance (DLNA)
• CableLabs OpenCable™ host device core
functional requirements specification • DASH and HbbTV industry forums

• HDMI Forum • Future of Broadcast Television (FoBTV)

• Digital Entertainment and

Content Ecosystem (DECE)

• Consumer Electronics Association (CEA),

board member of the Home Audio Division

Dolby AC-4 Audio System 9

 Dolby
AC-4

Creation tools developed

hand-in-hand with worldwide
creative leaders

Integration with leading

mixing consoles and digital
audio workstations
Content
Creation
Dolby AC-4 Is
About Listening Support for open standardization
and next-generation interchange and
metadata [ITU-R, SMPTE]

Robust solutions supporting both

PCM+Metadata and Mezzanine
Professional Compressed workflows
We stepped back to listen to our partners to ensure that
Interchange (file & real-time)
your voices and audience needs informed every design
decision we made. That’s how the architecture of the Dolby
AC-4 audio system evolved: as a new audio standard that State-of-the-art compression efficiency
(e.g., 50% over today’s systems)
supports your ability to improve, expand your reach and
increase your competitive edge. Support for object and/or
channel-based audio programming

Native support for Dialogue

Enhancement, Intelligent Loudness &
The result? An elegant architecture without bloat Advanced Dynamic Range Control Consumer
and complexity. An architecture that’s designed Delivery
for you by us, not by a committee. An architecture Supported by several leading
designed on our learning with Dolby Atmos, the encoder/mix vendors worldwide
world’s first commercial object-based audio system.
So you can have confidence in the performance of
Dolby AC-4 from day one. Native support for multi-language
and description services
Do you have questions about
Dolby AC-4 and how we can Scalability to accommodate optimum
playback across a wide range of today’s
partner with you? use cases and applications—including
We’d love to talk to you: extensibility for the future
DolbyAC-4Inquiry@dolby.com
Playback Seamless compatibility with existing
consumer device interfaces interconnects

10 Dolby AC-4 Audio System Dolby AC-4 Audio System 11

 Eliminate today’s
limitations, and open
the door to tomorrow’s
possibilities.

High Return, Keep Imagining

Low Disruption What’s Next

The Dolby AC-4 audio system for next-generation broadcast

Are you wondering if you have enough senior engineers
services helps you get down to business solving the
on board to start implementing Dolby AC-4 capabilities?
pressing problems of today. It also gives you a clear path to
The Dolby AC-4 solution enables you to change—now
the future of emerging opportunities.
and into the future—without disruptive, high-cost
undertakings. In fact, even today’s audio sounds
better with Dolby AC-4.
Improve performance today Pursue unlimited
imagination tomorrow
High return is great Low disruption
• Make incremental, non-disruptive Dolby AC-4 gives you the ability to deliver
is even better changes to fit your strategy The Next Big Thing... at your own pace and
in your own way. Think of Dolby AC-4 as a paint
• Improve compression efficiency by up to 50% One of the major advantages of Dolby AC-4— • Transfer information more reliably palette: it has all the “standard” colors. And
based on your feedback—is ease of we’ve added many more colors for your canvas.
• Add features without adding complexity to implementation. You can add capabilities now, • Reduce complexity on every level You can use familiar colors or experiment with
your existing infrastructure and operations without adding to your headcount, with new ones: be as creative as you want!
Dolby AC-4’s built-in self-configuration • Lower operational costs with built-in
• Simplify the management and automation. self-configuration and automation
of next-generation audio

12 Dolby AC-4 Audio System Dolby AC-4 Audio System 13

 Open to Imagination

It’s your future.

Choose from a palette
of possibilities with
Dolby AC-4.

14 Dolby AC-4 Audio System Dolby AC-4 Audio System 15

Personalization

Dolby AC-4 was designed from the ground up to go deeper

into the world of viewer personalization. It’s not bolted onto old
technology. It’s personalization delivered efficiently and cost-
effectively with a modern architecture. No performance penalties,
retrofitting, or army of senior engineers required.

From a common experience From marketing to everyone

to a personalized one to marketing with insights

As a standard, Dolby AC-4 provides the Viewers like being catered to. They appreciate
commonality to work with more systems. being seen and treated as individuals, rather than a
As a platform, Dolby AC-4 gives you the freedom collective demographic. The better you understand
to support individuality. Create strategies and support individual preferences, the more
for personalization around convenience or opportunities you have to create specialized,
engagement. Provide the flexibility to adapt to high-value offerings. As you give people the ability
the viewer’s needs or transport them deeper to express their preferences, you can also collect
into events. Dolby AC-4 gives you more tools more information for targeted marketing
and choices for defining and delivering and advertising.
personalized experiences to viewers.

16 Dolby AC-4 Audio System

Accessibility

Greater access for all will be part of the future.

Our commitment to that goal is reflected in the
architecture of Dolby AC-4 that enables better access
for people with disabilities. We want to break down the
obstacles to doing what is right.

Be inclusive Expand your audience

In the past, people with disabilities have found it Bringing more people into the broadcast
especially difficult to enjoy watching TV and going experience isn’t just a mandate for our partners;
to the movies. They might shun the experience it’s a belief in inclusion. Providing better audio and
entirely rather than feel even more isolated by a visual experiences for people with disabilities spans
poor experience. This feeling of being marginalized every demographic. It involves families and friends
extends to the entire support group of family and as well. There are many advocacy and regulatory
friends. So when people with disabilities find a efforts underway. Dolby AC-4 technology gives you
cinema, device or broadcast channel that makes it the opportunity to leapfrog from compliance
possible for them to more fully engage, can brand to inspirational.
loyalty be far behind?

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Reach

Audiences are increasingly mobile and multicultural.

Dolby AC-4 helps ensure that you’re never out of step with
your audience by accommodating both multiple delivery
methods and multiple language needs.

Diverse and on the move Stay connected

Your audience is constantly evolving and moving. Dolby AC-4 lets you stay in sync with the growing
If you want to reach your viewers wherever they needs and expectations of your audience.
are, you’re going to have to stay connected— By accommodating multiple delivery methods and
on a TV set at home, on smartphones and tablets language options, Dolby AC-4 allows you to keep the
on the road, and laptops and desktops at work. viewer experience consistently great from place to
Programming is finding its way onto more devices, place and device to device. When the technology
blurring the source. Immediacy, mobility and adapts to the environment and language preferences,
convenience are making delivery choices less you become part of the dynamic world of
predictable. You must adapt to your audience— audiences everywhere.
wherever they are and whatever language
they speak.

20 Dolby AC-4 Audio System Dolby AC-4 Audio System 21

A Sampling of
AC-4 Technology

Dolby AC-4 Audio System 23

 For more information regarding the
proposal for the Dolby AC-4 audio system
for next-generation broadcast services,
please contact us:
DolbyAC-4Inquiry@dolby.com

AC-4 sync frame TOC Substream 0

Core Technology
Sync word ... M&E 5.1 ch
Frame size
AC-4 presntation info 0
Raw AC-4 frame Substream 1
Presentation config=0
TOC Commentary EN 1.0 ch
Presentation level
Substream 0
UMD info
Substream 1 Substream 2
Substream info 1
Substream... Commentary EN 1.0 ch
Substream info 2 (EN)
Dolby AC-4 delivers more content with far greater efficiency. Substream N
Substream 3
You can start easily by optimizing what you’re doing today, CRC word AC-4 presntation info 0
making your audience a lot happier with their viewing AC-4 presntation info...
Commentary CHI 1.0 ch

experiences. And then grow to deliver personalized, accessible, AC-4 sync frame
“anywhere they are” experiences when you are ready. Substream index table
Sync word
Frame size
The following sections highlight a few of the innovations you’ll
find at the core of Dolby AC-4 audio system for next-generation Raw AC-4 frame

broadcast services. CRC word

AC-4 sync frame

Advanced Joint Object Coding Sync word Audio Presentations

Frame size

Object-based audio is a powerful concept that For playback on low-complexity devices: With AC-4 has a unique bit-stream design that allows a
Raw AC-4 frame set of audio elements to be combined into multiple
enables audio to adapt to how it’s played. People Advanced Joint Object Coding, objects are encoded
have been talking about this technology—in more efficiently, using a layered approach. audio presentations. This technique enables
CRC word multiple versions of the audio to be delivered in a
theory—for years. We’ve proven the technology The original objects are combined into a smaller
with Dolby Atmos in the demanding environments set of object groups through a reversible process. single bit-stream in a bandwidth-efficient manner.
of commercial cinema. Now we’ve refined it for For example, a low-complexity device that only has AC-4 sync frame
delivery to all consumer devices. a conventional stereo output can decode just this The figure above provides an example. An AC-4 bit-
smaller set of object groups to render a Sync word stream separates Music & Effects (M&E) and dialog
stereo output. Frame size elements (which can include multiple languages).
Presentations in the Table of Contents (TOC)
For playback on an immersive discrete playback Raw AC-4 frame combine the M&E element with dialog elements
system: On a full-featured device, such as a sound to provide a full mix of the program.
bar, A/V receiver or binaural headphones, Advanced CRC word
Joint Object Coding data is used during the decoding Each additional language provides a true 5.1
process to re-create the original set of objects to experience, while only requiring the bandwidth
achieve the highest spatial resolution. of an additional dialog element. This represents a
significant savings over the same experience
using any technology today.
24 Dolby AC-4 Audio System
 The Dolby AC-4 bit-stream design also provides easy Audio Video Frame Alignment
assembly and disassembly of these presentations
and elements. This enables elements to be delivered over When audio went digital, the nightmares of timing
issues with audio and video began. With encoded
Dolby AC-4 takes a new approach that makes
encoded audio frames the same length as video
multiple connections (such as broadcast/broadband hybrid) audio, frames of audio and frames of video were frames. By adding a video sync input to the Dolby
or played through a second device. never the same length. When you tried to edit or AC-4 encoder, the system aligns the boundaries
insert ads, there was always a little bit of audio left of the audio to the video frames. Engineers
over. Trying to keep everything lined up invariably on the encoding end don’t even have to think
led to synchronization issues. Trying to fix the about “cut points” anymore. And developers of
problem often required completely re-encoding downstream systems no longer have to worry
the audio. about sync errors and artifacts from trimming
or cutting a stream. The Dolby AC-4 audio stays
precisely aligned, even when edits or splices are
made based on the video frame boundaries.
Conventional Approach Presentation Approach

Stream Datarate/kbps Stream Datarate/kbps

video encoder video decoder

English 5.1 144 English commentary 1.0 40

previous audio previous audio

Spanish 5.1 144 Spanish commentary 1.0 40 encoder decoder

(a) With conventional audio coders, splicing between video

Chinese 5.1 144 Chinese commentary 1.0 40 frames can lead to audio errors as frames are not aligned

Commentary - Free 5.1 144 Commentary - Free 5.1 144 video encoder video encoder

Dolby AC-4 Dolby AC-4

encoder decoder
Total 576 Total 264

(b) With Dolby AC-4, splices can be performed between video

frames without problems as audio/video frame rates can be the same

Saving 54%

26 Dolby AC-4 Audio System Dolby AC-4 Audio System 27

Downstream
(Decoder) Technology

Advanced Dynamic
Range Control and
Intelligent Loudness

Dynamic Range and Loudness Control for audio Dolby’s end-to-end systems approach ensures
is a vital part of creating a positive viewer that compliant programming being delivered from
experience—whether it’s getting an audience to production to the network operation center (or
lean in to hear a whispered secret or pull back from the network operation center to the affiliates)
from the roar of an engine. automatically bypasses additional loudness/dynamics
control across the chain. For content from unknown
Viewers and content producers have made their sources without metadata (or for budget-conscious
voices heard on the subject of annoying loudness day-to-day operations that do not support metadata),
fluctuations and sound quality. Everyone in the the real-time loudness normalization component
Third-party dynamic range Dolby AC-4 bitstream containing PCM with third-party
ecosystem is eager to respond with a solution of a Dolby AC-4 encoder will automatically ensure compression metadata third-party gains or DRC applied
that viewers and producers will equally applaud. transmitted programming remains compliant and parameterized curves
The current “fix” involves placing single-ended with a high level of quality often associated with Dolby Dolby
PCM AC-4 AC-4
processors at multiple points in the chain: this stand-alone loudness and dynamic range Encoder decoder
solution is clunky, expensive, unnecessarily and controllers used today.
permanently processes compliant content adding
up to compromised sound quality being delivered
to viewers. The Intelligent Loudness component
Dolby AC-4 also includes an Advanced Dynamic Advanced Dynamic Range Control with
of Dolby AC-4 integrates automated loudness
Range Control component in the decoder that Intelligent Loudness in Dolby AC-4 not only makes
control compliant with worldwide regulations that
supports a number of playback modes for it possible (and easy) to match content to listening
eliminates cascaded broadcaster/programmer
adapting the content (under creative control) to a preferences, it’s also less complex and more
and affiliate/operator loudness processing
wide range of device types and applications in use consistent for implementation across a wide
—an industry first.
today. In addition to the standard playback modes range of devices.
(such as flat panel TVs, home theaters or mobile
headphones), the system also supports
extensibility to add up to four user-definable
playback modes for the future.

28 Dolby AC-4 Audio System Dolby AC-4 Audio System 29

 Do you have questions about
Dolby AC-4 and how we can
partner with you?
We’d love to talk to you:
DolbyAC-4Inquiry@dolby.com

8 out of 10 A Brand Reputation

consumers worldwide know the brand and believe Dolby makes
Earned by Performance
all their music, movies, games and TV sound better

In 2015, Dolby celebrates its 50th anniversary. We continue to

Dolby Global Brand Tracker
Conducted by Penn Schoen & Berland, October 2013 build technologies that make sight and sound experiences more
vibrant, clear and meaningful for audiences worldwide.

Like the immersive audio experience of Dolby Atmos Our research is the source of thousands of
in cinemas, which can “scare the bejeezus out of innovations, a testament to the investment
you” as one critic expressed it. And Dolby Vision, that Dolby makes in staying at the forefront
which can transport audiences into a landscape of technology.
before a word is spoken. Or Dolby Audio 5.1, which
makes the sounds of early automobiles and Dolby AC-4 audio system for next-generation
society balls in the 1900s all come alive on broadcast services is one of our most
Downton Abbey. important contributions to the future of the
entertainment industry. We thank all of our
partners for sharing their insights and visions
and enabling us to build a platform for today
and tomorrow.

Support Trusted by Partners

Around the Globe

When technology is constantly changing, support We believe in placing resources close to the
must be rock solid. And that’s exactly what our partner. Which is why we have 20 regional
partners have come to expect from Dolby. centers around the globe, dedicated to
Our philosophy is that support starts long before providing technical and engineering support.
the technology is brought to market. We have over Partners in each region have convenient access
500 development engineers and scientists working to fully equipped facilities, including product
closely with partners to understand their test and interoperability labs, acoustic testing
requirements for efficient implementation and and tuning rooms, and training centers.
30 Dolby AC-4 Audio System everyday operation.
Dolby and the double-D symbol are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. © 2015 Dolby Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved. S15/28854