MTV Networks Music Group has launched its first high-definition channel, MHD, with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.
Dolby Labs said MHD would use Dolby E, a professional-quality compression technology, to deliver the multichannel audio signal to their broadcast centers. The audio is then re-encoded into Dolby Digital 5.1 for transmission to cable head-ends and satellite providers, where it is passed on to viewers with HDTV receivers or set-top boxes.
Dolby Digital delivers up to 5.1 discrete channels of surround sound. It is the audio standard for North American HDTV and digital cable systems, and is an optional audio format for most digital video broadcast applications worldwide.
Dolby E is a compression technology designed for network distribution of up to eight channels of audio, plus metadata, in the space of two traditional audio channels.
For more information, visit www.dolby.com.
