3DsoundSurge Press Release: NEC Develops World's First Notebook PC With Dolby Headphone

NEC Develops World's First Notebook PC With Dolby Headphone

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 18, 2000--Dolby Laboratories announced that NEC (NEC Solutions) has selected Dolby Headphone technology for NEC's new LaVie S consumer notebook PC, which became available today in Japan.

The computer manufacturer will also incorporate Dolby Headphone on its forthcoming desktop PCs, the VALUESTAR T and VALUESTAR simplem systems. With any of these models, users can listen to high-quality theatre-like surround audio from DVD-Video discs.

Beginning in June, NEC and NEC Personal System will place ``Experience Dolby Headphone'' stands alongside demonstration LaVie S laptops at major retail stores in Japan, allowing shoppers to experience Dolby Headphone firsthand.

``The percentage of PCs shipped with DVD drives is rapidly rising, and the number of people watching movies on their PCs is also increasing,'' said Masaaki Fushiki, vice president, Japan, for Dolby Laboratories. ``The introduction of Dolby Headphone in NEC's new products will enable people to experience the wonderful world of surround sound from their computer.''

Dolby Headphone, developed by Dolby and Australia-based Lake Technology, is a technology that creates a realistic surround listening experience with a pair of conventional stereo headphones. Multichannel products that incorporate Dolby Headphone to emulate multispeaker surround playback, such as those equipped with Dolby Digital 5.1-channel and/or four-channel Dolby Surround Pro Logic decoding, display the Dolby Headphone symbol. Stereo equipment that provides Dolby Headphone to emulate only the two-speaker listening experience is identified with the Dolby Headphone Stereo symbol.

About Lake Technology

Lake Technology (previously Lake DSP) is an innovative Australian company with a primary focus on researching, developing, commercializing, and licensing digital signal-processing (DSP) technology. Founded in early 1991, Lake Technology has established an industry reputation in advanced DSP applications, developing products for leading researchers and multinational organizations in the fields of communications, automotive acoustics, consumer audio, and acoustic research. The company's stock is traded on the Australian Stock Exchange under the ASX code LAK.

About Dolby Laboratories

Dolby Laboratories is the developer of signal processing systems used worldwide in applications that include motion-picture sound, consumer entertainment products and media, broadcasting, and music recording. Based in San Francisco with European headquarters in England, the privately held company also has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Shanghai and Tokyo.

Contact:

     Dolby Laboratories
     Jim Arnold, 415/645-5116
     jja@dolby.com
     Catherine Unwin, 44-1793-842133
     cmu@dolby.co.uk
            or
     Shandwick International
     Lynne Daily-Hentemann, 310/203-0550
     ldaily@shandwick.com