Las Vegas – Dolby used International CES to launch its new Dolby Vision initiative and demonstrate its next steps into local dimming technology for LED-backlit LCD TVs and content.
The program steps beyond Dolby’s previously demonstrated local dimming technology for TV manufacturers, to also offer picture quality direction for content creators and distributors.
Dolby Vision provides a picture-optimization technology and standard that expands the dynamic range of content and display characteristics of LED-based LCD TVs to produce higher contrast ratios, deeper black levels and a wider color gamut – all of which contribute to more lifelike and vibrant images.
From the TV hardware side, Dolby Vision offers direction for the use of local dimming technology behind full-array LED-backlit LCD TV panels. This local dimming instructs sectors of tiny LED lights across the LCD back plane to increase or decrease their brightness in accordance with the properties of the image.
By controlling the level of dimming in areas of the picture, deeper, truer blacks emerge while enabling enough control to ensure that details within shaded areas not blotted out of the field of vision. The effect also serves to boost the apparent brightness of the panel, when called for in the image.
During CES, Dolby announced that Sharp, TCL and Vizio had signed on as manufacturer partners that will be participating in the Dolby Vision program on select TV models.
From the content side, Dolby Vision expands the information in the signal source to help properly equipped TVs, including non-Dolby Vision-enhanced sets, better respond to yield better levels of dynamic range.
Thus far, Netflix, Vudu, Amazon and Microsoft (Xbox) have signed on with the Dolby Vision program.
