Dolby bets big on content for mobile devices

Dolby Laboratories, best known for providing audio technology for theatres, TVs and mobile devices, is looking at enabling creation of content by providing its technical knowhow.

According to Pankaj Kedia, MD, Emerging Markets, Dolby Singapore PTE Ltd, video and audio content consumption via internet on mobile phones is on the rise. Cheap data plans and availability of content are further helping boost consumption.

Dolby already aids content creation — particularly in the cinema and home entertainment segment — by working with directors, sound designers and creative and technical teams.

Apart from sharing its technology, it provides them with the tools, the knowhow and the infrastructure to create “enhanced entertainment experiences”.

“In India, there is a large amount of content consumed through mobile devices, and a lot of streaming services are turning to mobile phones. A big part of the work that we are involved in at present is in enabling content and services to the mobile devices,” Kedia told BusinessLine .

While there are about 10,000 cinema screens across India and close to 25 million subscribers for HD broadcast, the number of smartphone users far outnumber these at around 300 million, he said.

Dolby claims that an estimated 100 million mobile devices in the country are enabled with its latest technology, Dolby Atmos. Some leading device manufacturers such as Samsung, Huawei, OnePlus and Oppo have enabled their smartphones with Dolby Atmos technology.

Content tuned for mobile

Watching content on mobile phones presents a different set of audio challenges as compared to a theatre or television.

For instance, watching television at home provides a relatively quiet environment, but mobile viewing could come with a lot of associated noise if the person is on the road or travelling by the Metro. These challenges have to be dealt with differently.

Moreover, compared with a television or theatre screen, a mobile device has a much smaller screen size, typically in the range of 4-5 inches. Hence, the audio should be such that it provides a cinematic experience to the viewer.

Therefore, the content in case of mobile phones has to be tweaked and processed differently.

“Audio can make the mobile a cinematic experience, and if we can do that, then it creates that much more engagement. We are in talks with OTT players for content creation. Voot, Yupptv, Sun NEXT etc, are doing it already,” he said.

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