Dolby eyes premium cinema in India

Chennai: Dolby Laboratories, the audio, visual and voice technologies multinational, is working on strategies to launch Dolby Cinema, a premium cinema concept, in collaboration with theatre owners.

It plans to install the Dolby Atmos technology in 100 screens by the end of 2016, said Pankaj Kedia, senior director for the region at Dolby Singapore. The plan, he said, was still being studied but, “It is a question of ‘when’ and not 'if' (launching in India)...We are having some conversations but at this stage, I don’t have a timeframe.”

As part of  Dolby Cinema concept, the company partners with different cinema theatres and is responsibile for the technology and content. At present, it is focusing on markets such as America and China.

“We have announced some very major partnerships in these countries,” said Kedia.

He added,  “This year we are looking at completing installation of Dolby Atmos in about 100 screens in India. Last year, we did less than 50 screens.”

It has  installed the technology in 200 screens. The company is working with various content developers. It has also tied up with electronics manufacturer LG to bring out television sets with Dolby Vision, a new visual technology it has developed.  It has also launched a voice conference technology named Dolby Voice, for which it has partnered with British Telecom.

Dolby Laboratories is also a major player in services to the direct-to-home television segment. The company  serves around 45 hi-definition channels in the country.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.