Dolby Laboratories, Inc. announced Dolby® Vision, a new imaging technology that helps content creators and television manufacturers deliver true-to-life brightness, colors, and contrast by augmenting the fidelity of Ultra HD (UHD) and HD video signals for over-the-top (OTT) online streaming, broadcast, and gaming applications. Content mastered and color-graded in Dolby Vision was seen at 2014 International CES® event on the latest UHD and HD TVs from Sharp and TCL Multimedia. Both companies were exhibitors in the Las Vegas Convention Center's Central Hall. TVs featuring Dolby Vision technology are expected to be available for retail purchase later this year.

"By dramatically enhancing picture quality, Dolby Vision will drive adoption of UHD 4K displays with a winning combination of more and better pixels," said Hao E, Vice President, TCL Corporation, and CEO, TCL Multimedia.

Even though most TV shows and movies are recorded using camera technology that captures the colors and brightness of real life, much of that richness is lost by the time consumers get to watch. That's because current TV and cinema color-grading standards are based on the limitations of old technologies and require that the original video content be altered—dramatically reducing the range of colors, brightness, and contrast—before it can be reproduced for transmission and playback. Dolby Vision changes that, giving creative teams the freedom to use the full gamut of colors, peak brightness, and local contrast, with the confidence that those will be reproduced faithfully on televisions that feature Dolby Vision.

An end-to-end solution, Dolby Vision works from content creation to distribution and playback, and it is already receiving support from critical points in the ecosystem, from A-list Hollywood directors, to executives at major studios, TV manufacturers, and operators worldwide.

"The creative community is thrilled to have an expanded color palette and the added contrast so that viewers can see details that might have previously gone unnoticed," said Roland Vlaicu, Senior Director, Broadcast Imaging, Dolby Laboratories. "Meanwhile, TV manufacturers can offer consumers a dramatically improved video experience, regardless of screen size or viewing distance."

At CES, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) from around the world are exhibiting technology prototype televisions in combination with Dolby Vision on various panel types and screen sizes, emphasizing the scalability of the solution. Ecosystem partners for movies and television shows in Dolby Vision are currently expected to include Microsoft® Xbox® Video, Amazon Instant Video™, Netflix®, and VUDU®.

"Dolby Vision is an exciting step forward in delivering much more compelling and realistic video, and we're excited by the possibility of bringing this technology to Amazon customers," said Jim Freeman, Vice President of Digital Video, Amazon. "There is still work to be done to bring together the right mix of hardware, content, and streaming technology, and we look forward to working with great partners like Dolby to make that happen. Together, we will aim to give customers the highest-fidelity movie and TV experience possible."

"As a leader in Ultra HD/4K, Netflix is excited to take advantage of advances in picture quality throughout the delivery pipeline, from developing new programming to helping partners create consumer products that display it in stunning richness. Dolby Vision will further improve that viewing experience," said Neil Hunt, Chief Product Officer, Netflix.

Mike Seamons, Sr. Director of Xbox Video, Microsoft, said, "The improved image quality of Dolby Vision is compelling and offers exciting possibilities for both game play and streaming HD content to the living room."

About Dolby Vision

Dolby Vision augments the video fidelity of Ultra HD and HD video signals used in OTT online streaming, broadcast, and gaming applications by maintaining and reproducing the dynamic range and color gamut of the original signal as captured. It liberates the creative community from the constraints of legacy CRT technology and enables content creators and television manufacturers to deliver true-to-life brightness, colors, and contrast to TVs. The net result is a richer and more realistic viewing experience that makes it easier for consumers to discern details that might previously have gone unnoticed in an image, regardless of screen size or viewing distance.