Digitalics

Don’t you hate your movie having a greater dynamic range than your hearing? Is that explosion too loud and the dialogue too faint? Getting tired of having to increase your TV volume for DVDs only to reduce it again to watch TiVo?

Me too. Now there’s hope.

Dolby Laboratories (DLB) this morning announced the first market availability of its Dolby Volume technology. Dolby Volume automatically adjusts for differing volume among separate video sources, which means that video streamed from your PC will be the same loudness as your TV, which will be the same as the DVD you’re playing. Should help with commercials blaring at you, too.

What’s more, it also adjusts the frequency response at lower volumes to optimize the sound and account for what’s happening on the screen. So for example it can boost the midrange so those explosions on Iron Man won’t drown out the concurrent dialogue.

Dolby continues to find ways to make itself indispensible to CE manufacturers. It’s business model is sound, and I have a bias for IP models with big moats that generate lots of cash. It’s going to have to come up with a bit more growth, however, to justify its current valuation. At 35x Free Cash Flow, it’s not exactly trading in the nosebleed seats, but it doesn’t leave much room for error.

Still, Dolby Volume should help. Good stuff, coming to your TV soon.

Disclosure: I hold no position in any of the stocks mentioned here.