Dolby Laboratories

Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (Dolby Labs) is a USA-based company specializing in audio noise reduction and audio encoding/compression. Dolby Labs was founded by Ray Dolby in England in 1965. He moved the company to the United States (San Francisco, California) in 1976. The first product he made was Type A Dolby Noise Reduction, a simple compander. One of the features that set Dolby's compander apart was that it treated only the quiet sounds that would be masked by tape noise. Dolby marketed the product to record companies. Dolby was persuaded by Henry Kloss of KLH to manufacture a consumer version of his noise reduction. Dolby worked more on companding systems and introduced B-type in 1968. Dolby did not manufacture consumer products outright; it license the technologies to consumer electronics manufacturers. Dolby also sought to improve film sound. As the corporation's history explains: The first film with Dolby sound was A Clockwork Orange (1971), which used Dolby noise reduction... full article at wikipedia