MUMBAI: It was recently announced that Dolby teamed up with Balaji Telefilms to release their upcoming films using Dolby technology. Along with talking about the new partnership, Dolby Laboratories Sr. Regional Director, India, South East Asia, ANZ Pankaj Kedia, further spoke to Radioandmusic.com about the recent updates with miscellaneous Dolby projects.

Experts:

In addition to the new Dolby Atmos screen that opened in Jammu, where else do you plan to launch?

There are a lot of screens coming up. We would like to talk about them, but our customers have to allow us to talk about it. But, I can tell you that currently there are 50 screens currently are being installed around the country including smaller places like Manjeri in Kerala to the metropolitan cities.

The Academy Awards will be held at the Dolby Theatre next month. What advancements are being made to the sound quality this year?

The Dolby Theatre is really very special for us. We bring our best to the Dolby Theatre. In fact, Ray Dolby himself was honoured with a star at the Walk of Fame right outside the Dolby Theatre. We debuted Dolby Atmos at the theatre last year. This year, there is going to be twice as many upgraded installations with major tweaking to the previous ones. The theatre has Dolby’s largest Dolby Atmos installation with more than 300 massive speakers. It is also special because the theatre has several balconies, and so, we have to vendor the experience separately for each balcony which makes for a very complex and challenging installation.

Could you talk about The Dolby Institute and its presence here in India?

We recently held a couple of workshops across the country on the importance of sound and the art for good story-telling. We did a bunch with film and music schools and we did a bunch with the broadcasters. Glenn Kiser who is the director of Dolby Institute, came to conduct the five different workshops last month. The Dolby Institute is basically a travelling institute. And through our association with Sundance, we pick the best films and get the best audio designer design for them. And, also, going beyond the technical queries, we also look from a creative perspective on how the sound quality can be well utilised in story-telling.

When will the next Dolby Institute workshop be held in India?

This was the first Dolby Institute workshop in India, and it was a massive success. There is still a lot to be deliberated upon, but we are hopeful that this is an annual event. So, this year, the Dolby institute workshops will probably be held in the winter season, somewhere between October and December. We are still in very early stages of planning.

Can you give us an update on Mobile Dolby?

We have been actively involved in the mobile space for quite some time now. We have deals with LG, Samsung and Nokia in place. One of our major recent partners is Amazon. Amazon has launched the Dolby Atmos experience on the Amazon Kindle HD X. They are coming out with more products now.

Since when has your deal with Balaji Telefilms been in gestation?

We have been working with them on broadcast television. When HD started four years ago with 5.1 surround sound that was when we started teaming with them. We continued working with them using Dolby Sound, with three shows currently on air. It is not a compulsion for Balaji Telefilms to release every new title of theirs with Dolby Atmos, but both of us are hopeful they do.