Windows 7 Gets Dolby Digital Plus Support

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Now your new OS will know how to listen to surround sound signals.

Dolby Laboratories announced today that Windows 7 will have native Dolby Digital Plus support in the Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions.

This means that playback of multichannel audio streams found in DVDs, HD DVDs, Blu-ray Discs and select HD broadcasts will decidable by the native software in the operating system.

"As Windows 7 amplifies the entertainment experience on the PC, it makes sense that Dolby Digital Plus is selected as the audio format for delivering high-quality surround sound," said Ramzi Haidamus, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing, Dolby Laboratories. "With Blu-ray Disc, DTV broadcasts, and rich multimedia delivered through the Internet, Dolby Digital Plus ensures that people will hear outstanding audio on any device."

The Dolby Digital Plus is a lossy, compressed audio format that provides support for up to 7.1 channels and advanced features like bitstream mixing for secondary audio tracks. Now you just need something better than tinny computer speakers.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
26 Comments Comment from the forums
  • derrick1985
    I wonder if people who downloaded the RTM early will get this feature now. lol
    Reply
  • chaohsiangchen
    I hope that I can afford Dolby 7.1 sound system. When will we have native THX support from Windows?
    Reply
  • megamanx00
    That's nice I suppose. Of course most people building HTPCs that would use this are also using other software to support this, making it a little redundant.
    Reply
  • jecht
    I guess it's just another reason for me to upgrade from XP. Not to mention that my original XP disc is so corrupted it can't copy half the files when doing repair installs...
    Reply
  • mlopinto2k1
    Hmpff, sweetness. I have a Dolby Digital Receiver sittin' right here next to me connected to my computer anyway. But, my soundcard already can send out a digital signal (bypassed) right to the receiver.
    Reply
  • AdamB5000
    chaohsiangchenI hope that I can afford Dolby 7.1 sound system. When will we have native THX support from Windows?
    THX isn't something that is supported. It is basically recognition of a certain quality of audio or video equipment. I guess a stand alone piece of software could possibly garner THX certification if it was superior in video or audio processing. We'll have to ask George Lucas. :)
    Reply
  • Wait a sec, does this means i dont need DDL or am i getting the wrong idea here?
    Reply
  • xaira
    my speakers are not tiny...hmph...
    Reply
  • pakardbell486dx2
    so how about EAX support????????
    Reply
  • pochacco007
    what for? people who will want this feature will get a better sound card or find some other way.
    Reply