India has been a part of the Dolby fabric: Ramzi Haidamus

Interview with Global Head, Dolby Laboratories

Audio technology company Dolby Laboratories has always set the benchmark as far as cinema sound is concerned. Now it wants to kick off a similar experience across television, tablets and mobile phones. Ramzi Haidamus, Global Head, Dolby Laboratories, spoke to Varada Bhat on the company’s delivery strategy and growth in the Indian market.

Can you elaborate on Dolby’s strategy on multi-delivery platform?
We are trying to focus on multiple-channels of delivery. With the shift to the digital world, across entire eco-system of multimedia we need to have best quality audio match to it. It started off with cinema, then broadcasters went from analog to digital and now high-defination. Now the same thing is happening in the electronic media with smartphones, tablets and other personal devices.  We wanted to create the same experience in that space. From fixed environment we are going to on-the go experience. Our goal is to provide the experience across the entire eco-system.

How is your partnership with UFO Moviez in India? (Last month, Dolby tied up UFO Moviez to provide surround sound to UFO cinemas across the country) 
When it comes digital cinema, India has a huge market potential. The strategy is to provide quick, easy and low cost access and yet maintain the quality. We thought of customising the audio solution for the e-cinema space so that they can deliver high definition audio and video for local Indian market. The UFO-Dolby co-branded audio processors will also be future-proofed beyond standard 5.1 surround sound, as filmmakers are now migrating to 7.1 surround sound, which is simultaneously happening around the world.   

How much does India contribute to your overall global revenues? 
We have not yet broken out in the India market, but we are growing significantly. Two years ago we had no penetration in the broadcast sector and today we have partnership with over five broadcasters and service providers, including Tata Sky, Star and Sun. The way how it works with Dolby is that we start with content, then move to devices and delivery platforms. The number of set-up boxes and smartphone penetration is increasing but we have not broken out yet.   

How do you see Indian market in future compared to the mature markets like US and UK? 
India has been part of the dolby fabric since many years. We started with Indian cinema market in 1980. What has the triggered the importance is the shift to digital, and with digitization coming in,  several big opportunities in the markets have opened up. This has justified the opening of two offices here with special experts in electronic and broadcast for significant growth for us. We are investing in content and pay off on playback will come over time.