Ray Dolby

{{Short description|American electrical engineer and inventor (1933–2013)}}

{{Infobox person

| honorific_prefix =

| name = Ray Dolby

| honorific-suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE|HonFREng}}

| image = RayDolby.jpeg

| caption = Dolby (left) being inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, 2004

| birth_name = Ray Milton Dolby

| birth_date = {{birth date|1933|1|18}}

| birth_place = Portland, Oregon, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2013|9|12|1933|1|18}}

| death_place = San Francisco, California, U.S.

| education = Stanford University (BE)
Pembroke College, Cambridge (PhD)

| spouse = {{marriage |Dagmar Bäumert |1966}}

| children = {{Plainlist|

Tom Dolby
David Dolby

}}

| module = {{ infobox engineering career

| discipline = Electrical engineering, physics

| institutions = Dolby Laboratories

| significant_projects = Dolby NR

| significant_design = Surround sound

| significant_awards = {{Plainlist|

National Medal of Technology (1997)
Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (1987)
Marshall Scholarship (1961)

}}

| module2 = {{Infobox military person |embed=yes

| allegiance =

| branch = {{flag|United States Army}}

| serviceyears =

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| footnotes = {{cite news |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=C8 |date=September 15, 2013

|title=Ray Dolby, 80. Audio pioneer changed sound of music |first=Matt |last=Schudel |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/ray-dolby-pioneer-in-recorded-sound-dies-at-80/2013/09/14/fc7f52c2-1cae-11e3-a628-7e6dde8f889d_story.html}}{{cite book |chapter=Ray Milton Dolby |title=Newsmakers |location=Detroit |publisher=Gale |year=1986 |chapter-url=http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=BIC1&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Reference&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CK1618001948&userGroupName=fairfax_main&jsid=275790892d9743a9d5b9a06b69c46272 |id=K1618001948}}

}}

Ray Milton Dolby ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|oʊ|l|b|i|,_|ˈ|d|ɒ|l|-}}; January 18, 1933 – September 12, 2013) was an American engineer and inventor of the noise reduction system known as Dolby NR. He helped develop the video tape recorder while at Ampex and was the founder of Dolby Laboratories.

Early life and education

Dolby was born in Portland, Oregon, the son of Esther Eufemia (née Strand) and Earl Milton Dolby, an inventor. He attended Sequoia High School (class of 1951) in Redwood City, California.{{Cite news|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2009/03/27/sequoia-high-school-alumni-inducted-into-hall-of-fame/|title=Sequoia High School alumni inducted into Hall of Fame|last=Bishop|first=Shaun|date=2009-03-27|work=The Mercury News|access-date=2018-04-06|language=en-US}} As a teenager in the decade following World War II, he held part-time and summer jobs at Ampex in Redwood City,{{Cite web|url=http://simplyknowledge.com/popular/biography/ray-dolby|title=Biography of Ray Dolby | Simply Knowledge|website=Simplyknowledge.com|access-date=24 August 2021}} working with their first audio tape recorder in 1949. While at San Jose State College and later at Stanford University (interrupted by two years of Army service),{{cite journal|last=Wolpin|first=Stewart|date=Fall 1994|title=The Race to Video|url=http://stewartwolpin.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Race-To-Video-100.pdf|journal=American Heritage of Invention & Technology|volume=10|issn=8756-7296|number=2}} he worked on early prototypes of video tape recorder technologies for Alexander M. Poniatoff and Charlie Ginsburg.

In 1957, Dolby received his B.Sc. in electrical engineering from Stanford.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/business/ray-dolby-who-put-moviegoers-in-the-middle-is-dead-at-80.html |title=Ray Dolby, Who Put Moviegoers in the Middle of It, Is Dead at 80 |first=Natasha |last=Singer |newspaper=The New York Times |page=A20 |date=12 September 2013}} He subsequently won a Marshall Scholarship for a Ph.D (1961) in physics from the University of Cambridge, England, where he was a Research Fellow at Pembroke College and completed his PhD, "Long wavelength X-ray microanalysis"{{cite web | title = THESIS: Long wavelength X-ray microanalysis | website =University of Cambridge Library| access-date = 29 July 2024 |url = https://idiscover.lib.cam.ac.uk/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=44CAM_DSPACE_APOLLO1810%2F265306&context=L&vid=44CAM_PROD&lang=en_US&search_scope=SCOP_CAM_ALL&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=cam_lib_coll&query=any,contains,dolby%20physics&offset=0 }} under the supervision of Ellis Cosslett.{{cite web | title = Ray Dolby and the Cavendish Lab |first = Malcolm | last = Longair| website =University of Cambridge, Department of Physics|date = June 8, 2020 | access-date = 29 July 2024 |url = https://www.phy.cam.ac.uk/rdc/raydolby }}

Career

As a non degree-holding "consultant", Dolby played a key role in the effort that led Ampex to unveil their prototype Quadruplex videotape recorder in April 1956 which soon entered production.

After Cambridge, Dolby acted as a technical advisor to the United Nations in India until 1965, when he returned to England, where he founded Dolby Laboratories in London with a staff of four. In that same year, 1965, he invented the Dolby noise-reduction system, a form of audio signal processing for analog tape recorders. His first U.S. patent application was made in 1969, four years later. The system was first used by Decca Records in the UK.{{cite news|last=Williamson|first=Marcus|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/ray-dolby-obituary-inventor-whose-noisereduction-technology-transformed-sound-reproduction-8815543.html|title=Ray Dolby obituary: Inventor whose noise-reduction technology transformed sound reproduction|date=13 September 2013|newspaper=The Independent|author-link=Marcus Williamson}}

The Dolby B consumer noise-reduction system works by compressing (boosting) low-level high-frequency sounds during recording and expanding (decreasing) them symmetrically during playback, which also decreases inherent tape noise. This reduces the audible level of tape hiss. The professional Type A system operates on four different frequency bands, and the final SR system on ten.

After his pioneering work with audiotape noise reduction, Dolby sought to improve film sound. As Dolby Laboratories' corporate history explains:{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

: Upon investigation, Dolby found that many of the limitations in optical sound stemmed directly from its significantly high background noise. To filter this noise, the high-frequency response of theatre playback systems was deliberately curtailed… To make matters worse, to increase dialogue intelligibility over such systems, sound mixers were recording soundtracks with so much high-frequency pre-emphasis that high distortion resulted.

The first film with Dolby sound was A Clockwork Orange (1971), which used Dolby noise reduction on all pre-mixes and masters, but a conventional optical sound track on release prints. Callan (1974) was the first film with a Dolby-encoded optical soundtrack. The first true LCRS (Left-Center-Right-Surround) soundtrack was encoded on the movie A Star Is Born in 1976. In fewer than ten years, 6,000 cinemas worldwide were equipped to use Dolby Stereo sound.

Dolby then developed a digital surround sound compression scheme for the cinema. Dolby Stereo Digital (now simply called Dolby Digital) was first featured on the 1992 film Batman Returns. Dolby Digital is now found in the HDTV (ATSC) standard of the United States, DVD players, and many satellite-TV and cable-TV receivers.{{Cite web|url=https://blog.teufelaudio.com/ray-dolby-life-sound/|title=Ray Dolby: A life in sound|date=2016-01-15|website=Teufel Audio Blog|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-03-31}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ray-Dolby|title=Ray Milton Dolby {{!}} American audio engineer and inventor|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2020-03-31}}

Dolby was a Fellow and past president of the Audio Engineering Society.{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/ray-dolby/|title=Ray Dolby|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=2020-03-31}}

Death and legacy

Dolby died of leukemia on September 12, 2013, at his home in San Francisco at the age of 80.{{cite web| title = Founder and Director Emeritus of Dolby Laboratories Dies at Age 80| publisher = Dolby Laboratories| date = September 12, 2013| url = http://investor.dolby.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=790493| access-date = September 12, 2013| archive-date = September 15, 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130915023953/http://investor.dolby.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=790493| url-status = dead}} Dolby was survived by his wife Dagmar, two sons, Tom and David, and four grandchildren.{{cite news |title=A minute's silence: audio pioneer Ray Dolby dies aged 80 | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/a-minutes-silence-audio-pioneer-ray-dolby-dies-aged-80-8814025.html | newspaper=The Independent |date = September 13, 2013 | first = James | last = Vincent}}{{Cite web|url=https://library.creativecow.net/article.php?author_folder=kaufman_debra&article_folder=Ray-Dolby_Obituary&page=1|title=Remembering Ray Dolby: A Life of Invention|last=Kaufman|first=Debra|website=CreativeCow.net}} Kevin Yeaman, president and chief executive of Dolby Laboratories, said, "Today we lost a friend, mentor and true visionary." Neil Portnow, president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, said Dolby had "changed the way we listen to music and movies for nearly 50 years" and that Dolby's "technologies have become an essential part of the creative process for recording artists and filmmakers, ensuring his remarkable legacy for generations to come."{{cite news | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24075429 | title = Audio pioneer Ray Dolby dies aged 80 | publisher=BBC News |date = September 13, 2013}}

In his will, Dolby bequeathed £35 million to Pembroke College, Cambridge, reportedly the largest single donation received by any college in the university's history.{{cite news|title=American inventor bequeaths largest-ever donation to Cambridge's Pembroke College|url=http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/American-inventor-bequeaths-largest-donation/story-28292778-detail/story.html|access-date=4 December 2015|work=Cambridge News|date=3 December 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208094749/http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/American-inventor-bequeaths-largest-donation/story-28292778-detail/story.html|archive-date=8 December 2015}} In December 2017 it was announced that his family had donated a further £85m from his estate to Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory{{cite news | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-42234034 | title = Dolby estate gives Cambridge University Cavendish lab £85m | publisher=BBC News |date = December 6, 2017}} which funded a physics professorship and the building of the Ray Dolby Centre.{{Cite web|url=https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/university-of-cambridge-receives-114-million-from-dolby-estate|title=University of Cambridge Receives $114 Million From Dolby Estate|website=Philanthropynewsdigest.org|access-date=24 August 2021}} Funding for the new building was supplemented with £75m from the UK government, and it was completed in 2024; its facilities include lecture halls and 173 laboratories.{{Cite web |last=Burnett |first=Amy |date=2024-05-31 |title=New Milestone for the Ray Dolby Centre as Construction Completes |url=https://www.bouygues-uk.com/new-milestone-for-the-ray-dolby-centre-as-construction-completes/ |access-date=2025-05-24 |website=Bouygues UK |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Collins |first=Sarah |date=2025-05-09 |title=New era of UK physics research begins with opening of Cambridge’s Ray Dolby Centre |url=https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/opening-of-ray-dolby-centre |access-date=2025-05-24 |website=University of Cambridge |language=en}}

In 2022, the Dolby Family Fund for Excellence in Physics was expected to fund further academic posts and PhD studentships, as well as an annual symposium.{{Cite news |title=Dolby family extend their support to create a new fund for excellence in physics |url=https://www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/impact-of-giving/gift-announcements/dolby-family-extend-their-support |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=The campaign for the University and Colleges of Cambridge |language=en}}

Awards and honors

1971 — AES Silver Medal{{cite web |url=http://www.aes.org/info/awards.cfm |title=AES Awards |publisher=Audio Engineering Society |access-date=April 20, 2015}}
1979 — 51st Academy Awards — Academy Award, Scientific or Technical (Scientific and Engineering Award) [plaque]{{cite web |url=http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/BasicSearch?action=searchLink&displayType=6&BSNomineeID=63828 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130913144905/http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/BasicSearch?action=searchLink&displayType=6&BSNomineeID=63828 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 13, 2013 |title=Academy Awards Database |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=April 20, 2015 }}
1983 — SMPTE Progress Medal For his contributions to theater sound and his continuing work in noise reduction and quality improvements in audio and video systems and as a prime inventor of the videotape recorder{{cite web

|access-date=April 20, 2015 |url=https://www.smpte.org/about/awards-programs/progress-winners |title=SMPTE Progress Medal Past Recipients |publisher=Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers}}

1985 — SMPTE Alexander M. Poniatoff Gold Medal
1986 — honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE)
1988 — Eduard Rhein Ring of Honor from the German Eduard Rhein Foundation{{cite web |url=http://www.eduard-rhein-stiftung.de/html/Ehrenring_e.html |title=The Eduard Rhein Ring of Honor Recipients |publisher=Eduard Rhein Foundation |access-date=April 20, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718234106/http://www.eduard-rhein-stiftung.de/html/Ehrenring_e.html |archive-date=July 18, 2011 }}
1989 — 61st Academy Awards — Academy Award, Scientific or Technical (Academy Award of Merit) [statuette]
1989 — Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS)
1992 — AES Gold Medal
1995 — Special Merit/Technical Grammy Award{{cite web |url=http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/producers-and-engineers/awards |title=Technical GRAMMY Award |publisher=National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences |access-date=April 20, 2015 |date=2010-10-19 |archive-date=October 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026094809/http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/producers-and-engineers/awards |url-status=dead }}
1997 — U.S. National Medal of Technology
1997 — IEEE Masaru Ibuka Consumer Electronics Award{{cite web|url=http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/about/awards/pr/ibukapr.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715103120/http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/about/awards/pr/ibukapr.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 15, 2007 |title=Medals, Technical Field Awards, and Recognitions |publisher=Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers |access-date=2013-09-15}}
1999 — honorary Doctor degree by the University of York
2000 — honorary Doctor of Science degree from Cambridge University
2003 — Charles F. Jenkins Lifetime Achievement Award by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences{{cite journal |url=http://www.mixonline.com/news/profiles/ray-dolby-receives-emmy-engineering-award/373567 |title=Ray Dolby Receives Emmy Engineering Award |first=Sarah |last=Benzuly |journal=Mix |date=September 1, 2003}}
2004 — inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame
2004 — elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering{{cite web |title=Dolby, Ray Milton |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U13870 |website=UK Who's Who online |doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U13870 |access-date=7 October 2023}}
2010 — IEEE Edison Medal
2012 — Berlin International Film Festival Berlinale Kamera
2014 — Induction into the Television Hall of Fame{{cite web|url=http://www.emmys.com/video/ray-dolby-inducted-television-academy-hall-fame |title=Ray Dolby is inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame |publisher=Academy of Television Arts & Sciences |date=March 8, 2014}}
2015 — Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame{{cite web|url=http://www.walkoffame.com/ray-dolby |title=Ray Dolby was Honored with a Posthumous Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame |publisher=Hollywood Walk of Fame |date=January 22, 2015}}

U.S. patents

{{US patent|3,631,365}}, Frequency selective, symmetric signal compressor/expander (Dolby noise reduction); application filed October 20, 1969, patent granted December 28, 1971

References

External links

[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/03/29/BUG8F5S0TN1.DTL&type=business 2004 Interview With Dolby]
{{IMDb name|2591246}}
{{EmmyTVLegends name|ray-dolby}}
[http://www.labguysworld.com/VTR-People.htm Group photo of the Ampex VTR team including Ray Dolby]

Category:1933 births

Category:2013 deaths

Category:Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge

Category:American audio engineers

Category:American billionaires

Category:American electronics engineers

Category:American inventors

Category:Analog electronics engineers

Category:Businesspeople from San Francisco

Category:CAS Career Achievement Award honorees

Category:Deaths from leukemia in California

Category:Dolby Laboratories