Dolby® Digital EX introduces a center rear channel to 5.1-channel home playback, expanding the surround sound experience to 6.1 channels.

Adds a center rear channel to Dolby Digital 5.1 playback for increased realism

Supports playback on 6.1- or 7.1-channel speaker systems

Enables Dolby Digital EX soundtracks on discs to automatically activate the EX decoding via a digital flag

Provides backward compatibility with millions of existing home playback systems

Dolby Digital EX is the home theater implementation of Dolby Digital Surround EX™ technology, which was created for the cinema.

Dolby Digital EX adds a third surround channel to the Dolby Digital 5.1-channel audio format, enabling more precise sound placement, exciting special effects, and a more realistic listening experience.

Surround sound setups can use one or two back surround speakers for the additional channel. When two back surround speakers are used (as in 7.1-channel systems), they reproduce the same mono signal but provide better coverage and improved effects.

Dolby Digital EX is backward-compatible with all systems equipped with 5.1-channel Dolby Digital encoding. Soundtracks encoded in Dolby Digital EX play normally on 5.1-channel systems with no loss of sonic information.

Why Dolby

Feature films originally released in Dolby Digital EX carry the encoded extra surround channel in their subsequent DVD and Blu-ray Disc™ releases, as well as onto 5.1-channel digital satellite, cable, and TV broadcasts.

Including Dolby Digital EX decoding in a PC allows it to serve as a source component for 6.1- or 7.1-channel playback through external (self-powered) speaker systems. Users of PCs that include Dolby Digital EX will get the added audio benefits of Surround EX soundtracks, with the heightened effects and increased realism created by the extra surround channel.

Dolby Digital EX offers complete compatibility with all Dolby Digital sources for the PC. Content encoded in 5.1-channel Dolby Digital plays back normally.