During an earnings conference call, Dolby informed its investors that its DVD playback technology is not “currently included” in Windows 8. This is surprising as Windows 7 had Dolby’s Digital Plus technology in four of its versions.
“We have recently learned that our technologies are not currently included in the Windows 8 operating system under development. If our technologies are not included in the commercial version of Windows 8, we expect to support DVD playback functionality by increasingly licensing our technologies directly to OEMs and ISVs, and we will seek to extend our technologies to further support online content playback,” Dolby stated.
Dolby’s Digital Plus technology was included in four different editions of Windows 7 so it is surprising to see this not take place for Windows 8. “In recent years, our mix of PC licensing revenue has increasingly shifted towards the operating system as our technologies are included in 4 editions of Windows 7.”
After this announcement to investors, Dolby’s share dropped. Microsoft’s decision to exclude them is still unknown but it won’t stop Dolby. The bottom line is, even if Microsoft doesn’t include Dolby in Windows 8, Dolby will work with PC manufacturers and OEMs to make sure its technology gets added into new computers. This is only to ensure its revenue stream.
