Dolby noise-reduction system

Dolby noise-reduction system
Dolby 361 A-type noise reduction module
Product typeAudio technology
OwnerDolby Laboratories
CountryUnited Kingdom
United States
Introduced1965
Related brandsDolby Stereo (1976-present)
Dolby Digital (1986-present)
MarketsWorldwide
Previous ownersRay Dolby
WebsiteDolby official website

A Dolby noise-reduction system, or Dolby NR, is one of a series of noise reduction systems developed by Dolby Laboratories for use in analog audio tape recording.[1] The first was Dolby A, a professional broadband noise reduction system for recording studios that was first demonstrated in 1965, but the best-known is Dolby B (introduced in 1968), a sliding band system for the consumer market, which helped make high fidelity practical on cassette tapes, which used a relatively noisy tape size and speed. It is common on high-fidelity stereo tape players and recorders to the present day, although Dolby has as of 2016 ceased licensing the technology for new cassette decks. Of the noise reduction systems, Dolby A and Dolby SR were developed for professional use. Dolby B, C, and S were designed for the consumer market. Aside from Dolby HX, all the Dolby variants work by companding: compressing the dynamic range of the sound during recording, and expanding it during playback.

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