A ver, he estado investigando un poco. He aqui lo que dice la propia Dolby de su tecnologia Dolby Digital Plus:

"Dolby Digital Plus and MLP Lossless Selected as Optional Audio Codecs by the Blu-ray Disc Association


San Francisco, April 18, 2005--Dolby Laboratories today announced that Dolby® audio technologies have been selected as optional audio codecs by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). Dolby Digital Plus and MLP Lossless™ audio technologies have been approved for the next-generation Blu-ray Disc. Blu-ray Disc was developed to enable recording, rewriting, and playback of high-definition (HD) video and to store large amounts of data (25 GB for single layer, 50 GB for dual layer on a single-sided disc). In addition to the Dolby technologies mentioned above as optional codecs, the BDA selected Dolby Digital as a mandatory audio standard for Blu-ray Disc in September 2004.

"The advanced capabilities of Dolby Digital Plus and MLP Lossless offer compelling audio performance for next-generation HD video formats," said Craig Eggers, Marketing Director, Consumer Electronics, Dolby Laboratories. "Dolby Digital Plus introduces new levels of audio quality, interactivity, and compatibility. MLP Lossless delivers the highest audio fidelity possible without compromising picture quality or video bit rates--a perfect complement to Dolby Digital Plus."

Dolby Digital Plus is an extension of Dolby Digital, an approved audio standard for DVD-Video worldwide and for North American digital cable and digital television broadcasting. While providing bit-rate and channel extendibility for future formats, Dolby Digital Plus is designed to be fully compatible with the millions of A/V receivers equipped with Dolby Digital technology in the market today.

Dolby Digital Plus is also designed to offer discrete channel coverage to 7.1 or more channels, as well as new streaming and mixing capabilities for the future needs of content creators and providers. Consumers may one day watch a feature-length movie with the director's commentary streamed directly from the studio's website.

MLP Lossless technology, licensed by Dolby, fulfills both industry content creation and consumer demand for lossless audio in next-generation media. Bit-for-bit identical during playback to the original studio masters, MLP Lossless enables discrete multichannel reproduction beyond present 5.1 or 7.1 applications. Additionally, MLP Lossless coding efficiencies enable more bits to be allocated to picture quality and special features. Discs with MLP Lossless can provide extremely high digital audio quality and ample data space for value-added content."

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"Dolby Digital Plus is an extension of the popular Dolby Digital format, an audio standard for DVD-Video players worldwide, and the choice for many existing DTV systems around the world. Dolby Digital Plus offers coding efficiencies for systems where bandwidth is at a premium or limited, such as next-generation cable, broadcast, and satellite systems, as well as channel and bit-rate extensibility for the future. As it has been designed with backwards-compatibility in mind, broadcasters using the codec to deliver 5.1 surround sound can reach millions of homes equipped with Dolby Digital compatible DVD home cinema systems.

Dolby Digital Plus has also already been selected by the DVD Forum as a mandatory audio format for HD-DVD, and has been nominated by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) as a Candidate Standard for future robust channel transmission.

Where higher bit rates can be allocated for audio playback, such as in HD-DVD, Dolby Digital Plus delivers even higher quality audio performance from a highly sophisticated perceptual coding process. These extensions to the existing Dolby Digital format extend the peak data rate from 640 kbps up to 6 Mbps. Additionally, Dolby Digital Plus is designed to offer discrete channel coverage beyond the current 5.1 standard, such as 7.1 discrete channels and more.

In anticipation of future packaged media business models and format flexibility, the efficiency of Dolby Digital Plus is also designed to enable simultaneous streaming of audio content and software playback. This capability would allow consumers to watch a film while listening to an artist's or director's commentary streamed directly from the studio website, for example."