Noise reduction and surround sound technology pioneer, and founder of the audio company sharing his name Ray Dolby, passed away age 80 following long struggle with Alzheimer's Disease and leukemia.
"Today we lost a friend, mentor and true visionary," Dolby Laboratories president Kevin Yeaman says. "Ray Dolby founded the company based on a commitment to creating value through innovation and an impassioned belief that if you invested in people and gave them the tools for success they would create great things. Ray's ideals will continue to be a source of inspiration and motivation for us all."
Born in 1933, Dolby was 16-years when he was working on videotape recording systems at Ampex. He then headed at Stanford and got a degree in electrical engineering before getting a PhD from Cambridge University in 1961.
He founded Dolby Laboratories in 1965, following his work on an audio compression and expansion to reduce the hiss generated by magnetic tape particles rubbing over transducers via limiter circuit. The technology first appeared in A301 professional single-channel sound system, and eventually appeared in the consumer market in cassette recorders using the Dolby B standard.
Dolby Surround, arguably the company's most famous product, used a directionally enhanced matrix decoder and made its debut in the 1976 film 'A Star is Born.' It is also behind the epic soundtracks of the original 'Star Wars' and 'Close Encounter of the Third Kind'-- the film many say changed the realm of cinematic sound forever.
Ray Dolby received many awards for his work, including two Oscars, the Order of the British Empire and the National Medal of Technology.
"My father was a thoughtful, patient and loving man, determined to always do the right thing in business, philanthropy, and as a husband and father," says David Dolby, son and member of Dolby Laboratories board of directors. "Our family is very proud of his achievements and leadership. He will be sorely missed, but his legacy of innovation will live on."
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