Circle Surround's Popularity Growing Among Asian Pacific Broadcasters
SANTA ANA, Calif., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SRS Labs, Inc.
(Nasdaq: SRSL), one of the world's leading providers of audio technology
solutions, announced today that Radio Television Hong Kong, ("RTHK"), one of
three primary government-owned radio stations in Hong Kong, selected SRS
Circle Surround(R) 5.1 ("CS") as their surround sound technology for a
four-week long radio program called "The Beginning Of Time." The program was
designed to target teens during the summer holiday season as part of their
"Solar Project" to motivate young people to attend concerts and music events.
The star-studded Sci-Fi drama, which features some of Hong Kong's leading
artists including Andy Lau and Gigi Leung, was produced in surround sound with
lots of surround audio effects. SRS Circle Surround was employed by RTHK as
the surround sound encoding technology to enable the delivery and preservation
of these 5.1 surround sound effects over RTHK's two-channel stereo
broadcasting system. The "The Beginning Of Time" program which began airing
earlier this month in Hong Kong is currently available to download at RTHK's
official website, http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/radio2/myheart/20050801.html.
SRS Circle Surround is an advanced encode/decode system that allows
professional audio engineers, such as Dimension-S Music Productions, who
produced this program, to encode up to 6.1 channels of discrete audio for
distribution or broadcast over existing two-channel carriers such as
standard-definition and high-definition television, analog and digital radio,
streaming media, CDs and VHS tapes. Since CS encoding is backward compatible
with all playback systems, including mono and stereo formats, RTHK listeners
who have a Circle Surround or other matrix surround decoder installed, will
hear a stunning 5.1 surround sound experience, while those listening over
regular two-speaker stereo systems will hear the broadcast in enhanced stereo.
Henry Lai of Dimension-S Music Productions, SRS Labs' partner in Hong
Kong, is the surround sound encoding consultant for this event. He is working
closely with RTHK and Cyberport Digital Media Center on the production of the
program. For the Solar Project closing concert held on August 28, Lai
provided real-time surround encoding of the concert, which was broadcasted
live. Lai said, "Circle Surround is the only system that provides
satisfactory live surround encoding results that can be broadcast over any
media. The audio quality is superb and the system is very user-friendly, so
along with its versatility, Circle Surround is the top choice for any
broadcast facility."
"As a public broadcaster, we chose to encode our surround sound format in
Circle Surround as a unique way enhance the quality and range of our
broadcasting services," said David Ho, Deputy Head of RTHK Radio 2.
SRS Labs' director of business development for Hong Kong, Ricky Wong,
says, "We are delighted that RTHK chose to use our Circle Surround technology.
RTHK is clearly a leader in delivering the best broadcasting experiences to
their listeners, and we look forward to continuing to work with them on these
exciting surround broadcasts for Asian Pacific and online radio broadcasts."
Circle Surround is quickly becoming a broadcast standard for multichannel
surround sound delivered over the standard two-channel radio and television
broadcasting systems used in overseas markets. To date, over 500 million
television viewers have experienced Circle Surround, and over 300,000 DVDs and
CDs have been distributed that include CS. Key users include Guangdong Pearl
Radio Station in the People's Republic of China, Yokohama FM and Tokyo FM
radio in Japan and television broadcasters Mainichi Broadcasting System Inc,
(MBS) and GAORA in Japan, as well as MTV, VH1, ESPN, ABC and others in North
America. RTHK joins this list of surround broadcasters and gains a
competitive advantage in their marketplace by being able to offer surround
sound to their listeners.
Radio stations that use CS can broadcast one CS-encoded radio signal that
satisfies all possible audience playback environments, because it is backward
compatible to all mono and stereo formats. However, for the ultimate
experience in surround sound playback, it is recommended that audio
enthusiasts use a surround sound receiver that includes Circle Surround II
decoding, available from A/V receiver manufacturers such as Marantz, Accuphase,
Pioneer, Theta Digital, Motorola, Yamaha and Kenwood, and from car receiver
makers including Eclipse, Panasonic, Kenwood, and Fujitsu Ten.
About SRS Labs Inc.
SRS Labs is a recognized leader in the advancement of audio and voice
technology. The company works with the world's top manufacturers to provide a
richer entertainment experience through patented sound techniques. SRS Labs'
technologies can be heard through products ranging from televisions, LCD and
plasma monitors, cell phones, MP3 players, car audio systems, and notebook and
desktop computers. The company also offers hardware and software tools to
professionals and consumers for the creation, production and broadcast of
content featuring SRS Labs' technologies. Valence Technologies Limited, a
Hong-Kong based subsidiary of SRS Labs, is a semiconductor company that
designs and sells custom ASICs and standard ICs to leading manufacturers
worldwide. Based in Santa Ana, Calif., the company also has licensing
representation in Hong Kong, Japan, Europe, and Korea. For more information
about SRS Labs, Inc. please visit http://www.srslabs.com. The information on the
aforementioned website is not incorporated by reference into this press
release.
Except for historical information contained in this release, statements in
this release including those by Mr, Wong in paragraph five are forward-looking
statements and projections (which include statements concerning plans and
objectives of management for future operations) that are based on management's
belief, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available
to, management. While the Company believes that its expectations are based
upon reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurances that the Company's
goals and strategy will be realized. Numerous factors, including risks and
uncertainties, may affect the Company's actual results and may cause results
to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements made
by or on behalf of the Company. Some of these factors include RTHK's continued
usage of Circle Surround for future broadcasts, the acceptance of new SRS
Labs' products and technologies, the impact of competitive products and
pricing, the timely development and release of technologies by the Company,
general business and economic conditions, especially in Asia, and other
factors detailed in the Company's Form 10-K and other periodic reports filed
with the SEC. SRS Labs specifically disclaims any obligation to update or
revise any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information,
future developments or otherwise.
Investor Contact: Media Contact:
Tami Stegmaier Chris Locke
(949) 442-1070 x 3093 (949) 442-1070 x 3206 Cell: (714) 403-1855
tami@srslabs.com chrisl@srslabs.com
SOURCE SRS Labs Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.srslabs.com
http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/radio2/myheart/20050801.html
CONTACT:
Investors, Tami Stegmaier, +1-949-442-1070,
ext. 3093, tami@srslabs.com, or Media, Chris Locke,
+1-949-442-1070, ext. 3206, or cell, +1-714-403-1855,
chrisl@srslabs.com, both of SRS Labs Inc.
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