Short for Dolby Laboratories, this word is often used to generically refer to noise reduction, for which they are famous. Dolby Labs was founded in 1965 when they developed their first noise reduction systems. Since then they have been a huge contributor to the betterment of recorded sound with many advancements in technology. Today they are known for noise reduction systems, stereo and surround sound encoding technologies, recording headroom extension, and many developments for theatre film sound reproduction and digital media sound reproduction. We will cover more of the specific Dolby formats in the future.