Dolby Acquires THEO Technologies

Dolby has announced that it has acquired THEO Technologies, a provider of video players, and solutions for low-latency, live delivery of sports and entertainment content.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

The deal will help Dolby expand its solutions for creating real-time live experiences that enable viewers to interact with content while watching on different screens, and make those experiences more engaging through gamification and other innovations. The combined solutions will be particularly important for sports and entertainment, providing real-time digital experiences for live events that will increase fan engagement with interactive and personalized content and experiences, Dolby said.

“People want to engage with their content in real-time and have a more personal relationship with their content,” said Giles Baker, senior vice president of Dolby Cloud Solutions. “With Dolby Millicast, we’ve enabled service providers to improve the audiovisual experience, and offer experiences that are delivered in real-time. Adding THEO’s suite of products creates a comprehensive cross-platform solution for sports and entertainment companies seeking to enable the most interactive real-time digital experiences.”

“Dolby and THEO have a shared vision to offer customers the best in real-time streaming experiences that drive fan engagement and interactivity. Together, we are set to transform the industry, creating streaming experiences so immersive they rival being there in person,” added Steven Tielemans, co-founder and CEO of THEO Technologies.

Combining Dolby Millicast, an ultra-low latency streaming solution which delivers less than half a second of latency, with THEO’s cross-platform playback and low-latency live streaming solutions, will allow sports and entertainment companies to deliver experiences with no perceptible difference between what fans see in-person and what is streaming on your device, Dolby said.

More specifically, the THEO acquisition expands Dolby’s suite of cloud solutions that deliver seamless, synchronized viewer experiences. This product offering now includes:

• Dolby Millicast: an ultra-low latency streaming solution with less than half a second of latency, that delivers seamless, synchronized viewer experiences, ensuring you never miss a beat in engaging your audience.
• THEOplayer: a leading cross-platform video player available, enabling leading media and entertainment companies worldwide to deliver advanced video experiences, efficiently and across all devices. It supports all standard delivery formats and works on all major playback platforms.
• THEOlive: a live streaming solution that delivers high-quality, ultra-low latency streaming at scale. Available as a standalone product or combined with Dolby Millicast to create a comprehensive solution with features like pause, rewind, and instant replay, catering to a wide range of customer needs.
• Dolby Hybrik: a comprehensive cloud-based media workflow management service designed to deliver optimized media experiences across a variety of platforms, from theatres to mobile devices. It makes video transcoding and QC faster, easier, and more cost-effective, so you can get the job done right — no matter how massive your workload.

More information on the expanded product offerings is available here .