Dolby and Highfive Collaborate to Enhance Audio Conferencing

Highfive and Dolby have joined forces on a new meeting room system that combines sound quality and functionality.

Dolby Laboratories has made a lot of news over the past couple of years for bringing its state-of-the-art Atmos object-based surround sound format to the masses, as well as its Dolby Vision HDR (high dynamic range) video standard to the public.

Expanding its product line-up beyond A/V, the company is now offering the professional electronics market its Dolby Voice conferencing format. 

Collaborating with the conferencing system manufacturer Highfive, Dolby will leverage Highfive’s hardware and its Dolby Voice format to create state-of-the-art solutions for conference system users.

“Meeting spaces are powerful places where people, ideas and actions come together to create amazing things. But bad, clumsy 1990s technology make conference rooms frustrating places to do work and ultimately slow us down,” says Shan Sinha, CEO and co-founder, Highfive.

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“Our simple, elegant hardware and software solution already eliminates many of the traditional challenges of disconnected equipment and complicated user interfaces that come with legacy systems. By integrating Dolby Voice, we’re taking the next step to deliver our vision for quality video and audio that truly connects people.”

The collaboration upgrades Highfive’s hardware and unlimited cloud service through the improved clarity and intelligibility of Dolby Voice.

Highfive entered the conferencing market in 2014 and today has more than 1,400 customers, including Mimeo, Evernote, Warby Parker, Rue La La and Shift.

The collaboration with Dolby will provide its customers with Dolby’s Voice technology, and Highfive says it will also bundle Dolby’s Conference Phone hardware product into its solutions.

Improve Audio, Improve Productivity

“The Highfive solution is magic,” boasts Highfive client, Simon Zhang, IT lead, Evernote. “By adding in Dolby, the audio is unbelievable—our team meetings are productive and more enjoyable.”

Dolby’s Voice technology is a solution the company developed to improve the audio quality of conferencing, which in turn bolsters productivity. Dolby Voice utilizes advanced digital signal processing (DSP) that includes its spatial voice separation that “lets you hear each person from a distinct virtual location.”

According to the company, its technologies allow conference participants to better understand and keep track of who is speaking and hear conversations like they are in-person meetings.

Bundling Dolby Voice into the all-in-one solution, Dolby’s Conference Phone and Dolby Voice combination allows users to take part in calls from their PCs, mobile phones and its Conference Phone.

The Conference phone features background noise suppression and full-room voice capturing capabilities to provide a clear conferencing experience.

The Conference Phone also features a modern industrial design that complements a variety of room interiors, as well as a touchscreen interface that Dolby states is “intuitive.” With this interface, Dolby says users can join and manage meetings,  see who is attending a meeting, and access other important system functions.

The Conference Phone is a dual-mode device with Dolby Voice enabled services and a SIP phone options for IP telephony applications.

“The stunning audio quality of Dolby Voice combined wit Highfive’s simple and easy-to-use solution replaces noisy conference calls wit a complete audio and video experience,” notes Kevin Yeaman, president and CEO, Dolby Laboratories. “This breakthrough system allows people to communicate and collaborate more effectively.”

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