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Dolby Digital (DD for short) is a sound compression system which is used by storage media formats like DVDs and Bluray discs. Developed by Dolby Laboratories, Dolby Digital made it's debut in cinema's across the land in 1992. The first movie to use this form of sound compression was Batman Returns, directed by Tim Burton and starring Danny Devito as the Penguin.

The common domestic version of Dolby Digital is 5.1, which uses five speakers and a subwoofer. But, there are many versions currently available, such as 2.1 and 7.1. The current DD format list at the end of 2008 is as follows,

- Digital Digital - Is the standard 5.1 channels of data. Used by standard DVD's and DVD players.

- "" Ex - Is the same system as 5.1, but adding one or two extra channels, for 6.1 and 7.1

- "" Surround Ex - Developed in conjunction with THX, it provides extra compatibility for the above two DD formats.

- "" Live - Created for computer games to support DD 5.1, and is compatible with sound manufacturers like Creative.

- "" Plus - A juiced up version of DD, it can support numerous extraneous channels, up to thirteen.

- "" TrueHD - Developed for the new media formats like Bluray and DVD HD.

Dolby Digital is changing with the times, always improving and finding new applications. They were involved in the creation of the audio coding for the MPEG, which is a guild of motion picture editors, who aim to create standards for both audio and video encoding. It has been part and parcel in the development of DVD and DVD HD, becoming a mandatory audio codec for both of these media formats. But, because Bluray was the brain child of Sony, DD is just an optional codec for this media format. Which may effect the future exposure of DD. Sony has appeared to have won the format wars, with major Hollywood beginning to only release their releases on Bluray, and no longer on HD DVD. The widespread adoption of Bluray may signal the death of the DVD and HD DVD formats.