Immersive entertainment technology company Dolby today announced its acquisition of developer platform Millicast, known for its ultra-low latency video streaming, to complement its Dolby.io platform. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Dolby has been building out its Dolby.io API platform over the past couple years, which enables businesses, developers, and content creators to leverage Dolby technology to enhance their content and audiovisual experiences. The addition of Millicast to Dolby.io will allow users to stream the interactive events they build on Dobly’s platform to audiences of over 60,000 people with delays of less than 500 milliseconds.
"There is a growing demand to make online events as lifelike and compelling as being there in person," said Marie Huwe, SVP, Dolby.io, in a statement. "We are thrilled to welcome the Millicast team to Dolby. Together, we expand the Dolby.io platform to make it even easier for developers and businesses to stream real-time content and immersive, interactive experiences that look and sound incredible."
Latency and delays have been par for the course for many virtual events, but tech providers have been working hard to limit this in order to provide a more enjoyable and professional experience. With Dolby.io, Dolby is aiming to help developers and businesses scale their high-quality content and communications to meet high-volume streaming demands for virtual events, which has included enhancing the platform to support more participants for audio and video, or audio-only.
"Dolby and Millicast share a passion for enabling the future of lightning-fast, crystal-clear content streamed to thousands of participants," said Millicast CEO Alexandrine Platonoff in a statement. "Together, we have the opportunity to bring ultra-low latency to a global customer base and empower them to build virtualized, massive audience experiences that feel almost as if you were there. We're excited to become a part of Dolby and can't wait to see what we build together."