Ray Dolby, whose name became synonymous with home sound systems and cinema, after he founded Dolby Laboratories and pioneered noise reduction in audio recordings, has passed away in San Francisco. He was 80.
The US engineer had suffered from Alzheimer's disease for several years and was diagnosed with leukaemia this summer, the BBC reported.
Dolby began his career in the Ampex Corporation, while he was still a student, after which he completed his PhD at Cambridge University in England.
He founded Dolby Laboratories in London in 1965.
The company earned name in the field of sound technology for cutting background hiss in tape recordings and later bringing out "surround sound".
Dolby was the receiver of a Grammy award in 1995 and Emmy awards in 1989 and 2005.