MGI Software today announced MGI SoftDVD MAX with Dolby Headphone. The product is the world’s first DVD software for PCs to integrate Dolby Headphone technology, which delivers home theater-like surround sound through any regular pair of headphones. MGI has collaborated with Dolby Laboratories and Lake Technology, the developers of the technology, to fully incorporate the capability into a new version of SoftDVD MAX, which is now available for purchase from the MGI Web site at http://www.dvdmax.com.

“Dolby Headphone is a totally new experience in headphone listening,” said Roger Dressler, Director of Technology Strategy for Dolby. “Using sophisticated room modeling techniques, the Dolby Headphone process transforms conventional audio into a believable 3-dimensional reality that you can enjoy with any pair of headphones. The result is the natural, spacious sound you would experience from a stereo system or a 5.1-channel home theater, using regular headphones.”

“Dolby Headphone will be incorporated into a variety of consumer electronic devices, but MGI is pleased to be the first to deliver this exciting technology for the personal computer,” said Ihor Petelycky, General Manager, Digital Video, at MGI. “Dolby Headphone is one of those ”must have“ features for any desktop or laptop computer user who wants to experience the immersive Dolby Digital sound, which is part of almost every DVD movie available.”

MGI SoftDVD MAX is a software DVD solution for consumers and PC manufacturers seeking an alternative to more expensive, dedicated hardware- based PC DVD players. It delivers high-quality, smooth, artifact free DVD movie playback on any Intel Pentium class computer or equivalent running at 450Mhz, with 32 MB RAM, and a compatible video card. The software will run with existing hardware-assisted DVD players on systems with less processing power; a full list of supported hardware and configuration recommendations are on the Web at www.dvdmax.com. MGI SoftDVD MAX with Dolby Headphone supports all the DVD regions in the world and is available online for purchase and download for US$39.99 at http://www.dvdmax.com. Current SoftDVD MAX users can upgrade for only US$19.99.