MPEG Multichannel

[5] Originally a mandatory part of the DVD specification for PAL standard discs, but was dropped in favor of competitor Dolby Digital in December 1997.

These issues were later resolved by Fraunhofer IIS with key industry partners such as Koninklijke Philips N.V., but not before MPEG Multichannel lost its mandatory requirement for PAL discs, remaining on only as an optional component.

MPEG Multichannel fared better in broadcast adoption and was chosen as part of Japan's CS digital television system.

[7] Other than consumer electronics made exclusively for the Japanese domestic market, native player support for the format is exceedingly rare.

This is a matter of significant controversy, as it has been revealed that the organizations (The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Zenith Electronics) behind 2 of the 4 voting board members received tens of millions of dollars of compensation from secret deals with Dolby Laboratories in exchange for their votes.