THX


THX

THX is not a home theater format but a standard. Home Theater equipment doesn't decode THX, but is THX-certified.

THX was born in 1980 when George Lucas, film director extraordinaire, decided that movie theaters gave inconsistent performances and set about to create a universal standard.

Today the THX standard also exists for the home. For equipment to wear the THX logo it must be of high quality and is usually expensive. Manufacturers interested in THX certification sends samples to the Lucas ranch, where they run it through a battery of technical tests, many of which are unpublished. The THX certification is supposed to ensure audio quality consistent with the theater at home.

Recently, THX certification has come under some scrutiny by audiophiles for the new division into two categories: THX Select and THX Ultra. Ultra is the designation for larger rooms (3,000 cubic feet or greater) and a set of slightly lower standards comprise THX Select for smaller rooms (2,000 cubic feet).

Some believe it might be a relaxing of standards for the sake of making THX more widely accepted. But even THX Select is only found on higher end equipment and a lot of very good audio manufacturers couldn't be bothered with THX certification at all. THX certification isn't the last word in quality, but if it wears the THX Select or Ultra certification, you can be assured its very good gear.

Recently, THX co-developed a new audio format called THX-EX, along with Dolby Digital, so the format is also called Dolby Digital EX. This was a synergistic move between the two companies that involved the premier of Star Wars Episode 1, more than a pinch of hype and much ado about one matrix-encoded surround channel derived from Dolby Digital 5.1.