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Topic: Is THX still relevant?

Victor Liorentas
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 800
From: london ontario canada
Registered: May 2009

posted 02-25-2011 03:05 PM

It seems to be a great idea and a THX comeback at theaters would give the home electronics a higher profile!

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Manny Knowles
"What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???"

Posts: 4247
From: Bloomington, IN, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 02-25-2011 03:12 PM

quote: Scott Jentsch

Any reasons why this is a bad idea?

Yeah - it's called "the fox guarding the hen house." [Roll Eyes]

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Victor Liorentas
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 800
From: london ontario canada
Registered: May 2009

posted 02-25-2011 05:10 PM

I think the fox is already guarding the hen house,we need a wolf to guard the fox and hen house!

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 02-25-2011 05:22 PM

It is worse than that...you can have someone, whose salary is tied to the "success" of the system. That is, if a tech is strict and "requires" things to be fixed before certifying it...then said tech will be dismissed and more tolerant tech found.

If, however, a tech is assigned to do the testing by a 3rd party, say THX...then the theatre HAS to comply if they want/value the three letters and if the customer perceived the value in them.

So yes, it is an education thing to get customers to want the value of THX and then theatres that would then pay for and expect to see an increase in business as a result. The previous attempts at THX in cinemas seemed to fail on all counts by the time the '90s hit. They let chains have their own techs do the recerts (how many failures do you think they got?), there was no education of the consumer to want THX, theaters didn't see any revenue improvement and this ceased paying for it.

-Steve

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Tom Petrov
Five Guys Lover

Posts: 1121
From: El Paso, TX
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 02-27-2011 03:27 PM

quote: Frank Angel
THX is now certifying TVs and vidprojectors -- Runco, Panasonic, JVC, etc. for home theatre. So how come they don't certify digital projectors for movie theatres? Or are they just doing home theatre, home anything nowadays (as Joe's most excellent and hilarious spoof spot says)? I guess who can blame them; it is where they can make the big bucks. I guess their CEO figures, what's more likey to make us grow -- get a cut out of certifying some 3000 digital theatre screens or get a cut of the 240,000,000 home theatre TVs video projectors and stereo gear? Not difficult to understand why they are putting their name on home theatre electronic products.

Then again, I am more confident in relying on Consumer Reports' evaluations of electronic products than looking for the THX label. Not only does CR compare a huge range of models, but to them, it doesn't matter if a brand like LG has a THX logo plastered on it or not -- they will rank it wherever it lands compared to all other makes and models in the same class, regardless of the logos and certifications or awards. Plus, they also tell you what the repair rate is for that make and model and how well it stacks up in terms of reliability. The THX cert doesn't mean diddly to me if the damn thing's failure rate is way above the mean.

I completely disagree with some of what you and many others on here have said about THX in the home theatre area.

THX in the home is wonderful. I have a THX reciever and it is a great idea. I am not sure for others but when my THX Cinema mode is engaged, it means it is set with pre-sets for the speaker/sound set up. My machine cannot turn off the sub if the THX is on. This is a great feature.

As for the movies, THX is another great thing. I have some extensive use of the THX laserdiscs/DvD/Blurays and I love it when I pick up a disc that is THX certifed. They almost ALWAYS look better and sound better than a non THX disc. I just watched 48hrs on LD and the sound blows away the dvd version of 48hrs which is non-THX. The picture will give the dvd a run for the money.

There are also so many more THX laserdisc of a title than there were of the same title of dvd.

Example: Robocop Criterion, 48hrs, Dragonheart, Pulp Fiction. Even smaller titles like The Trigger Effect, and the Money Train were THX certified.

As for the DVDs, most of the dvds look better thanks to THX's standard recommendations. Even the menus have recommended setting from THX.

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Edward Havens
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 614
From: Los Angeles, CA
Registered: Mar 2008

posted 02-27-2011 03:42 PM

I'm sorry, Tom, but this isn't about what Tom Petrov likes or wants. You asked a question, and you have gotten a plethora of extremely intelligent, reasoned and well researched answers. Yet a number of your responses to these extremely intelligent, reasons and well researched answers have been roughly "I don't agree because my brain doesn't see or hear the difference."

THX could be relevant again, if it wanted, but for now it is not. Like the Weinsteins, they need to stop trying to put themselves in their non-core businesses and get back to the basics, being a quality assurance system for movie theatres. Until then, it'll never be relevant again.

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Tom Petrov
Five Guys Lover

Posts: 1121
From: El Paso, TX
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 02-27-2011 03:46 PM

Edward-I think it is great to have a THX mode that sets the parameters of the sound system so that you don't need to adjust anything. Also, THX according to their site recommends setting the receiver to "0" for playback. This is great stuff compared to the non-THX equipment.

Don't you think?

THX doesn't always certify everything. Some laserdiscs such as Stargate got a THX certification of the AC3 disc but did not get THX on the DTS. Another one is Con Air

quote: Edward Havens
extremely intelligent, reasoned and well researched answers

I am not saying they are wrong. I just disagree with them, I can see the difference between THX and non THX stuff in the home.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 02-27-2011 04:30 PM

quote: Tom Petrov
I think it is great to have a THX mode that sets the parameters of the sound system so that you don't need to adjust anything. Also, THX according to their site recommends setting the receiver to "0" for playback. This is great stuff compared to the non-THX equipment.

Tom, no offense here, but it is obvious you know nothing about professional cinema sound. There does not exist a THX cinema in the world that has a predetermined fader setting with all of the parameters for the room set. Implying that such a thing is even possible is a bit of an insult to cinema sound technicians.

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Tom Petrov
Five Guys Lover

Posts: 1121
From: El Paso, TX
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 02-27-2011 04:33 PM

Brad-I am talking about "Home Theatre" when I talk about the parameters and fader setting.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 02-27-2011 04:35 PM

Yes I know, and there is no such thing. No two people's living rooms have the same acoustics and speaker/screen placement. The idea is simply ridiculous from the start.

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Tom Petrov
Five Guys Lover

Posts: 1121
From: El Paso, TX
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 02-27-2011 04:37 PM

Not really. When I put home THX on, I can't tweak the settings and that is a good thing. How many people are watching movies with their surrounds at +10db. THX on will not even give you the option of playing a movie with a sub. That is great!

Any knowing that some of the discs are being mastered at certain standard is a great thing.

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Louis Bornwasser
Film God

Posts: 4441
From: prospect ky usa
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 02-27-2011 04:47 PM

I'm sure we can all name quite a few absolure s--t thx home units. This is not to say that there are not some good ones as well. thx, itself, is no guarantee of anything; only merely just a name. . . . . a shadow of its former self.

btw: I was in the "first wave" of certified techs; 11 or 12 trained at "the ranch. Louis

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Tom Petrov
Five Guys Lover

Posts: 1121
From: El Paso, TX
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 02-27-2011 04:54 PM

quote: Louis Bornwasser
I'm sure we can all name quite a few absolure s--t thx home units.

Dollar for dollar, I bet it will be better than a non THX machine at the same price point.

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 02-27-2011 05:30 PM

Tom, how will the receiver know how loud the surrounds or whatever should be? It can't. It has no idea what brand of speakers you use or the efficiency of them. The receiver can't just lock it in to "0db" and call it perfect. By the way, I think your receiver is messed up as mine is also THX and I can adjust any parameter I want when THX modes are engaged. I don't use the THX modes, though. I like setting everything up myself. Turning on the THX modes actually makes it sound a bit worse. I know how movie theaters are supposed to sound and have the ability to set my home theater up so it can sound as close to that as possible, room size, acoustics and whatnot permitting. It goes a lot further than just setting the levels as I EQ each individual speaker. The THX EQs make it sound worse than my EQ. THX has no clue how the EQ in my room should be, how the hell would they? My receiver does have an auto-EQ function, but it is only good for a starting point. The best part of the auto-EQ function is that it determines speaker distance (it is very accurate at this) and makes slight adjustments for reverb on each speaker. But the EQ and levels are all me and I know how to set that crap up better than THX does over 1,000 miles away for a room they know nothing about.

PS - for Brad - The sound system you heard last time you were over did not allow for any kind of EQ or even course bass/treble adjustments and only had one sub.

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Tom Petrov
Five Guys Lover

Posts: 1121
From: El Paso, TX
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 02-27-2011 05:54 PM

quote: Joe Redifer
Tom, how will the receiver know how loud the surrounds or whatever should be? It can't. It has no idea what brand of speakers you use or the efficiency of them.

THX receievers/products are based on square footage of the room, there are different levels for different size rooms. Ideally, you would be wanting to use THX certified speakers.

quote: Joe Redifer
I think your receiver is messed up

I will double check and report back.

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