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This topic comprises 3 pages: 1 2 3
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Author
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Topic: Does THX Matter Anymore???
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Martin Brooks
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 900
From: Forest Hills, NY, USA
Registered: May 2002
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posted 05-27-2005 11:33 AM
Digital sound may be a more viable marketing concept than THX, but a properly built THX house will also make digital sound better. I know it's possible to build a great sounding house without THX certification, but at least the certification declares that the house meets some minimum standards.
Digital sound does not make up for weaknesses in house acoustics or in weaknesses in the B-chain. While not every THX screen I've been to has sounded spectacular, overall, THX certified houses sound better than those that aren't.
Having said that, I am shocked to read that there are THX certified houses that have booth noise and leakage from another screen. I find that difficult to understand considering that in the past, houses lost certification when the HVAC systems got noisier over time.
IMHO, the biggest weakness of the THX program was the fact that it was never marketed properly. Here in NYC, newspaper ads did not indicate THX screens. As a result, there is not one THX certified screen left in Manhattan, a shocking failure on the part of THX, IMO.
As a side note, I've noticed a trend in newspaper advertising where many ads no longer list which digital format (or if indeed digital sound is even being used) for the presentation.
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Manny Knowles
"What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???"
Posts: 4247
From: Bloomington, IN, USA
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 05-27-2005 05:32 PM
quote: Martin Brooks
I know it's possible to build a great sounding house without THX certification, but at least the certification declares that the house meets some minimum standards.
Trouble is that the THX standards seem to have become... "flexible."
And, besides, people who can appreciate good sound will know it when they hear it. I certainly don't need a badge on a marquee to "tell" me that a theatre sounds good. I'd rather be the judge of that myself. As for those who aren't so concerned about image and sound quality... Who's to say that the presence or absence of the THX logo would be a very compelling decision-making factor them? To clarify, I'm speaking only of the present situation, not the past.
quote: Martin Brooks
IMHO, the biggest weakness of the THX program was the fact that it was never marketed properly.
I guess "properly" is the operative word because there certainly was a considerable amount of hype back in the day. Lucasfilm marketed it to theatres as a marketing tool and THX theatres were clearly identified as such in newspaper ads, on theatre marquees and then there were the trailers.
Maybe it should have been marketed as a new set of higher standards, which is what it was intended to be and which it really was for a while. I think so many people thought it was a sound format like Dolby SR or something. That would explain why there was confusion when digital sound came along.
[ 05-28-2005, 12:08 AM: Message edited by: Manny Knowles ]
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Manny Knowles
"What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???"
Posts: 4247
From: Bloomington, IN, USA
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 05-29-2005 08:34 PM
quote: Bobby Henderson
Customers will choose a THX-certfied auditorium over a non-certfied house, even if both have exactly the same equipment.
This certainly used to be the case but that research data is so old now. It might still be true but I'm not going to swallow this statement automatically these days.
Would THX and non-THX theatres have *exactly* the same equipment? Isn't there an issue of proprietary crossovers?
quote: Bobby Henderson
When a commercial theater has an out of tune or badly maintained audio setup customers are going to be more likely to notice it, and then conclude their home setup is better.
A lot of people think this even when they're in a good theatre. People can (and do) conclude whatever they want; it doesn't make it so. I can't tell you how many times some "home-theatre-phile" has asked if we could make the surrounds louder. Then there are those that ask why we don't get the "letterboxed version" of every movie. I've done a lot of work on home-theatre systems where the speakers were not in the right places and/or were incorrectly wired.
People are naturally inclined to prefer their version of something, even if it's crap. This is especially true if it's something they spent a lot of money to have.
Something else to consider: all those screwed-up home theatre "systems" contribute heavily to the miscalibration of the audience's ears: they don't know what sounds good anymore. And it doesn't help matters when the THX logo is plastered all over their equipment.
As for the THX cinema program... There have been no training sessions (including "refresher" courses) for cinema technicians in years. I wonder how many "THX-certified" technicians are still doing things "the THX way."
No doubt about it, THX was a great idea. I'm proud to have met Tom Holman. He's a great guy, an excellent teacher and a brilliant engineer. The original THX cinema program proved itself to be a winner technically and economically. As a set of standards, there is no argument that THX remains relevant.
The major problems with THX:
(1) The original confusion among moviegoers as to what THX actually was/is;
(2) Further confusion caused when the THX logo was applied to home-theatre product;
(3) Apparent relaxation of the standards for THX cinemas (esp. recertification);
(4) Reduction in number of THX-certified theatres (lapse in certification) leads to a decline in visibility of the logo;
(5) THX theatres not being advertised as such -- contributes further to the decline in visibility of the logo;
(6) No more training --> no new THX technicians;
(7) Competition from non-THX houses. Theatre sound systems are much, much better nowadays so the difference in sound quality won't be as dramatic as when THX was first introduced;
(8) Theatre owners often complain that THX-certification (and recertification) is cost-prohibitive.
It would be interesting to see a graph showing the number of THX theatres annually from its inception right up to the present. I would expect there to be a steady increase from 1983 up until the early 1990s, followed by a plateau, followed by a gradual decline beginning around 1998 or so.
Could THX make a comeback in the cinema market? I suppose anything is possible but the first question that comes to mind is whether the "new THX" managed to retain any of the brilliant minds that used to be associated with original THX...
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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."
Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted 05-29-2005 11:12 PM
quote: Manny Knowles
Would THX and non-THX theatres have *exactly* the same equipment? Isn't there an issue of proprietary crossovers?
The area where this occurs is in multiplex sites that had at least two or more THX houses and allowed certifications to lapse -mainly to save money on the annual fee. Carmike did this with a bunch of their theaters. Their location here in Lawton was originally built with two THX screens, but now screen #4 is the only one carrying certification. House #5 has all the same equipment. Big event releases, such as the current "Star Wars" installment, will often have two prints taking up both houses. When #4 is filling up and fixing to sell out, some customers insist on waiting for the next show on #4 instead of seeing it at an earlier time on #5. Management will tell them the equipment is the same in both houses, but they will still wait. The only difference they encounter is seeing a THX trailer before the show begins.
I'm hoping a resurgence of interest in things like THX occurs. Fat chance on that happening, right? I would be really happy if Carmike renewed the certification on house #5 and then be pretty elated if they added on a couple more screens (hopefully THX as well). Sadly, it seems like the THX thing is fading away. Oklahoma never had a lot of THX screens. But now there are none in Oklahoma City or Tulsa. Lawton has one screen, and this tiny 2000 resident town (Cordele) has one. That's it for the state.
The folks behind THX need to get something done about keeping THX alive in commercial theaters. It would be pretty sad for it to diminish into nothing more than a home video kind of thing.
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. Of course the D-2 is better than the R-2 and alot more practical, am looking forword to getting one very soon. The weight savings alone will make it worth the price...... which is about half what my R-2 cost.
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