Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
THX
Thx is also a common abbreviation for "thanks".
THX is the trade name of Lucasfilm Limited's high-fidelity sound reproduction system for theatrical movie theaters, screening rooms, home theaters, and car audio systems. THX was developed by George Lucas's company in 1983 to ensure that the soundtrack for the third Star Wars film, Return of the Jedi, would be accurately reproduced in the best venues.
The THX system is not a recording technology, and it does not specify a sound recording format; all digital (Dolby Digital, SDDS) and all analog sound formats (Dolby SR , Ultra-Stereo ) can be "shown in THX." THX is mainly a quality assurance system. If a producer has his or her film mixed in THX, it merely means that when the film is shown in theaters, the soundtrack will sound exactly as it did when it was mixed, provided that the theaters in question are THX-certified theaters. THX also provides certified theaters with special equipment (a special crossover) required for compliance with the standard. Theaters become certified by meeting certain acoustic and technical requirements. Some of the room requirements include a floating floor, baffled and acoustically treated walls, no parallel walls (to reduce standing waves), a perforated screen (to allow center channel continuity), and NC30 noise rated components.
According to Dr. Tom Holman, the inventor of the THX system, the name of the technology was deliberately chosen because it contained both a reference to his name, and to Lucas's early film, THX-1138. The original name was "Tom Holman's Crossover" (crossover sometimes referred to by the letter X, probably due to the visual similarity), but was later changed to mean "Tom Holman's eXperiment".
THX Limited, the company that licenses THX and the associated technology, is based in San Rafael, California.
The distinctive sound used in the THX "Wow" trailer, which precedes any film that has been certified with the THX program, is copyrighted, and those who have sampled the sound have been met with lawsuits.
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