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Author
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Topic: Is THX still relevant?
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Tom Petrov
Five Guys Lover
Posts: 1121
From: El Paso, TX
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 10-28-2010 01:04 AM
Its been on my mind for a while now. With AMC ETC, Cineplex Ultra AVX, digital this, 3D that, is THX still relevant?
In my area, I have not seen a theatre advertise THX for years now. Its seems it does not really matter.
On the home video side, I love THX mastered LDs, DvDs and Blu-rays. It just seems that there aren't many DvD and very, very blu rays that get the THX treatment.
For the record, I love THX, so this is not a bash on it. .
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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 10-28-2010 08:30 AM
In a sense, THX is still relevant. It is a standard of excellence that cinemas should strive to attain, whether or not they actually intend to license the THX name.
Yes, it's expensive, but pursuing certification ensures that corners don't get cut. I've been involved with projects that start out with the best intentions and end up being merely average because a corner gets cut here and another gets cut there. And corner-cutting or "value engineering" happens because (a) it makes the installation cheaper and (b) without real THX certification on the line, there's nothing tangible at stake. It's a slippery slope and all those little cuts add up. In my opinion, the real value of THX is that the threat of flunking the certification/testing phase keeps everyone honest.
The problem I have with something like AVX is that it's basically the theatres THEMSELVES declaring their own excellence. I'm a little skeptical of this because I believe in that old adage that says "self praise is no recommendation." Or, if you prefer, "the fox is guarding the henhouse."
And, I can't help but notice that AVX is another 3 letter acronym ending in "X" -- it strongly suggest that THX is still relevant. There's another old saying: "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."
Poor THX. A misunderstood child.
THX was introduced at a time when there was a real problem to solve. Movie theatres weren't capable of accurately reproducing film soundtracks. Arguably, managers and installers weren't fully aware of everything that could be done to maximize the quality of the sound in their cinemas -- or maybe they just didn't care about sound quality. Upon its introduction in 1983, THX made a *noticeable* difference in how movies sounded.
This translated into a box office trend that proved THX theatres earned more money than non-THX competition (same movies and/or same catchment areas).
But, while the average moviegoer could hear a difference, few people truly understood what the heck THX actually was. For example, there was a widespread (mis)understanding that it meant "loud" or that it had something to do with the surrounds. This was parodied on The Simpsons and, subsequently, "spun" into an actual THX logo trailer. The trailers were such a powerful marketing tool that consumers confused the actual soundtrack to be THX (as opposed to the venue).
And so, in 1993, when "digital" became the new buzzword, THX (already 10 years old) got lost in the alphabet soup, suddenly dominated by SRD, DTS and SDDS. And, like THX, digital sound made a *noticeable* difference in sound quality -- and it didn't seem to matter anymore if a theatre was THX or not. If it was digital, it was great. It wasn't widely understood that THX could make any of these formats sound their best. To the average listener, there wasn't a *noticeable* difference between digital sound with or without THX. Box office receipts supported this. And cinema operators exploited the confusion.
THX cinemas stopped getting re-certified, opting instead to simply promote the fact that they had "gone digital" (and eliminate the annual expense of the per-screen marketing license from THX).
THX gets "pimped out."
One of the problems I have with THX is that they've diluted their message in the interest of becoming too commercial:
THX quality on VHS tapes? Really?
THX computer speakers? Really?
THX car stereos? Wow! I'll bet it sounds just like being at the movies.
THX home theatre? OK, it's *technically* possible, but not likely.
And, IIRC, they make allowances (read: lower the standard?) for historic buildings that can't be architecturally modified to meet the spec. Somebody correct me if I'm mistaken on this point.
"Bitch better have my money!"
--Pimp of the Year, from I'M GONNA GET YOU SUCKA!
quote: Mike Blakesley
their standards (for some chains, apparently) have been relaxed enough to render it less meaningful than in the past.
The term "courtesy certification" comes to mind...
Oh, and good luck trying to get THX training for cinema applications -- they only offer home theatre training now.
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Scott Jentsch
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1061
From: New Berlin, WI, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted 10-28-2010 01:36 PM
I'm a big fan of what THX tried to do, and barring the situations that seem to be the case where THX bent their rules and allowed theater chains to certify themselves, I believe in what THX was intended to do and what it can bring to the admission-paying moviegoer. Unfortunately, those missteps diluted the brand to a certain degree.
The fact that THX probably saw the writing on the wall in the theatrical market and expanded to other things doesn't bother me. The intention was a good one, even if the execution didn't always work out. We can laugh at the thought of a THX-certified videotape, but if that meant that all of the steps of the process were monitored for quality, then why not? A THX computer speaker should perform better than a Chinese knockoff sold for $3. I don't have a problem with the brand showing up in multiple places. Look at Dolby for a brand that can be seen just about anywhere...
That said, I think the intent of THX is still relevant. Solid construction, decent equipment, and regular tuning are all very good things. From some of the comments on this site about some theaters being way out of whack sound and picture-wise, it shows that third-party certification should still be done, but for the most part, isn't. When 3D dims the screen, wouldn't it be nice to know that a theater has been checked to make sure that the brightness hasn't gone down so far that the movie is nearly unwatchable?
Anyone that says that the intent of THX doesn't matter either wants to pull a rug over the eyes of the unknowing public or is oblivious to what should be done to provide a quality presentation. In the ideal situation, THX certification meant that the theater had been tested every 6 months and met the requirements of the certification.
No other program, certification or marketing program, does that.
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