March 15: THX and the consumer

When Shane did his editorial last year I had this to say about it: http://www.dvdfile.com/ubb/Forum10/HTML/000110.html

Since then little has changed. THX is still a "marketting qualifier" rather than a "mark of quality". And the Tarzan audio problem casts some major doubt on their overall QA process.

Back when THX was only found in the theaters, I made a point of only going to THX certified theaters. And although I never owned an LD, I recognized THX's impact there too. But now . . . THX is occasionally a cool sounding intro trailer.

Maybe THX does more than ensure the highest quality presentation. But that is the part which I see. And if I can't automatically associate THX with a quality presentation, then everything I cannot see is meaningless.

[Chromy]

I'ts sad really, but maybe it is time for THX to go the way of the dodo. I mean, as Peter pointed out, Columbia, Warner, NewLine, and others have been consistently putting out far above par presentations without the "aid" of the THX program. Maybe enough people already know what is good and how to acheive that in a mastering program that they don't need someone to stand over their shoulder. Maybe quality technology has become "cheap" enough for many studios to invest in quality gear.

Whatever it is, THX doesn't mean quality anymore while "Columbia-Trisar" and "Warner" are becoming synonomous with a quality in home presentation.

Chromy

[LtlPhysics]

THX was on the decline in the LD era as well. I have the cav lds of "Alien" and the last clv THX restoration. The THX version has more saturated colors, but the picture is soft and noisy. Several "Alien" signatures were missing; the foghorn sound while the audience is introduced to the "Nostromo" barge, multiple sound effects, some dialogue (!) was deleted and the db range of the bass while the tug is descending to the planet obscures more dialogue and threatened the life of my speakers. Some of the score was altered as well. That ld was a waste of money.

The dvds resolved all of that but the Alien ld was the last THX ld restoration that I bought. It is not an issue when I buy dvds, not in the slightest as it guarantees nothing. I look for anamorphic first and, having a finite amount of cash, if I desire two different titles, one of which is nonanamorphic THX certified and the other simply anamorphic, I would go for the anamorphic. I have had no experience with THX
hardware but in the dvd arena, THX is a hood ornament.

[This message has been edited by LtlPhysics (edited 03-25-2000).]

[Taxi]

Rather than see THX go the Dodo route, instead I wish they'd get their act together, come up with a set of high quality standards (Anamorphic, etc) and FOLLOW them. Then THX would mean something again, and we could buy the name with certainty. Right now, there are few things in DVD land that you can count on. (Criterion and Dreamworks discs are two that come to mind.) The format needs a "Seal of Quality" type of brand to get behind it. Not that DVD will fail without THX, but it would certainly be helped by it.

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Taxi
DVDFile.Com Moderator

[TampaFlyer]

When it comes to DVD, I think THX is shorthand for "THis suX".

[Damian]

Well it's my understanding that if you want your Home Theater to be a THX certified system, first you have to spend a ton of cash on THX certified equipment, then you have to have a THX technician come out and set everything up to the THX standards. If that's the true way of doing it I think it stands to reason that most people would rather just go down to their corner stereo shop, plunk down anywhere from $300.00 and up on a decent Dolby Digital system and have kick-ass sound in their movies.

Of course that's just my opinion.



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-Damian

[snarkfarms]

Did I mention that I was THX certified?

Snarkfarms

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[brian]

I looked at all of my WB titles, and only one of them is THX certified. This title is Twister, and off all my WB movies, this one has the worst picture even though it is anamorphic. Once again THX is proven worthless

[This message has been edited by brian (edited 04-11-2000).]

[Damian]

Does THX have anything to do with the video?? I thought it was only audio.



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-Damian

[brian]

THX deals with video, i used to also think they only dealt with audio

"Digitaly Mastered for Superrior Picture and Sound"

Yea, what ever.

j

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Fast MOPARS, faster computers,
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"Thank you for your cooperation."
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[Damian]

So what makes a THX certified video so good? (At least in theory)


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-Damian

[Chromy]

It requires hardware and... well, here you go...
http://www.thx.com/professional_services/dm.html

Chromy