For a full theater experience, your home audio is just as important as your home video setup. Speaker type and placement, room acoustics, surround sound… all of these things combine to give you a dynamic sound set to match your beautiful 1080p flat screen TV. But there are other things involved in pulling out the best possible sound from your media besides just the obvious speaker hardware. Keep your eyes peeled for Blu-Ray and DVD discs and players that are compatible with THX certification.
THX, or Tomlinson Holman’s Experiment, is a type of mastering process that the manufacturers of discs and players can use to get the true-to-the-director’s vision of quality, big budget audio you know and love. Your home theater will sound like the real movie theater if you are able to set up a system that plays THX certified movies. The high-fidelity THX sound, coupled with your 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound speaker layout, will make your next movie experience larger-than-life.
THX was developed during the production of George Lucas’ Return of the Jedi. Lucas and his sound team worked together to make sure that all movie venues, large and small, would accurately reproduce the booming audio track of this epic film. They began a rigorous certification process that involved ensuring that the audio and video of major theaters was up to the standards set by THX – they wanted audiences to see and hear every detail that went into a studio production.
From certifying theaters, THX moved to certifying home audio and video equipment, DVD players, Blu-Ray players, media discs and more. All of the THX certified components, whether they are part of an acoustically-treated mega-theater or your basement home theater, meet the high audio and video standards that THX is known for.
Currently, there are 335 DVD and Blu-Ray titles in the THX certified database. These include such favorites as Fight Club, Bambi, Jurassic Park, the Star Wars franchise, Alien and many more. For the full list, go to the official THX website and click to view the entire list of titles.
Aside from movies, you can experience a whole range of THX certified media in your home theater. Your next flat screen TV video game session can be enhanced by playing one of the handful of titles that are THX certified, which include three Medal of Honor titles, three Lord of the Rings titles, God of War II, several NBA and MLB titles, and many more that you can browse here. And with the wide range of AV receivers, speakers, cables, integrated systems and more that are THX certified, your next CD listening experience could verge on the epic.
THX certification is by no means necessary for you to enjoy your movies, games and music, but it will definitely heighten the experience. The certification means that your purchase meets ultra-high standards of quality, and you will no doubt notice the different the first time you pop in a THX certified disc.
Lauren writes for the HD Envy blog. The TV picture frames from HD Envy highlight the quality picture and sound that your THX certified home theater will produce. A TV picture frame will create a unique and stylish atmosphere that will be the envy of all your neighbors. With designs ranging from the modern frame to the traditional frame, HD Envy’s TV picture frame offerings are sure to please even the most discerning design connoisseur.
Tags: audio/video, Home Theater, Speakers
