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THX To Certify Videogame Audio
dan_linder writes "According to an article on CNet News, THX are starting to certify the audio produced for video games. Good, now all I need are something better than my Labtec speakers on my PC..." According to the piece, "When a company signs up as a licensee... THX sends them specifications on what the company's audio and video production rooms should look like, down to the types of desks people sit at when they are working."
I'm fairly certain Ultima IX did this 4 or 5 years ago. I remember reading that Origin had a new sound system put in, that THX can and inspected it and everything (I think it even had the THX logo on the box). Which make senses, given that that article says that EA had to do much the same thing.
So if I'm right EA is NOT the first to get the THX certification...and this isn't a new idea.
Wood Shavings!
- Godai
I'm not much of an audiophile myself, but if this means getting that cool THX splash screen like in the movies, I'm all for it.
...down to the types of desks people sit at when they are working.
What do desk types have to do with sound quality? Is THX concerned with the comfort of sound engineers?
"Anyway, long story short... is a phrase whose origins are complicated and rambling...." - Abraham Simpson
'give us your money for a nice logo on the box, please.'
that's what it is really, as the specs can't include "the game must have good music and sound effects that fits into it's atmopshere".
sure, they sat on a certain type of desk or used certain type of devices and software, but where does that really get you in creating game audio that works well with the game? nowhere.
more importantly, when did you buy a game purely for it's audio? and no, i don't think star control 2 would have qualified for this thx logo.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
I hate the damn THX robot that shows up before movies to loudly announce the presence of THX sound. The stupid THX noise is so discordant, ugly, and more often than not too LOUD. it puts me in a bad mood before the movie even starts.
I'd better not hear it before I play my video games too, god dammit! Oh wait, something tells me not too many Linux games are going to have to worry about this. Whew.
I don't know about X-Box, as I would never touch one of those, but my PS2 has an optical out port and is very much capable of outputting everything right up to full Dolby DTS. I often use it for playing DVDs, and FFX (among other games) also plays 5.1 surround in its FMVs. I would be immensely surprised if X-Box did not have similar features -- X-Box's specs either equal or beat out all the other consoles in every other area, why should sound be any different?
Are you trolling, or have you simply never seen a current-generation console?
Random and weird software I've written.
Yes, it has an optical out which can do Dolby Digital in game. Good stuff.
THX, an entity formed from the tremendous overflowing creative genius of George Lucas, is starting to put their seal of approval on stuff?
That's what THX is for. They're not a sound house; that's Skywalker Sound. They're a certification group.
Lucas, when he went to see Star Wars in theaters, was appalled at the presentation quality. He had gone to extreme lengths to make great film and sound quality in production, but a lot of theaters, frankly, sucked.
So he created THX, a certification program to set a high quality bar for theaters. THX has a number of criteria. A lot of people think it's just sound, and that's a big part of THX, since it's often one of the most misunderstood parts of theatrical presentation. But THX also evaluates the projection, with criteria on luminance variation, geometric distortion, etc. THX also evaluates more comprehensive theater quality issues, such as the lighting in the parking lot, obstructed seating, and noise bleeding from adjacent screens. After all, who's in the best mood to enjoy a movie after they stub their toe in the parking lot?
In this area, known as TAP, THX is a voluntary quality certification program for theaters. A theater with THX certification isn't necessarily better than one that isn't. But it does meet a certain level of quality, and it's a high level. Personally, when I go to see cool movies, I go to a THX theater. That way, I can know that I'll have a great presentation. At other theaters, I may get a great presentation, or I may get a mediocre presentation, or I may be unable to enjoy the movie because I'm distracted by loads of presentation flaws.
THX also certifies the production process of movies, to make sure that correct picture and sound control mechanisms are in place. Having a great theater doesn't help much if you have a 50dB noise floor in your production process.
Now, THX is extending this to videogame soundtracks. This seems like a perfectly good way to go. Videogame soundtracks have come a long way from the blip-blips of Pac-Man. Sound is increasingly an enveloping part of the videogame, and I think it's good that producers are willing to go the extra mile to make sure it's being done well.
Isn't that as worthless as getting a thumbs-up from Pauly Shore after telling a joke?
THX has nothing to do with creativity; no certification process can. It has to do with technical production quality. Lucas has very high standards in this area.
THX isn't a certification of audio quality. It's certification of audio quality inside an architecturally THX-certified room.
It's the weakest-link thing. If you have a lousy presentation setup (for example, your speakers are misaligned), then you'll get bad audio no matter how good the sound is. But if the sound is good, then incremental improvements in presentation setup can produce corresponding incremental improvements in sound quality. They're making sure that the thing you can't control-- the game's produced sound-- isn't the limiting factor in quality. After that, you get out as much as you're willing to put in.
Unless they also hand out pamphlets on how to arrange your room according to THX standards, you'll get, at best, average sounding audio. At least this is how I understand it. Anyone?
If you put all your speakers in the same place, aimed towards the floor, you'll get crappy sound.
If you put your speakers at the right positions, you'll get a bit better sound-- if the game's sound doesn't suck enough to use monophonic sound.
If you then orient them correctly, you'll get better sound-- if the game's sound doesn't suck enough to have completely wrong frequency response.
If you properly match your speakers, shape the room correctly, properly eq them (though that's the subject of some debate), set appropriate crossovers, etc, then you'll get better sound. But only if the game's sound doesn't suck.
And so forth. The techniques for improving sound presentation are, while not common knowledge, also are not unknown. A lot of this stuff comes in speaker documentation. A lot can be found on the web.
Sure, you can get a THX-certified home theater designer to work on your computer setup. And you'll realize an improvement in sound over an untrained setup, if the game's sound doesn't suck to begin with. But using commonly-available design techniques can also realize an improvement, but only if the game's sound system doesn't suck.
That's what the THX certification can do: make sure the game's sound system doesn't suck (both the production and runtime systems). Sure, it'll probably sound best in a THX-certified room. But you don't need one to reap the benefits.
outputting everything right up to full Dolby DTS.
Dolby and DTS are two competing standards for audio encoding, in fact separate from the number of channels (while a light correlation does exist between sub-specifications, like Dolby EX, the Dolby Digital marker simply indicates encoding. In fact, it's required that all DVDs made to spec have a Dolby Digital audio track, even if it's mono.) www.dolby.com has further information on PS2 and X-Box capabilities (AND it's fun to read!)
The Xbox does support 5.1, and in fact, it supports 5.1 in-game, contrary to what I've heard from PS2 games who support 5.1 only in FMVs. Hearing a covenant creaping up behind you in Halo or someone coming in on you from behind in Splinter Cell is just great.