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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."
...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
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.