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Razer Acquires THX, the Audio Pioneer That George Lucas Started (venturebeat.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from VentureBeat: Most of us know THX as the logo that comes up when we hear that zooming sound at the start of a film in a surround-sound movie theater. The company is a pioneer in audio technology, and today, gamer gear maker Razer is announcing that it has acquired the majority of THX Ltd.'s assets. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Irvine, Calif.-based Razer said that it has also hired the management team and employees of THX, which George Lucas started in 1983 to develop audio-visual reproduction standards for movie theaters, screening rooms, home theaters, computer speakers, game consoles, and car audio systems. It will be an interesting match with Razer, which makes laptops and peripherals for game fanatics. THX will operate as an independent startup under its own management and apart from the ongoing business of its parent company. The audio technology business will have discretion to seek agreements with other product makers, service providers and financial partners apart from Razer.
...but apparently we're now using it to describe companies which have been in business for three-plus decades and are simply changing ownership.
Tomlinson Holman, the TH in THX, left THX to co-found Audessey.
For those not in the know, the Audessey calibration system and hardware many home cinema receivers come with addresses the problems the great majority of users have: Room correction and EQ. It did to home cinema what THX did to the movie studio mixing room and movie theater.
Of course, just using Audessey is not going to be a magic bullet. You still need to have a room with good control over ringing, etc. You still have to know where to put your speakers. And you still need your speakers to be at least in the same family. But if you put in the effort, start with semi-competent hardware and maybe tweak a little what Audessey comes up with, you will have sound better than most has-been multiplexes.
In short, Tomlinson Holman has done more for movie sound in the cinema and in the home than people realize.
The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
I remember the THX intro on the Terminator 2 LaserDisc. I'd crank up the volume and I could hear the DDOooooooooWWAHHHHH and my wife yelling at me all at the same time.
THX wasn't even a technology, it was just a spec and certification - glorified QA with a big price tag.
The reason it's not relevant now is it basically devolved to big speakers and bass since that's all anyone noticed. Current theater effort like Dolby Atmos will provide *much* better audio quality, and still plenty of volume and rumbling bass.