type privately held company industry audio video founded 1983 ; 33 years ago 1983 founder george lucas headquarters san francisco california united states key people tomlinson holman developer ty ahmad taylor ceo 1 laurie fincham senior vice president of audio research 2 products high fidelity surround sound sound recording and reproduction services quality assurance certification audio crossover parent lucasfilm 1983 2002 creative technology limited 2002 present website thx.com thx is an american audio company headquartered in san francisco california and founded in 1983 by george lucas . it develops the thx high fidelity audio visual reproduction standards for movie theaters screening rooms home theaters computer speakers gaming consoles and car audio systems and video games as well . the current thx was created in 2002 when it spun off from lucasfilm ltd. 3 thx was developed by tomlinson holman at george lucas company lucasfilm in 1983 to ensure that the soundtrack for the third star wars film return of the jedi would be accurately reproduced in the best venues . thx was named after holman with the x standing for crossover 4 as well as in homage to lucas s first film thx 1138 . the distinctive glissando up from a rumbling low pitch used in the thx trailers created by holman s coworker james a. moorer is known as the deep note . the thx system is not a recording technology and it does not specify a sound recording format all sound formats whether digital dolby digital dts sdds or analog dolby stereo ultra stereo can be shown in thx . thx is mainly a quality assurance system . thx certified theaters provide a high quality predictable playback environment to ensure that any film soundtrack mixed in thx will sound as near as possible to the intentions of the mixing engineer . thx also provides certified theaters with a special crossover circuit whose use is part of the standard . certification of an auditorium entails specific acoustic and other technical requirements ; architectural requirements include a floating floor baffled and acoustically treated walls non parallel walls to reduce standing waves a perforated screen to allow center channel continuity and nc30 rating for background noise ensures noise from air conditioning units and projection equipment does not mask the subtle effects in a movie s soundtrack . 5 in 2002 thx was owned by sound card manufacturer creative technology limited which held a 60 % share of the company . 6 the company has had a long history with creative which was responsible for the creation of the first thx certified audio card for computers the sound blaster audigy 2 . contents 1 applications 2 certifications 2.1 ultra2 2.2 select2 2.3 i s plus systems 2.4 multimedia products 2.5 video 3 the logo and the deep note 4 see also 5 references 6 external links applications edit norris cinema theatre on the university of southern california campus where thx was first developed and installed . the first theater thx was used in was the university of southern california s eileen l. norris cinema theatre a part of usc s film school . 7 certifications edit thx has created a certification process for additional products including home audio home theater video and automotive sound components and products . thx certification extends to home audio receivers speakers desktop systems soundbars acoustic materials microphones and hdmi cables . 8 ultra2 edit thx s ultra2 certification is given for home theater components said to be good enough for a large home cinema of 3 000 cubic feet 85 m3 or more . 8 select2 edit thx s select2 certification is given for home theater components said to be good enough for medium sized rooms up to 2 000 cubic feet 57 m3 in size with a 10 12 feet 3.0 3.7 m viewing distance from the screen . i s plus systems edit thx s i s plus systems include an av receiver speaker bundle and are certified to fill a small home theater or dorm room where the viewing distance from the screen is 6 8 feet 1.8 2.4 m . these thx certified home theater in a box systems are so far exclusively made by onkyo . 9 multimedia products edit thx certified multimedia products are designed and engineered for pc gaming and multimedia on the desktop . video edit thx certified video displays plasma display and lcd or led flat panels and projectors include a thx mode which allows users to see a program or movie as the creator intended . 10 the logo and the deep note edit main article deep note this section needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . march 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message thx first appeared in theaters in which their logo would show before the start of a film . since thx was originally created for motion picture quality the very first film to show thx was return of the jedi in its theatrical debut on may 25 1983 . from there thx began to appear before all movies from july 1 1983 until august 30 1997 when thx was no longer classified as a motion picture sound system . at that point thx had certified vhs home video releases as well as laserdisc at the same time and later dvds after 1998 beginning in 1995 . prior to september 1 1997 no longer being known as a sound system thx was removed from all theaters with the exception for a couple of trailers that thx had then recently created such as its own mascot tex the robot in 1996 would vaguely be seen in theaters . also in 2000 based on the long lasting broadway trailer a new trailer called broadway 2000 could be seen in theaters and dvds . the thx trailer entitled cimarron which first appeared at the start of the 1988 film willow used music composed by james horner and did not use the deep note while grand which is played in theatres from 1993 to 1997 featured a variation of the deep note . in a 1994 episode of the simpsons entitled burns heir a thx trailer plays before a film literally blowing the audience out of their seats shattering eyeglasses teeth and even causing one person s head to explode ; the audience whoops in response . grampa simpson shouts turn it up turn it up . this segment was later reworked into a thx theatrical trailer that can be found on the home video releases of the simpsons movie as an easter egg . the broadway trailer on the dvd releases has a lower pitched deep note while the vhs laserdisc logo has a higher pitched deep note that was similar to the wings logo from its theatrical debut in 1983 . the deep note was remixed and pitched a number of times between its debut in 1983 and today . while the long well known crescendo was used as well it became shortened once thx had graduated to vhs dvd laserdisc releases of certified features along with the deep note and its pitch . however beginning in 2007 with the introduction of the amazing life trailer the deep note was cut to just one pitch where both synth notes are in one pitch following a variety of instruments that shape like flowers mushrooms and other plants playing a short tune that plays in the trailer . in the same trailer the mushrooms make drumbeats while the flowers and other plants vibrate other musical pitched noises . with the release of terminator 2 judgment day on dvd and blu ray the deep note was slightly remixed which was also in the same form in the broadway 2000 logo . when the thx calibrator blu ray disc debuted two new versions of the original broadway trailer were released . one which is an hd restoration of the trailer the other which is the 3d version of the trailer . 11 see also edit san francisco bay area portal companies portal home cinema av receiver references edit http variety.com 2015 digital news thx ceo samsung viacom exec ty ahmad taylor 1201637347 https pooraudiophile.com 2015 04 laurie fincham achromatic audio amplifier.html crabtree sheigh 2002 06 12 . lucas thx stakes out new galaxy . the hollywood reporter . archived from the original on 2002 08 11 . retrieved 2013 04 19 . rinzler j.w. 2010 . the sounds of star bors . san francisco chronicle books . p. 146 . isbn 978 0 8118 7546 2 . thx certified cinemas . thx ltd. retrieved 2013 07 29 . hoppel adrian 2013 03 20 . law & apple ifone defeats iphone thx targets apple . maclife . retrieved 2013 04 19 . self guided tour pdf . retrieved 14 january 2013 . a b thx certification performance categories . thx ltd. retrieved 9 march 2013 . onkyo ht s9300thx integrated system review . sound and vision . sound and vision . retrieved 19 november 2014 . thx certified plasmas lcd tvs & projectors . home entertainment . thx.com . retrieved 2012 09 11 . template date may 2015 thx calibrator blu ray disc explained . thx test bench blog . thx.com . retrieved 2012 09 11 . external links edit official website home theatre program launch v t e george lucas filmography director feature thx 1138 1971 american graffiti 1973 star wars 1977 star wars episode i the phantom menace 1999 star wars episode ii attack of the clones 2002 star wars episode iii revenge of the sith 2005 short look at life 1965 herbie 1965 freiheit 1966 1 42.08 1966 the emperor 1967 anyone lived in a pretty how town 1967 electronic labyrinth thx 1138 4eb 1967 6 18 67 1967 filmmaker 1968 bald the making of thx 1138 1971 uncredited writer feature thx 1138 1971 american graffiti 1973 star wars 1977 the empire strikes back 1980 raiders of the lost ark 1981 return of the jedi 1983 indiana jones and the temple of doom 1984 willow 1988 indiana jones and the last crusade 1989 radioland murders 1994 star wars episode i the phantom menace 1999 star wars episode ii attack of the clones 2002 star wars episode iii revenge of the sith 2005 indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull 2008 star wars the clone wars 2008 uncredited red tails 2012 uncredited strange magic 2015 short look at life 1965 herbie 1965 freiheit 1966 1 42.08 1966 the emperor 1967 anyone lived in a pretty how town 1967 electronic labyrinth thx 1138 4eb 1967 6 18 67 1967 filmmaker 1968 captain eo 1986 star tours 1987 uncredited only producer the rain people 1969 production associate more american graffiti 1979 kagemusha 1980 international version body heat 1981 uncredited twice upon a time 1983 mishima a life in four chapters 1985 latino 1985 uncredited labyrinth 1986 howard the duck 1986 powaqqatsi 1988 documentary tucker the man and his dream 1988 the land before time 1988 television star wars holiday special 1978 caravan of courage an ewok adventure 1984 ewoks the battle for endor 1985 star wars ewoks 1985 1986 star wars droids 1985 1986 the young indiana jones chronicles 1992 1996 star wars clone wars 2003 2005 star wars the clone wars 2008 2014 star wars detours shelved related american zoetrope indiana jones lucasfilm ilm lucasarts lucasfilm animation skywalker sound pixar skywalker ranch star wars the star wars corporation thx edutopia v t e lucasfilm productions films american graffiti 1973 star wars 1977 more american graffiti 1979 the empire strikes back 1980 raiders of the lost ark 1981 return of the jedi 1983 twice upon a time 1983 indiana jones and the temple of doom 1984 latino 1985 mishima a life in four chapters 1985 labyrinth 1986 howard the duck 1986 tucker the man and his dream