What Happened to THX?

You probably remember watching movies when you were younger and seeing (and hearing) the loud THX trailer/logo.

In this latest episode of Forgotten Films, I dive into the history of THX from 1982/1983 to 2022/2023, and find out where they have been recently. I also discuss the history of the THX intro sound was called the "Deep Note" and was created by sound engineers at Lucasfilm. THX itself was created by George Lucas and Tomlinson Holman, and stands for "Tomlinson Holman's Experiment". A promotional LaserDisc by THX titled "Wow!" was made to test and demonstrate THX's Home Audio Systems, but Return of the Jedi was the first film to use THX.

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[paulloughlin]

The THX deep note - The sound of my childhood.
George Lucas, a true cinematic pioneer.

[xibal]

I never knew George was so instrumental on modernizing sound systems! We don't give the guy enough credit.

[JamminJedi]

I never knew people found that sound scary. To me it meant the beginning of a magical movie experience. We used to crank the surround when it came up. Whole house would shake, it was awesome!

[itsmebougie]

Hearing that sound for the first time in years filled me with an old warmth

[BranakinSkywalker]

When I was a kid, I used to turn the THX deep note up all the way on my TV

[litlclutch]

I love the THX deep note sound. It was an attention grabber. The theatre could be bustling with noise then the sound hits as the lights dim and silence would fall and it was glorious.

[Gator]

The last time they were relevant was the THX reference in the movie "Over the Hedge" I love that movie

[SamsonSilvo]

The THX logo ironically never really "scared" me as a kid, but I was always caught off guard from how disproportionately loud it was compared to almost everything else on the VHS tapes and DVD's I'd see it on. It's because of this that I still LMAO at that one time Tiny Toon Adventures parodied THX with the "T.H.U.D" sound system, it's slogan being "The audience is now deaf". XD

[helzapoppin]

Fun fact: Tom Holman was my sound design prof in college. At least 1/4 of the entire course was an exhaustive review of THX. Contrary to the popular impression, THX was more of a standard than a technology. Always loved that sound though. I remember getting chills the first time the THX intro came up in a theater.

[WIRT]

I was a projectionist in the golden age of THX and later the digital format wars (SDDS, DTS, DD, and even, briefly, SR-D) and I always cranked up the THX trailer one full point on the fader--to thunderous applause and cheering from the audience. I may still have a pristine, never-used 70mm Cimmaron trailer somewhere in my collection. Tex was my favourite. Of note, it was explained to me by a calibrating technician that THX was also known as Thomlinson Holman's Crossover (x-over) for the proprietary crossover network he developed as part of the system. THX theaters had to have very specific RT-60 values, equipment from a specific list, and a sheetrock wall immediately behind the screen with the loudspeakers protruding from it. And rather than having the B-chain measured at one single point, as was the custom in Dolby Labs calibration (2/3 the way back, slightly off-axis), multiple mics were placed throughout the auditorium and their readings averaged.

[ClassicShocker]

The THX sound never scared me as a kid, in fact for me it got me pumped up to watch the movie! I just loved how epic and grand it sounded.

[WestOfEarth]

George Lucas famously said: "Sound is 50% of the moviegoing experience". Sadly we no longer have THX in theaters.

[Jared_Wignall]

Oh man, THX was awesome. Starting up a movie to see and hear the THX sound. The history of THX and pretty much whatever George Lucas did regarding film and home video is always interesting to look at. The man was a pioneer in so many ways that he did so much for the film world that many don’t stop and think how some of the stuff we enjoy regarding films and how they’re made and put together were thanks to George Lucas, for at the very least having the ideas of making films and watching entertainment at home the best it could be.

[Donvey]

Lucas and his team were truly pioneers of modern cinema. The first sound update to theaters since the 1940’s. Crazy.

[foxpokemonforever]

I don’t ever recall getting to hear the deep note in theatres, but I did get to hear it a lot on car trips when my siblings and I would watch movies to pass the time. An iconic sound

[Δημήτρης-θθ]

Fun fact: THX was known for refusing to certify the vast majority of LCD TVs on the market because the vast majority of LCD TVs of the era had issues with greyish blacks, poor viewing angles, and low contrast (masked by tons of "processing" that destroyed the details in the shadows and brights), despite the obvious market pressures to certify more LCD TVs. Which brings the question: Now that they are owned by Razer, are their standards for TVs still that high?

[jimturpin]

Your example how bad older theaters sounded compared to modern theaters was spot on. As a teen I was a projector operator at two theaters, one was from the 1930's with the old change over projection system, and a single set of loudspeakers behind the screen. The other had a much more modern single projector using the platter system, and speaker system, and I recall the difference's between them when it came to sound were very much like your example.

[robertosorio]

When I was an audio engineer in Miami in the 80s, I had a friend who was, for a while the certified THX installer/inspector for South Florida. Toward the late 80s there was a variety of 'approved' speakers you could install, which varied depending on the size of the theater. There were also strict guidelines for installation. Speaker cabinets had to be mounted in such a way to avoid vibration, for instance. He showed me 'The Bible' and it was very specific about mounting techniques that were approved.

[Zeroist]

I always loved the Parody of it on the Simpsons way back, where it sends a shockwave through the theatre and people's eyeglasses are shattering and stuff. Then afterwards everyone cheers and hollers like its the best thing they ever experienced lol

[MiniKodjo]

How can somebody find this sound scary, It was so badass. It never disappoints. Just like the playstation 1 intro