THX

A high-fidelity sound reproduction standard originally developed by Lucasfilm in 1982 to ensure that the soundtrack for the third Star Wars film, Return of the Jedi, would be accurately reproduced in cinemas. THX is a quantitative measure of quality that works in conjunction with the different surround sound formats (e.g., Dolby Digital and DTS) to bring the quality of the sound presentation to the highest standards.

The system includes amplifier power and speaker dispersion characteristics. THX-certified cinemas 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.

To ensure the highest possible quality in home cinema, THX defines stringent sound track and picture criteria for film-to-DVD transfers. Such DVD titles are labelled as "THX Certified" or "THX Digitally Mastered for superior sound and picture quality". THX also defines stringent performance standards for audio/video source and processing components, including performance standards for DVD players, preamplifiers, power amplifiers, speakers, speaker cables, interconnect cables, and even the room's acoustic characteristics (for dedicated home cinema environments).