How Home Theater Works

If you want a top-notch home theater, look into a THX^®-certified system. If you've read How THX Works, then you know that THX is Lucasfilm's set of standards for movie-theater equipment and arrangement. Lucasfilm has also come up with certification standards for home theater setup, and if you want the best of the best, this is the way to go. The chief aim of Home THX standards is to ensure the highest-quality re-creation of actual theater sound.

There are currently two THX standards: THX Select, created with a 2,000-cubic-foot (57-cubic-meter) room in mind, and THX Ultra, for spaces with over 3,000 cubic feet (85 cubic meters). TXH Select2 and THX Ultra2 relate to receivers and amplifiers for the same two room sizes. THX has worked with electronics manufacturers to create equipment that lives up to the THX standards. THX has certified:

A THX-certified home theater will cost you a good bit more than an ordinary home theater, because THX-certified components are mainly top-of-the-line equipment. If you just want a superior entertainment system in your home, you don't need to worry about THX systems. This sort of system is a luxury purchase, for connoisseurs driven to get the best possible sound out of their systems, or for folks with money to burn.

To find out more about THX home theater standards, check out the THX Web site.