Home THX Cinema surround mode
Home THX Cinema is a surround playback technology advocated by Lucasfilm of the United States, a company famous for the sound effects of such movies as Star Wars and Indiana Jones. This technology was born from the desire of movie director George Lucas to create the ultimate theater experience. THX Cinema technology includes both a design and performance certification program for movie theaters and a separate design and certificatioin program for home theater equipment.
The THX Cinema program for theaters is used in over 3000 movie theaters throughout the world and is highly reputed for both its sound and picture quality.
The Home THX program includes proprietary Lucasfilm technology, coupled with an extensive certification process, which provides the listener with the most realistic reproduction in the home of motion picture soundtracks. Differences between the dubbing stage (sound mixing environment) and the motion picture theater are compensated for in home playback environments by the unique THX
“THX 5.1” indicates the combination of a digital discrete
DENON was the first company in the world to offer THX 5.1 processing in a home theater component. The
The THX processor achieves clear dialogue, more effective sound positioning and directivity and a wide dynamic range. On the
(1)Re-equalizer:
In general, sound for movie theaters is recorded under the premise that the front and center channels will be output from behind the screen and that the sound will be played in large spaces that include many objects that absorb sound (movie theater seats, etc.). Because of this, the sound characteristics, particular the high frequency response, differs when the same soundtrack is played in the home (it can sound overly bright and harsh). The
(2)Timber matching circuit:
The human ear is directional, so the sound from a speaker set in front of the listener will seem different from the sound from the same speaker set at the listener’s side. The timber matching circuit compensates for this, and particularly provides a natural sense of movement when the sound moves from the front to the surround and vice versa.
(3)Dynamic decorrelation circuit:
In movie theaters, surround signals come from two banks of surround speakers, placed at the sides and at the rear of the theater. By using multiple loudspeakers in each surround bank, the audience hears the intended surround effect regardless of where they sit in the theater. Even with 5.1 soundtracks, surround sound information in the motion picture soundtrack is often monaural (sounds are common to both surround left and surround right channels). In the theater, the use of many surround speakers “spreads” the surround information over a wide area, minimizing the ability to localize the sound from a particular speaker. In the home however, monaural information in the soundtrack often provides an unusual result, with the surround sound strongly localized directly at the listening position, and is not perceived as enveloping, spacious surround sound as heard in the theater. The dynamic decorrelation circuit constantly monitors the content of the surround channels, and when monaural surround information is present, processes the sound to derive different signals that are sent to the left and right surround speakers. This provides rich, spacious and enveloping surround sound. The decorrelation circuit is always activated when listening to Dolby Surround Pro Logic programs, since the Pro Logic surround channel is always monaural.
THX 5.1 standards are extremely strict performance standards for AV amplifiers. Over 300 different performance parameters are checked, covering virtually all aspects of the component’s performance, including use and operation, along with critical tests and measurements using specialized test tones along with highly revealing program material. The
“Lucasfilm” and “THX” are registered trademarks of Lucasfilm. This set manufactured under license of Lucasfilm.
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