THX and China’s SAPPRFT Test Institute Partner to Define New Cinema Quality Standards

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Addressing the Need for Improved Monitoring, Implementation and Education, THX is Lending its Expertise to Advancing China’s Cinema Industry. Beijing, China (September 1, 2015) – THX Holdings Ltd. (THX) announces a cooperative agreement with SAPPRFT Test Institute of Film Technical Quality (TIFTQ). The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) operates through TIFTQ as the only third-party testing institute for China’s film industry. On August 28, 2015 a ceremony in Beijing kicked off the cooperation, marking the beginning of the companies’ efforts to co-develop new cinema standards and services for the Chinese market. Industry leaders and key media were present to witness the execution of the agreement by Gong Bo, Deputy Director of SAPPRFT Film Technology and Quality Inspection Center, and Louis Cacciuttolo, THX Executive Vice-President of International Business Development and Brand Strategy. In the past few years, China’s cinema industry experienced tremendous growth with approximately 5,000 new auditoriums opening each year. This feverish pace of construction has outpaced the education of cinema design, installation and maintenance professionals – often resulting in poor architectural and acoustic design as well as underperforming audio and video systems. The collaboration between SAPPRFT’s TIFTQ and THX is of utmost significance as it is the very first time a foreign entity will participate in defining national quality standards for China’s cinema industry. The goals of the partnership are to develop advanced evaluation, testing and calibration methodologies that will be applied by the administration to ensure the newly defined standards are met by all operating auditoriums regardless of location, size or playback format. The two companies plan to open a quality inspection laboratory that will provide testing, evaluation and certification services for audio-visual professional products and relevant cinema equipment. The companies also aim to create specialized training courses for cinema technicians, calibrators and projectionists for the technical installation, adjustment, operation and maintenance of Chinese cinemas. “This strategic partnership is an ideal combination of both parties’ strengths,” explains Louis Cacciuttolo. “THX’s 30 years of expertise in cinema design, coupled with TIFTQ’s technical authority in the market will provide the optimal solution for better quality, better performance and system issue resolution for China’s film industry.” About Test Institute of Film Technical Quality, SAPPRFT: SAPPRFT’s Test Institute of Film Technical Quality is the only state authoritative test organization for the film industry in China. Its functions include: testing and certification of film technology equipment and environment; testing and evaluating of film production and screening technique quality; software evaluation for the film industry; testing of radio/ film/ television related systems, equipment and products; bidding and testing of radio/ film/ television projects and equipment; providing testing and certification guarantees for film technology and quality; service of process design, equipment installation and debugging; and project supervision for screening environment, architectural acoustics and electro-acoustics. It owns a film technology and quality detection laboratory, software testing laboratory, and television technique evaluation laboratory, as well as advanced test equipment and devices for digital film, digital video-audio, optical equipment, film environment and technique – all up to advanced international standards. About THX: Founded by George Lucas 30 years ago and recognized by audiences around the globe, THX is synonymous with the certification of world-class cinemas and recording studios, premium audio systems for home and automotive applications along with high definition and 4K displays. THX develops and licenses new technologies and specifications for audio and video applications. For more information on THX please visit www.thx.com   Media Contacts: Allied Integrated Marketing Ginger Chan / Vice President, National Publicity/ [email protected] Yasmine Parrish / Publicist – LA / [email protected] Nyrie McKenzie / Publicist – NY / [email protected]   THX China Media Contacts: Little Creative Co., Ltd. Helen Duan / [email protected] / +86 18500025696 Media Material Requests / [email protected]