ACM, Akustik- und Studioplanungs GmbH

Wesslingerstrasse 24
D-82237 Wörthsee-Steinebach
Germany

www.acm-akustik.de
Phone: 49.8153.908779.0
Fax: 49.8953.908779.9

ACS Enterprises, Inc.

PO Box 810
Walnut, CA 91788
USA

www.acs-ent.com
Phone: 909.595.3484
Fax: 909.595.3447

Acoustics WorkSolution Group

Torre Esmeralda II
Blvd. Avila Camacho 36, Piso 10
Col. Lomas de Chapultepc
Mexico D.F. 11000
Mexico

www.awg.com.mx
Phone: 52.55.4368.8275
Fax: 52.55.9171.1699

Array’s Technology, Inc.

#63 Road 13 St.
Bagong Pag-asa Village
Quezon City
Philippines

www.mahajak.com/array
Phone: 632.920.8753
Fax: 632.920.8752

Centauro Equipamentos de Cinema e Teatro Ltda.

Rua Gusmoes, 123
Sao Paulo 01212
Brazil

www.centauro-cinema.com.br
Phone: +55 11 3331-8055
Fax: +55 11 3331-8203

Eugenetek Corporation

#506 Wooree Venture Town II
82-89 Mullae-dong 3ga
Youngdeungpo-gu, Seoul 150-700
South Korea

www.eugenetek.com.my
Phone: 82.2.2679.5300
Fax: .82.2.2679.3289

Future Projections

110 Friary Rd. Peckham
London SE15 1PX
United Kingdom

www.fproj.com
Phone: 44.20.7358.0606
Fax: 44.20.7358.0909

JSX

5546 McLennan Ave
Encino, CA 91436
USA

www.jsxaudio.com
Phone: 707.766.7400
Fax: 707.780.1981

Lafont Audio

78740 Evecquemont
France

www.lafontaudio.com
Phone: 33.1.3474.6539
Fax:33.1.3774.6773

MRH Digital Systems Pvt. Ltd.

290 Lamington Road
Mumbai 400007
India

www.mrhindia.com
Phone: 91.22.2389.5383
Fax: 91.22.2387.6318

PA Ljud AB

Box 177
827 24 Ljusdal
Sweden

www.paljud.se
Phone: 46.651.14914
Fax: 46.651.14941

SONA Corporation

2-19-9 Yayoi-cho Nakano-ku
Tokyo 164-0013
Japan

www.sona.co.jp
Phone: 81.3.5350.2621
Fax: 81.3.5350.2670

Studio Equipment

Avenue Haldimand 87
1400 Yverdon-les-Bains
Switzerland

www.studioequipment.ch
Phone: 41 24 450 2575
Fax: 41 24 420 25776

Suministros Kelonik, S.A.

C/ Badajoz, 159-163
08018 Barcelona
Spain

www.kelonik.com
Phone: 34.93.300.43.61
Fax: 34.93.300.03.15

Correctly installed projector booth

In a THX Certified Cinema, the projection booth is accurately placed in relation to the screen – delivering an image with little or no distortion.

Incorrectly installed projector booth

Improper projection booth placement results in many viewing issues, including a severe keystone or trapezoid effect.

Contact THX for additional information on the THX Certified Cinema program.

Prior to construction, THX advises cinema designers and architects to accommodate for the 36 degree horizontal viewing angle. And, to make sure that every seat has an unobstructed view, THX often recommends either elevating or lowering the entire floor to adjust the seating location.

Click here, for THX viewing angle recommendations for home theater screens and HDTVs.

Contact THX for additional information on the THX Certified Cinema program.

For example, in an action film, such Iron Man, there are several instances where the movie’s hero (Tony Stark) is being chased through the sky by two fighter jets, followed immediately by quiet, more dialogue-driven moments. In a THX Certified Cinema with tightly controlled reverberation, the sound of jet engines and explosions ends immediately, never bleeding over into the next scene.

Among the methods THX uses to control reverberation is covering the rear wall of the auditorium with thick, absorptive material. This prevents the direct sound of the screen speakers from reflecting into the seating area. THX also requires the placement of absorptive materials on the sidewalls, down to the audience’s ear level. This reduces the amount of sidewall reflections.

With acoustic paneling

Acoustic paneling controls reverberation, or echo effect, in a THX Certified Cinema.

Without acoustic paneling

Sound bounces off the walls without acoustic paneling, interfering with the movie’s soundtrack.

Contact THX for additional information on the THX Certified Cinema program.

THX Sound Isolation Methods

• Large quantity of building material
• Isolating air gap
• Large quantity of building material

With THX Sound Isolation

The walls in a THX Certified Cinema are constructed to provide sound isolation from other auditoriums.

Without THX Sound Isolation

Without the use of the recommended building materials, thin wall construction allows sound to pass through to neighboring auditoriums.

Contact THX for additional information on the THX Certified Cinema program.

Unique to every THX Certified Cinema is the THX “baffle wall.” If you were to peel away the screen at any THX Certified Cinema, you will see a massive wall of speakers housed in an acoustic baffle (speaker system enclosure).

The baffle wall is approximately the same size as the screen, providing a solid, smooth and uninterrupted surface to distribute sound throughout the auditorium. It produces a large sound image and accurately tracks sound elements with the onscreen action. This makes panning shots and off-screen sounds more believable and natural, helping to pull audiences into the storyline. Without a baffle wall, sound is uncontrolled – producing a weak, uneven image.

With the baffle wall

The baffle wall in a THX Certified Cinema controls the sound behind the screen – projecting a smooth audio experience out to the audience.

Without the baffle wall

Without the baffle wall, sound is uncontrolled behind the screen – producing a weak sound image that “jumps” across the screen.

Contact THX for additional information on the THX Certified Cinema program.

The goal of THX cinema certification is to reproduce the acoustics and ambience of the movie studio, allowing audiences to enjoy a movie’s sound effects, score, dialogue and visual presentation with the clarity and detail of the final mastering session.

By creating these design standards and enforcing performance criteria for speakers and other cinema audio and visual equipment, THX provides directors and sound artists the confidence that the hours spent toiling over sound and visual design elements in the studio will be realized by audiences around the globe.

Today, there are close to 2,000 THX Certified Cinemas, including the Arclight Hollywood Cinema, Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Empire Cinemas in Leicester Square, Toho Roppongi Hills and Kinneopolis Cinemas in Europe.

What is a THX Certified Cinema?

Through its standards for acoustic performance, background noise, sound isolation and image quality, THX Certified Cinemas promise every seat in the house is a good one. During the certification process, THX offers the following services to its cinema partners:

• Feasibility Study: Analysis of THX design integration into cinema architectural plans.
• Speaker Layout and Baffle Wall: Detailed architectural drawings for speaker positioning and baffle wall (behind the screen) design.
• Auditorium Isolation: Review of exterior noise sources, such as adjacent auditoriums, street traffic and concessions, to ensure nothing distracts audiences from the feature presentation.
• Reverberation Control: Specifications for the installation of acoustic absorption material.
• Measurement of Background Noise: Confirm background noise meets NC30 at all octave bands; this ensures noise from air conditioning units and projection equipment does not mask the subtle effects in a movie’s soundtrack.
• Screen Placement: Evaluation of cinema visual performance, including luminance, resolution, color, jitter and weave, as well as audience viewing angles in every seating position.
• Projected Image: Analysis of the projected image to verify that the entire image size is projected on the screen.
• Calibration: Calibration of the sound and projection system to industry and THX standards.
• Final Testing: Ensure equipment and auditorium is performing to THX performance specifications.

Contact THX for additional information on the THX Certified Cinema program.

THX Cinema Services is an on-site installation and integration organization for digital cinema and beyond. With a network of highly trained technicians, THX Cinema Services brings an independent resource to the exhibition industry to provide a complete support and maintenance solution to theater operators.

As the transition is made to D-Cinema and 3D, a theater operator must not only install new equipment, but also train employees to maintain the equipment on a regular basis. THX Cinema Services offers solutions that range from product installation to field training of cinema personnel. The experts at THX Cinema Services are skilled on a variety of equipment manufacturers and technology formats, ensuring dependable and consistent turnkey support.

THX Cinema Services Offerings

THX Cinema Services also provides a comprehensive set of services for both THX Certified and non-Certified venues.

Support includes:

• D-Cinema system installation & support
• Presentation system maintenance
• Digital advertising system installation and service
• Site surveys
• Project planning & management
• Evaluation and maintenance of existing equipment for both D-Cinema and film
• Audio system upgrades & calibration
• CompTIA Network+ Certified
• Recommendations for system improvements and efficiencies
• Individualized booth analysis
• Equipment rack assembly
• THX certification & re-certification testing
• Education & training

Contact THX for additional information on THX Cinema Services.

The TASA standard’s intent is to equalize the sound volume of theatrical trailers so that they come close to matching the volume of the features that they precede.

Compliance with the TASA standard is now required by the MPAA Advertising Administration through its advertising regulation.

For more information on TASA, contact THX or visit http://www.tasatrailers.org/.