It’s coveted. It’s imitated. It’s the original audio-visual quality standard. It’s what THX is known for, so let’s talk about why THX Certification is still the best and how it’s only getting better. 

But first, let’s start at the beginning and the origin story of THX Certification. Back in the ’80s, a famous movie director – we’ll call him George, that’s Mr. Lucas to you,  – wasn’t thrilled by the inconsistent quality of movie theaters and how it affected the experience of his space epics. So he started a company – hi, that’s us – that’d make a scientific, measurable standard for theaters so movie-loving audiences around the world could experience films the way directors and artists intended. 

Thus, THX Certification was born in 1983 with that mission in mind: Make entertainment experiences better. 

Since then, THX Certification has grown to be an all-encompassing gold standard that’s applied to home theater equipment, laptops, headphones, and other consumer electronic devices with over 400 individual audio and visual tests run by our dedicated team of engineers. For a product or company to use the THX Certified logo, it must pass these tests, period. But that’s only part of the story. For the best outcome for THX Certified products, our engineering teams act as consultants and collaborators for our partners through the lifecycle of a product – design, prototyping, quality assurance, production, and marketing. We help do it all. 

We advise on what components manufacturers should be using, how software and firmware should be tweaked, and we double-check quality before a product reaches store shelves. In one rare instance, we even caught a packaging issue that was damaging screens. All of that work is to make sure when consumers see our logo on a product, they know they’re getting a premium, uncompromised entertainment experience from a proven device. 

And unlike inferior imitators, THX Certification is available on a wide range of products, not just TVs and home theater equipment. Why? Because it’s 2020. We have the technology and the will to make entertainment experiences better everywhere. So why would we artificially limit our certification standard? That’s why you’ll continue to see THX Certified on a variety of platforms, content, and use cases, from movie theaters to high-end home theater equipment, mobile phones, laptops, and headphones. But as things change for THX Certification, one thing will remain the same: It’s a mark of quality consumers can trust when buying consumer electronics. 

If you want to learn how THX and THX Certification can help your product, we want to hear from you. Contact us at this link. 

If you’re looking for a new THX Certified device, check out our product finder. 

NOTE: We wanted to give a special shoutout to Michael Coleman and Steve Boeddeker, the creator and the sound designer, respectively, of the above THX Certification promo video. Michael is a talented independent filmmaker, and he worked with us on the behind-the-scenes documentary for the Genesis Deep Note trailer, among other collaborations. Steve is a three-time Oscar nominee and Emmy award-winning sound designer who’s worked on movies like Black Panther and Seven.