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Some of the most rapid development of new technology has come from LucasFilm with its seemingly exponentially increasing rate of growth of THX.

We now have THX Select, THX EX and THX Ultra. To help you understand the differences in these technologies, the following is a short explanation of THX Ultra. For an explanation of the basics of THX technology, THX Select or THX EX clicks on the relevant libnks in the right side panel.

THX Ultra is Home THX renamed. The technology remains the same it's only the name that has changed. THX Ultra began as 'Home THX', a patented multi-channel surround sound system engineered to maintain all the nuance and dynamics of an original film sound track when it's reproduced in your home.

Movie sound tracks are created very specifically to add a third dimension and involve and immerse you in the film. Using sophisticated techniques movie sound studios engineer the sound for replay in large theatres with a huge array of speakers. That same sound track loses impact when it's replayed in the average home and much of what was intended by the filmmakers is missed.

There are many factors that can degrade the sound. The room can be smaller causing different parts of the sound spectrum to be accented and other parts lost. The electronics of a home system may not be designed to handle the dynamics (low and soft to loud or rumbling sounds) of the sound track.

Not only can you miss sounds; the loudest sounds can possibly damage your equipment. Humidity and ambient temperature can adversely affect the performance of home theatre electronics. And, even if you have all the speakers needed for six channel sound, they may not be able to adequately relay where the sound is coming from or how the timbre of sound changes as it moves around (like when a helicopter is flying from the front, overhead and then behind you).

Sound can also 'bleed' so that the six channels aren't separate and dialogue and ambient sounds are muffled. THX Ultra is designed to make it possible for a sound track to sound the same at home as it does in a theatre. It aims to match a movie theatre sound track to the home environment.

There is a complete range of THX Ultra components, but LucasFilm maintains that you will notice the difference if you add just one THX component to your existing sound system.
 

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