Has anyone gone to a THX certified theater? (1 Viewer)

[Jeremy_SG]

I was very disappointed when I went to watch the Return of the King in our local theater. The speaker system and the projector were not the best quality. I would like to see it again only in a THX certified theater but the closest one to us is an hour away and I’m trying to decide if it’s worth the drive. If you have been to a THX certified theater do you think it would be worth an hours drive?

 

[Magnus T]

In Oslo (where I live), that's in Norway by the way, we have to world's largest THX certified theater. I've seen countless films there; The entire Matrix trilogy, Star Wars SE's and Episodes 1 and 2 and countless other sci-fi/action films. In any case, it's the best theater I have ever been too. It's simply amazing. My only quibble now is that I could've sworn I saw those cap codes you Americans are getting during both my visits to see Revolutions. I hope it was just my imagination, but I fear it's not...

 

[Kevin M]

I have one about an hour from my house and it does sound very good however I have another theater roughly the same distance that isn't THX certified but it has very good acoustics (it was a concert hall before) that sounds even better because the people who run it actually take the time to calibrate every two weeks..so a friend tells me.

THX is a good thing for cookie cutter theater chains that wouldn't have good sound otherwise but if you have a good movie house run by people who love film enough to present it properly I personally would take my business there....although I guess it really depends on the theater's acoustics and the owners care for film or lack there of.

 

[ThomasC]

There's a multiplex about 15-20 minutes away from me, and all of their eight screens are THX certified. At six bucks per ticket plus one buck for parking, it's definitely worth the drive. It's only been open since 2001, time will tell if they really maintain their projection and sound systems well.

 

[wally]

Are these that rare? I can think of a dozen within 45 minutes of my home, but I may be mistaken. Seems like at least one in every multiplex around these parts.

 

[Tony-B]

I have not been to a THX certified theater.

 

[Seth_L]

I have been and was no more impressed than the other local theatres.

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

It's a regional thing, Wally. Some areas have a lot of them, because of the competition. In a given city, if one chain has a THX theater, then the other chains will probably want it so they can say they have THX too. In other cities, none of the theaters have THX, and as long as none of them have it, none will be compelled to get it.

 

[Chad R]

Yes, but usually if the theater cares enough to have one of their auditoriums certified, they keep up all the other non-certified auditoriums as well. Pleasure Island has some, but most, if not all, of their auditoriums are great. Its best to just test theaters in your area, find one that has a good track record and remain monogomous to it, even if it's not the most convenient theater. I pass three theaters to get to my favorite (although the drive is about 20 minutes from home, 5 from work).

 

[Chris Will]

Except theaters 1 and 2 that have the balcony. Those two have sum of the worst echoing I have ever heard. It is like watching a movie in the Grand Canyon. I always ask for a later showing or a refund if I buy a ticket for a movie in one of those theaters. There 2 THX theaters are great and one has DLP, simply amazing. Plus they still play the THX trailers before the movie!!! I think that Pleasure Island is one of very few or the only theater in the Orlando area to have THX theaters. Too bad they are the most expensive theater in town.

 

[Tim Glover]

The United Artist Galaxy 10 in Dallas was THX certified before being bought out by Regal Entertaintment, who no longer wanted to pay the THX fees.

The sound system was absolutely the best I've heard. Films like Private Ryan, the SW films, Gladiator, TTT all sounded incredible.

I don't know if they got to keep the equip or not but for ROTK, it still sounded like it did for all those other films.

At least in this particular theater, the THX certification was beneficial.

 

[Khoa Tran]

I too have many THX certified theaters around me....i find it on the weekends they turn it up louder for the younger crowds and turn it down during the weekdays....


i just had a GREAT experience watching ROTK, watching it in a nice big theater with empty seats all around....the fire alarm goes off half way through the movie, turns out to be a false alarm, so everybody goes back to their seats and waits......for 30 mins watching the lights flash and blaring alarms....then finally the movie comes back on and i just forgot about the fire alarm....good movie =)

 

[Lin Weiwen]

Well, here in Singapore we have only one cineplex that has THX certified halls: Cathay Orchard Cinelplex.

I watched ROTK there a couple of days ago and the sound (Dolby Digital) was great!! You can literally feel the ground shaking during the Oliphants' attack. Yes, they even had the THX trailer before the film commenced.

Some other great sounding films I saw there were Saving Private Ryan, Star Wars Ep1 and 2 and Road to Perdition.

 

[CarlosL]

Ahh, good ol' THX. Living in Austin, I remember a time when the best screens in town were THX certified, and it was always a pleasure going there. Arbor 7 in particular always took the time to play the appropriate digital sound trailer (whether it be Dolby, DTS, or SDDS) as well as the THX trailer. Then Gateway and Metropolitan each opened up, sporting at least 14 THX certified screen each.

Alas, times have changed. Austin, TX no longer seems to have a single advertised THX certified screen. Two screens at AMC Barton Creek (screens 1 and 2) do have the THX plaque next to the door, but they have never played the THX trailer as far as I can tell. I spoke with the manager at Gateway, and he informed me that all the screens still retain their THX certified equipment, but they don't want to pay the licensing fee to LucasFilm, and thus can no longer advertise their THX screens as such. He mentioned $40k per SCREEN per theater. If that's true, then that is nuts.

Unfortunately, since that time, Gateway really seems to have become inconsistent in their sound presentations. They will be loud, but there will be little to no bass present. Metropolitan is more consistent, with being both loud and bassy, but I know these screens can do so much more because I've personally heard them. Watching the Two Towers midnight showing at Gateway was supremely loud but entirely lacking bass, especially during the explosion of Helm's Deep.

I always enjoyed THX presentations, but as of late, Austin really does not have a theater with consistent presentation when it comes to sound reproduction.

Just my two cents...

 

[Kevin Grey]

When I lived in Hawaii we would go out of our way to go to the Dole Cannery theaters because they were all THX-certified and we always left the theater raving about how great the sound was. In fact there were several mediocre movies that we enjoyed soley because of the trememdous audio (End of Days, The Haunting).

Now I have only one THX certified theater near me (Norfolk, VA) and I go whenever I can. Its a restored movie house that serves dinner during the presentation. This is great *but* they don't allow for advance ticket sales and the quality of the experience is such that you typically have to line up several hours in advance for tickets during the first couple of weeks a movie is out. Very inconvenient in this day of online ticket sales.

Saw a matinee of ROTK there yesterday (my second time) and the sound was just awesome. Its the only theater within two hours that can offer a better audio experience than my home theater.

 

[Holadem]

You must be surrounded by state of the art theaters then. We should all be so lucky.

I have never been dissapointed by a THX theater. I have seen great theaters that were not certified, but I have never seen a THX theater that was not great.

--
H

 

[Scotty_McW]

I've been to one THX theater in Moundsview, MN at a Carmike but probably won't go back. It has nothing to do with presentation quality and everything to do with distance from my home. It's about 30 min away, with several multiplexes in between. The maing problem I have with the theater is the fact that I bought tickets for a sunday showing of Lord of the Rings in the THX theater but when we got there it was moved to one of the smaller theaters with no explanation and the only options given to me at the time were to see it then or come back in 2 hours.

Thankfully, after emailing Carmike on monday they have sent me some free passes to use, but I won't make that drive again. Hopefully someday a THX theater will open near me. The two movies I saw there, Pirates of the Carribean and Star Trek: Nemesis, were amazing presentations.

 

[Jack Ferry]

There is nothing like going to a theater that gets it right. If you're near Central Pennsylvania, take in a film at the Allen Theatre in Annville sometime. (www.allentheatre.com)

Even bad movies look and sound terrific there, and the owner (Skip) genuinely cares about his guests. (He even makes announcements before the show, asking for feedback on anything that can make the viewing more enjoyable.)

 

[teapot2001]

I've had mixed experiences with the all-THX Century 25 that I go to.

~T

 

[Carlo_M]

I've had good luck with my local THX certified theater...

Of course, it's the Mann Village .