Lucas sells THX to Creative Labs? (1 Viewer)

[Greg Br]

http://www.highfidelityreview.com./n...snumber=499199
Not sure if this has been posted and have no idea what this means to home theater and software but thought it was usefull info for people that are into the THX certifications.

 

[Sean Oneil]

Naaaahhh, I had no idea that THX was for sale

 

[Sean Oneil]

.

 

[Sean Moon]

Interesting to say the least. I kind of see it as a step backwards. As the article pointed out, when people think of creative, they think about computer hardware and cheap speakers.
Maybe if Lucasfilm sold THX to Pioneer or Denon I would feel differently

 

[Greg Br]

Rumor? Where there is smoke there is fire, and read the last sentence that mentions the non comment from Creative Labs.

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

I think THX would be worth more than $8 million but if it's not then I don't see why Lucas would bother selling it.

 

[Larry Seno Jr.]

Why? All it is is theory, Im sure no labs were sold in the deal, and assuredly not everything bearing the THX label was rigorously tested by THX, it was just something companies could buy to increase marketing hype.

 

[Torquil]

Sounds like a belated April fool. I don't see the business case for this at all - maybe they've agreed to license some of Creative's equipment??

The THX brand would lose much of it's strength if it was associated with Creative. Don't get me wrong I am a fan of some Creative products, it's just that no one associates them with high end audio.

THX gains very little from this deal.

Torq.

 

[Joseph Bolus]

I don't get it. The amount of money cited for the 60% share seems incredibly low to me, and Lucas obviously doesn't need the money. Surely he makes 8 million a week per year, on average, just from the merchandising of Star Wars products alone.

In any event, I haven't paid much attention to THX since they certified the Fox Sound of Music DVD.

 

[Greg Br]

Maybe he has something new up his sleeve which will not be associated with THX.

 

[Craig W]

In any event on the software side, THX has not meant much.

On the hardware side, I think THX has been losing face also since the release THX Select. Ultra and Ultra2 carry weight but Select was mostly marketing hype to get the logo on more equipment. I have a feeling that soon we will be seeing the THX logo on crappy little portable devices and more PC hardware. Soon THX will not mean anything other than another logo on a device.

 

[Lance Nichols]

Craig, that is my fear as well. Although not everyone agrees with the audio and video standard(s) laid out by THX. George and Co. have done a lot in the past to help ensure that there is a medium and means to certify the numbers and specs manufacturers throw around.

Overall, I think that THX has been a good thing for the market. Select could have been handled better. I understand the desire to create equipment specs that were aimed at smaller foot print HT rooms. I just think the Marketing of the brand and standards fell though.

The problem I see with associating THX with Creative labs, is for the most part CL makes good products, but not great products (one of the things missing from the Audigy and SBL line ups are fast, stable drivers). What would happen with this is THX battered brand would suffer more.

 

[MikeM]

Since Michael Reuben asked me to post to this thread instead, here goes.
From what I'm hearing the buyer is not Creative labs, it's Dolby Digital. The reason I posted that THX was "dead" is that I heard they will be absorbing the THX staff into Dolby and that the THX crew just received their last paychecks, essentially killing the program.
I'll be the first to admit that this is unconfirmed, (just like the Creative Labs info), but this is what I've been told on good authority. We'll have to wait and see how it unfolds.

 

[Kevin Coleman]

IMO THX was sold out a long time ago.
Kevin C.

 

[RobertR]

THX was "dead"

THX has been brain dead for years. This is just pulling the plug on the cash cow that's kept it on life support.

 

[Greg Br]

Hey I likes their rain trailor! My SVS loves playing it

 

[Ned]

The rain trailer is Dolby

 

[Greg Br]

When you hear the rain in the surrounds then the sphere comes up and explodes then the THX sweeps down to 18hrz is Dolby? I did not know that, thanks.

 

[Craig W]

Just to clarify what I said earlier in the thread.

On the DVD side of things, THX has not meant anything as far as the quality of the software is concerned. Die Hard 3 comes to mind along with the extreme edge enhancement to SW:TPM.

Laserdisc was another story, THX actually delivered on their promise of high quality releases. T2 blew me away compared to many other releases available.

The beginning of the end came when THX actually started a VHS mastering program. How in the world could they actually justify a quality program for an obivious low quality format?

They gave in to the marketing hype and lost the real focus of their business.

 

[Ernesto Santos]

Maybe it can be said that THX is the father of true high fidelity film presentation and set the standard for modern home entertainment technology, but I think its usefulness is dead. It is still viable as an accrediting body for theaters wanting to distinguish themselves, but thats it.