THX Certified Cinemas offer movie-goers the best picture and sound available in a movie experience. Through developing and implementing performance standards for cinema auditorium design, acoustic standards, projection equipment and loudspeaker performance, THX has certified more than 3000 cinemas worldwide which deliver optimal film presentation. THX Certified Cinemas offer movie-goers the ultimate cinematic experience – because the entire cinema environment is designed and tested to ensure that it meets all standards for sound and picture excellence. THX certification standards were developed by Lucasfilm in the early 1980s to address problems of movie playback. Many cinemas had poor acoustics that degraded film sound and caused a loss of subtle sonic effects. THX Ltd. was established with the goal of ensuring that cinema auditorium sound was reproduced exactly as it was intended by the filmmaker. In order to earn THX certification, cinema acoustics, background noise and projection and viewing characteristics are thoroughly tested. Each cinema is required to meet THX criteria for: Minimum interference from facility noise, concessions and adjacent auditoriums Cinema equipment performance and installation standards Crisp, accurate cinema sound unaltered by excess reverberation Viewing angles, projector placement and screen illumination that result in optimum picture presentation The result is that cinema audiences experience movies that look and sound great. They enjoy: Naturally balanced sound that uniformly reaches every seat in the auditorium High dialog intelligibility and decreased bass distortion Accurate, true-to-life images Strong stereo localization where sound appears to move across the screen as the action moves across the screen A wide frequency range that that delivers higher highs and lower lows A clearer, more realistic movie-going experience Today over 3000 cinemas worldwide meet these rigorous standards for movie presentation.