THXÆ Optimodeô Allows Consumers To Optimize Home System Performance For Individual DVD Releases

First-Of-Its-Kind Feature Debuts With June DVD Release Of ""Fight Club,"" Followed By Others

9-Aug-00

A unique DVD software feature from Lucasfilm THXÆ allows the performance of a home theatre system to be optimized for individual DVD releases. THX Optimodeô (patent pending) is a new innovation from the THX Digital Mastering Program that consists of a series of tests that make it easy for consumers to fine-tune the audio and video performance of their home components. The first DVD release to offer THX Optimode was Twentieth Century Fox's Special Edition release of ""Fight Club"" on June 6. Other releases include ""T2"" from Artisan and Anchor's Bay's ""Repo Man,"" ""Hellraiser"" and ""Hellraiser II,"" with many more to follow. The Optimode tests, contained within a separate section on both NTSC and PAL DVDs, are standard tests to assist in adjusting a full range of video monitor settings and to ensure that sound system performance parameters are optimized. What's unique is that the signals are equal to the final reference levels set during the mastering of each individual release. Thus, system performance can be tailored to each specific movie, a capability that consumers have never before been offered. As a result, the consumer sees the movie as the director intended. A filmmaker, for example, might shoot particular scenes or even an entire movie with a certain color cast to create a desired look or evoke a mood. THX Optimode, available only on THX certified titles, reassures the consumer that these effects are accurately rendered. ""We believe that the THX Digital Mastering Program provides video and DVD consumers with terrific added value and a better quality product, and the addition of THX Optimode ensures that consumers can experience this product as intended,"" Peter Staddon, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, said. ""THX Optimode enhances value, and we're pleased that a Fox film is the first to market with this innovation."" THX Optimode is easy to use, with a section on the DVD that contains a range of test signals and clear instructions on using each. To adjust video performance, there are tests for contrast, brightness, color, hue, monitor performance and aspect ratio settings. To adjust audio performance, THX Optimode provides tests for speaker level, speaker phase and Low Frequency Effects (LFE) channel crossover. The phase test employs both an audible signal and an on-screen graphic to assist in checking the wiring. In some cases, there are performance parameters that are best tested and adjusted by the consumer's custom installer or a certified Home THX dealer. More detailed information about the tests, what they measure and how they are best performed is available at the THX Web site (www.thx.com). ""We first integrated these tests into the program material as a way to streamline our mastering process,"" explained Charles Busslinger, Sales and Operations Director, THX Digital Mastering Program. ""Now, we've gone a step further by passing these capabilities along to the public, empowering consumers by allowing them to get the most out of each DVD release and their system."" Film studios utilize the THX Digital Mastering Program to guarantee that home video DVDs, VHS videocassettes and LaserDiscs are of the highest technical quality. The program encompasses the entire mastering process, with THX overseeing and participating in the selection of the best film elements, the digital transfer, image processing, data compression and duplication. At every stage, THX evaluates performance to ensure that the final product delivers the best possible sound and image. All THX certified titles carry the THX logo on the package and on-screen before the movie begins. The THX Group of Lucasfilm Ltd. is dedicated to achieving superior presentation quality in theatres and homes through its unique certification program and services. The THX Theatre Program works with the exhibition and post-production community around the world to deliver the ultimate cinema experience by building certified theatres that adhere to comprehensive and proprietary THX standards. Home THX allows consumers to replicate that experience at home through Certified THX home theatre and multimedia products available from leading audio/video and PC manufacturers. For studios and filmmakers, THX provides comprehensive quality assurance services for theatrical film releases through its Theatre Alignment Program (TAP), and for DVD, LaserDisc and videotape releases through its award-winning THX Digital Mastering Program.

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