Issue: THX® Special Edition/1993
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THX Attractions

Preface Gary Reber

This is our Premiere Special Edition. It represents perhaps the most comprehensive coverage ever of the outgrowth of home theatre from Dolby Stereo® to the LucasFilm® Home THX® Program. It is being published as a reference issue of sorts in response to readers requests for out-of-print back issues, which contained the articles presented herein plus two articles that did not appear in previous issues.

The Premiere Special Edition continues our serious effort to bring clarification to the Home THX Program, so that our readers can better comprehend the program's intent and method with respect to the "re-creation" of the "sound" of a standardized film studio dubbing theatre in the manner and style that it was created and "heard" by the filmaker through a Professional THX Sound System. We explore the broader issues of the "intent" of the filmaker working within the technical aesthetic parameters and limitations of the Dolby Stereo format and the re-thinking that will be necessitated by the quintaphonic full bandwidth low frequency channel (5.1) discrete digital format now on the horizon.

The Premiere Special Edition presents for the first time in print a comprehensive and in-depth discussion of the recently announced proof of performance THX LaserDisc Program and the THX Theatre Alignment Program (TAP) for motion picture production and distribution companies. Woven within the articles is our continued explorations and probe of the foundations of motion picture sound and the future of quintaphonic sound in home theatre with commentary on the Dolby StereoDigital® SR*D® and the Sony® SDDS® discrete digital systems. These new developments raise important questions and issues with respect to the methods and approaches to home theatre presentation. These are addressed throughout "The THX Story," with the purpose of encouraging the development and application of the best possible technical aesthetics and home theatre experience.

These are exciting times for widescreen movie and home theatre enthusiasts. We appreciate the opportunity to serve our readers with credible and informative reading.

Acknowledgements

A special thanks to Chris Feucht for the creation of "The THX Story" cover layout.

Special thanks toVan Ling's contribution as author of "The Making Of The Abyss Special Edition," to James Cameron and Tomlinson Holman for their candid and informative conversation, and to all who contributed during the research. Special thanks are owed to Ross Hering for the excellent article on the THX LaserDisc Program, a program that will certainly impact the home video industry, leading the way for the finest quality transfer and duplication of movies on LaserDisc.