THX overrated?

[GaToy]

If I remember correctly it's either DDex or DTSes is the same as THX ex. One or the other. My STR-DA7ES reciever has both of these so I know i'm capable of the same standards. And up until now I was proud that Sony hadn't given in to the THX propaganda. Unfortunately this years models have the certification. But anyway, THX ex is the button that you have on your remote even if it inly says THX. They are correct that THX is only a certification. I want to say it's DTS es thats the same with THX ex. This is what companies call theirs if they haven't bought the THX license.

~C.C.~

[GaToy]

Heres some info.

THX
A lot of confusion is surrounding THX. It is not a sound format and it is not a special image format. THX is a Lucasfilm company that is certifying films, software and hardware, and as such making sure the presentation quality meets certain standards. THX certified films or equipment are not necessarily better than parts that do not carry THX’s seal of approval, but at least you have some kind of a guarantee that it meets certain quality aspects.


THX EX
THX EX is the name of a new Dolby Digital sound format, using 6.1 channels. The format adds an additional surround center channel to the current 5.1 setup to create a more engrossing surround field that is compatible to the front field in terms of spatial integration. Unlike sound formats like DTS,THX EX does not necessarily require additional equipment to listen to the audio track. It is an extension and as such backwards compatible with the current Dolby Digital standard. If you do not have a THX EX decoder in your home theater setup, the playback will be automatically converted for 5.1 playback.

~C.C.~
http://hometheater.about.com/library.../aa061400a.htm

[Woochifer]

THX EX
THX EX is the name of a new Dolby Digital sound format, using 6.1 channels. The format adds an additional surround center channel to the current 5.1 setup to create a more engrossing surround field that is compatible to the front field in terms of spatial integration. Unlike sound formats like DTS,THX EX does not necessarily require additional equipment to listen to the audio track. It is an extension and as such backwards compatible with the current Dolby Digital standard. If you do not have a THX EX decoder in your home theater setup, the playback will be automatically converted for 5.1 playback.

~C.C.~
http://hometheater.about.com/library.../aa061400a.htm

That was true until about two years ago. With the original round of 6.1 receivers, only the THX certified models were allowed to use the "EX" trademark to describe the back surround channel decoding. The theatrical format was Dolby Digital EX, while the consumer version was called THX Surround EX. Dolby and Lucasfilm jointly developed the EX spec, so THX partly owned the trademark. Non-THX receivers could still do the back surround decoding to the correct specs, they just couldn't call it EX. Rather, they called it 6.1 Matrix or some other linguistic variation. It was about two years ago that the EX trademark was opened to all receiver makers. It's no different from THX Surround EX, only the name is different.