OTHER TECH

This legend stems from confusion over what "THX certification" means. "THX certification programs and technologies don't compete with the offerings from Dolby and DTS, they complement them," explains John Dahl, director of technical product marketing for THX. "Dolby and DTS provide technology to encode and decode audio information, while THX provides standards for how home and commercial theater components are designed and perform in different environments."

Another legend pertains to people who own THX-certified components and goes: "Using THX postprocessing with any DVD that doesn't have the THX logo will make the disc sound bad." The THX logo on a DVD means that title has passed the company's certification program. (To see what's involved in this process, go to thx.com/mod/services/digitalservices.html.) According to Dahl, "While you will experience better sound and picture quality with THX-certified DVDs, the postprocessing technologies built into any receivers and processors with THX certification will enhance regular, noncertified discs as well. This processing is designed to compensate for the differences between the movie theater, mixing studio, and home environments so you can experience the content the way it was intended by the artist."