THX Video Certification Explained
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By Adrienne Maxwell
As high-definition technology and video displays have taken a place of prominence in the home entertainment industry over the past few years, companies that we traditionally associate with audio, like Dolby and THX, have also moved into the video realm. Dolby is currently working on Dolby Vision LED technology for LCD TVs, and THX now offers certification for video products. As with its audio certification program, THX's video certification ensures that a display device -- be it plasma, LCD, rear pro, or projector -- meets certain benchmark standards in terms of performance.
What does THX test?
THX video certification is not simply a stamp of approval that is either granted or denied after a display device has already been developed. The company works alongside interested manufacturers during a TV's development process to ensure it meets the benchmarks. The same testing process is applied to every display, regardless of technology.
The tests are divided into two basic categories: overall device performance and video signal processing. In the device-performance area, THX's tests are based on existing standards and test patterns defined by VESA, ANSI, and SMPTE. The company evaluates parameters like brightness, contrast ratio (full screen and ANSI), color, gray scale, gamma, resolution, uniformity, and viewing angle. THX sets minimum standards for things like black level, contrast, and color gamut (based on SMPTE recommendations), although a given product could certainly surpass those standards. In terms of video signal processing, THX has developed its own standards and customized test patterns to evaluate a display's deinterlacing, motion compensation, cadence detection and correction, jaggie creation, contouring, sharpness, noise reduction, overscan, and more. THX also conducts other miscellaneous tests, checking for audible noise in some display devices, the visibility of rainbows in DLP displays, motion blur in LCDs, the screen-door effect in projectors, and more.
Since the video-certification program is still in its infancy, only a few THX-certified models are currently available, from companies like Runco, LG, and Panasonic. THX does not factor a display's price, technology, size, or usage into its evaluation process, focusing strictly on performance. So, you could find THX-certified displays at many different price points; however, at this stage, it comes as no surprise that LG and Panasonic's THX-certified models fall at the higher end of their TV lines.
What does THX video certification mean to the end user?
THX certification doesn't promise that a certain TV is the best-looking display device in its class (some manufacturers may choose not to put their TVs through the testing process), nor does it guarantee that two THX-certified displays will look identical. The process leaves room for variances in areas like black level and color. What it does guarantee is that a certain display offers consistently good performance in all of the key areas, thus removing some of the guesswork during the buying process.
THX certification also removes some of the guesswork during the setup process. A certified display offers a THX Movie Mode that contains the optimal video settings for that product. Simply switch to this mode, and you can feel confident that your TV looks its best, with brightness, contrast, color, and other settings that are at or close to the settings that a professional calibrator would make (they might even be better). Some manufacturers, like Panasonic, give you the option to further tweak and calibrate the THX Movie Mode to dial in the exact picture you want; others, like LG, lock these settings in place to ensure that they aren't compromised.
Because video performance is arguably less subjective than audio performance, THX video certification might carry a little more weight than its audio counterpart for the shopper who wants assurance that he or she will be pleased with the product they've purchased. Is this peace of mind worth any potential price premium compared with a non-certified display? Only you can decide.
Keywords
THX, THX-certified, THX video certification, benchmarks, device performance, video signal processing, VESA, ANSI, SMPTE, Runco, LG, Panasonic, THX Movie Mode
