Report: THX training at CEDIA 09

AVForums content manager and hardware reviewer Phil Hinton reports on the THX Home Theater 1 training class at CEDIA 09.

Even though I am not a custom installer and will never likely build or design a professional home theatre, the THX training course has always appealed to me as a way to further enhance my technical knowledge and confirm those areas of expertise I already have a grasp of. The thing about the AV World is, you will never know everything and learning is an important part of anyone’s career connected with the industry. The THX course is rarely available in the UK and people travel far and wide to attend the courses. Indeed, on our course today were students from Scandinavia and India to name just two.

In the past the training courses were held at the famous Skywalker Ranch, but with THX splitting from Lucasfilm those days are sadly gone. However, that doesn’t take away from the prestige of the standards based approach of the THX philosophy. Ask any of the 43 custom installers present about why they were attending the course and the overwhelming answer is to be certified by THX, and gain the right to display their badge. And even though the certified professional home theatre 1 course in an introduction to world of THX, it is pitched at the right level where important information is taught in preparation for the student to go on and complete the remaining 9 days of training courses available.

So what does the THX home theatre 1 training involve and what skills will the student come away with at the end of a long day?

The course trainer was John Dahl, director of education for THX and someone who enthusiasts and professionals will be aware of. John himself stated that he has been with the company forever and the original tutor for THX classes. John certainly knows his subject and was full of interesting antidotes and masses of information and advice. I guess what John doesn’t know about the subject of home theatre standards and design is not worth knowing. We were treated to some in-depth but easy to follow examples of the technical aspects of sound and vision design and implementation.

The course started out by exploring just who THX are and their goals, standards and technologies. This covered everything from venue certification, product approval and certification, THX optimiser, video product certification program and the main technical learning areas of acoustics and home cinema design. It was a long day and those who attended displayed a real enthusiasm to be present at 9am on a Sunday (fathers day). That and the fact that over 40 professionals had paid for the course gave an idea of how important the course was seen to be. And I think it is safe to say that everyone that did attend came away with more knowledge than they had entered with.

Of course its not just a case of turning up and sitting through the one day class, but there is also a 60 question exam that everyone has to sit and pass before they can call themselves a THX professional. We have yet to see the exam as the weblink will be mailed in the next few days and students are given just three weeks to complete it.

So, like any course subject the student gets out of it, what they are prepared to put in and, of course pass the exam. That doesn’t mean that those who pass are instantly experts on everything covered, but it does provide the groundwork for those installers and journalists present to further develop their knowledge and skill base. Plus it gives the student some credibility that they have sat the course and proven that they now have the knowledge base to move to the next level.

With Home Theater 1 out of the way, those who attended now have the options to further progress through the THX training courses with Home Theater level 2 and a full video calibration course. And unlike some other courses in the industry, the THX pass marks and examinations are challenging to pass. Indeed the video calibration part of the training requires students to go away and perform 10 calibrations and send the results to THX for checking. This allows the company to make sure that the skills learnt are being put to the correct uses and offers some quality control.

We are hoping that John will be in a position to bring Level 2 and the Calibration courses to the UK in the next 12 months.

The THX Home Theater level 1 training is certainly worthwhile and will add to an installer and journalist’s knowledge base. It gives a better understanding of the THX goals and the skill set that the individual can offer in terms of acoustics, video and home cinema design.

All I have to do now is put my money where my mouth is and pass the exam and hopefully be in a position to take the further extended classes. If you are a custom installer or AV professional looking for an all in one package of acoustics and video calibration training, you should hunt down the next THX Theater 1 course, and look to further not only your skill level but also the potential of being THX certified in your role.

For me this training reinforced that for exceptional sound and vision you have to follow industry standards as laid out by THX (Who follow SMPTE and ITU). Indeed, the THX approach mirrors our technical standards for reviewing products at AVForums so the training certainly was relevant.

My thanks to John Dahl and THX for the opportunity to take this training course and fingers crossed that Home Theatre 2 and the video calibration classes follow soon.

For more information on THX education classes please visit: www.thx.com/training

Blog post by: Phil Hinton.