THX, a high-fidelity audio-visual reproduction standard, has filed a lawsuit against Apple before a federal court in Northern California, alleging patent infringement, Bloomberg reported yesterday.
THX was founded by the famous Star Wars producer George Lucas, who used to control the company through his Lucasfilm enterprise between 1983-2001.
THX is now independent and no further details, including a copy of the complaint, were available at press time. Neither Apple nor THX would comment on the news…
San Rafael, California-based THX on January 29 launched its first iOS application which allows people to calibrate their home theater setup using custom video test patterns, carefully selected photos and tutorials to “help you adjust and confirm the best picture settings on your display based on your room lighting.”
The application also taps special test sounds to check external speakers in order to make sure they are working in phase and are connected properly for 2-channel stereo or 5.1 surround sound systems.
THX was developed back in 1983 by Tomlinson Holman at George Lucas-owned Lucasfilm with the specific purpose of ensuring that the soundtrack for Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi would be reproduced accurately in movie theaters.
The name THX is a homage Lucas’s first movie project titled THX 1138. THX’s famous ‘Deep Note’ string you hear in cinemas was created by Holman’s coworker James A. Moorer.
Lucasfilm Ltd. spun off THX Ltd. as an independent entity in 2001.