# THX Training Program



## thewire (Jun 28, 2007)

I have the opportunity to go and try and complete a THX training program. Has anyone done this and if so, did you find it helpful in finding a job?


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

Never heard of it. Where is it at... what are the details... tell us more!


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## thewire (Jun 28, 2007)

I could maybe get a job at a nearby home theater store which I was interviewed at before but I had found another job sooner. I am able to work during the summer months but some places actually stay open year round which would be even better. I could do something like that next year. I'm sure maybe even a place that does not just specialize in home theater (the home theater one closes for winter) would like this as well for their installers. They were not hiring for installers last year at places I checked around my area. I am not sure how advanced it is if like if I would have to write out things short hand or if calculators and instruments would be part of the program. I am not to good at doing math short hand. I am very skilled with computers however. I will try contacting them or someone that is familiar with it to get better details eventually. There is a seminar in Chicago I would like to attend next year. It seems like every year I plan to go but I end up forgetting. I need to mark it on a calender or I could have a website send me an email reminder. I wonder when CEDIA will visit the midwest again. 

http://www.thx.com/training/tech2.html



Description - 



thx.com said:


> Pre-requisite: Successful completion of THX Certified Home Theater Technician Training I Program. If space is available, Tech I and Tech II training classes can be taken in succession.
> 
> The THX Certified Home Theater Technician II Program is geared for designers and installers who are planning a career in home theater design, installation, testing and calibration.
> 
> ...


Events -



thx.com said:


> 11/9/2007 - THX Certified Home Theater Technician Level I (EHX) - Long Beach, CA, USA [register]
> 
> 1/10/2008 - THX Certified Home Theater Technician Level I (CES) - Las Vegas, NV, USA [register]
> 
> ...


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

That looks like a pretty extensive course... I'd go for it. :T


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## eugovector (Sep 4, 2006)

Wow, that looks like fun. Too bad the NJ dates have come and gone. How much does it cost?


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## Captain Crunch (Apr 2, 2007)

That does look like a good time............HMMMMMMMMM no east cost on there though :hissyfit:


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## thewire (Jun 28, 2007)

eugovector said:


> Wow, that looks like fun. Too bad the NJ dates have come and gone. How much does it cost?


It is listed currently as $1200.00 for the two days. I am waiting for them to return my email so I can see about how I might want to travel, where I will stay overnight, and if whether they will feed us or not. Depending on those cost it can add up quickly. It is an annual $50.00 to renew the certification.


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## eugovector (Sep 4, 2006)

thewire said:


> It is listed currently as $1200.00 for the two days.


 And I'm out. It was a nice dream until you woke me up.


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

I feel the same way. Many of these expensive certification courses are hard to justify. We have a guy here who is THX certified and I forgot more about audio than he ever knew. I have a great respect for Tom Holman and what he tried to do with THX, but it is often little more than an expensive logo for sales people to hang on their business card. I have the same issue with ISF. I have been studying color theory and calibrating displays for almost 30 years. Is it worth it to pay them that kind of money for a couple of days of mostly what I already know?


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## thewire (Jun 28, 2007)

I ordered the recommended book to study.


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## thxgoon (Feb 23, 2007)

They used to do this training at Skywalker Ranch. That's worth the price of admission alone!


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## thewire (Jun 28, 2007)

I am now enrolled for the first course which is Tech Level 1. For Tech Level 2 I will need to come up with half the cost.


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## Tristanc1 (Jul 5, 2006)

I think at the very worst something like this will stand out on a resume and would also show a certain level of dedication which I'd imagine would be a good thing. Good for putting customers at ease as well, especially if you're a younger guy it's tough to be taken seriously at times and Joe Blow I think would identify with the THX name, more so than say Cedia or ISF, even though the later 2 seem to be more intensive. Just my $.02


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

There is nothing wrong with getting any training and certification that you can, but these courses are unlikely to do more than begin to prepare one for the field, where experience is gained. There is no substitute for experience. I was doing more effective calibrations for years before my ISF training, and that certification did little to improve my skills and knowledge. It served a purpose, but it does not mean that one is competent, nor does it say anything about one's desire to get the job done right.


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## mdrake (Jan 31, 2008)

This would be an interesting course. What is the recommend reading? I would love to buy the book.

Matt


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## Tristanc1 (Jul 5, 2006)

> There is nothing wrong with getting any training and certification that you can, but these courses are unlikely to do more than begin to prepare one for the field, where experience is gained. There is no substitute for experience. I was doing more effective calibrations for years before my ISF training, and that certification did little to improve my skills and knowledge. It served a purpose, but it does not mean that one is competent, nor does it say anything about one's desire to get the job done right.


Agreed, there is no substitute for experience, but certification such as this can be a good way to get your foot in the door. I know in my area the higher end places won't even look at you unless you have some kind of certification, the two being cedia and or ISF, and that's just for lower end installer jobs. Which is a shame I think, before I started building my theater I took a look through the books required for the Cedia level one stuff, and found most of it to be horribly out of date..They're coming out with a new edition in the fall, but still this industry moves along so quickly... Which is where I think you're right about the experience, if you're not out there getting hands on time with all the newer tech then I think you'll find your certification to be pretty useless pretty fast particularly if you're in the industry for a long period of time.


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## thewire (Jun 28, 2007)

Well the store nearby I wanted to work at closed so I have to look elsewhere for experience. There are some other places slightly farther away I will see about. 

As far as experience at least I have some on online forums and I have been doing so since I was about 16 years old (thats since before there was even AVSforum) so keeping up with technology is not much of anything new to me. Just needed to change my screen name a couple times, once when they reset all members, to clear out all those really beginner questions.  An independently ran business has already contacted me regarding a job but I have not received emails from him or called in awhile. I plan to call him back and he is aware of my training. Also there is the wife of a store manager my mother is friends with where I am pretty much guaranteed to at least be looked at for a job. I have been rejected before online but they told me if I had certification, (a requirement) my resume was already impressive enough that they would consider me for an interview. I will probably have to move.

Then there is the more personal reasons like my greatgrandfather funding the first movie that started MGM, my grandfather repairing things for the local flee market in his spare time etc. My uncle runs a studio for a television station where he is a reporter so I might work there also. There are ways to go and lots to learn but the course is more about recognition and getting my foot in the door. The other classes cost more as well.


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## thewire (Jun 28, 2007)

mdrake said:


> This would be an interesting course. What is the recommend reading? I would love to buy the book.
> 
> Matt


Master Handbook of Acoustics. MHOA.


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

IME, the most practical training for someone trying to get into the business is CEDIA boot camp.


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## thewire (Jun 28, 2007)

I can respect that. For CEDIA don't you need to have graduated college? I am about 7 or so credits away.


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

No.


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## thewire (Jun 28, 2007)

Thats good. Must have been a management position I was thinking of previously that had required a degree. I will consider the CEDIA training also then. The hotel I am staying at where the "THX marketing" will take place is around 350.00 dollars for the night.:spend:


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## thewire (Jun 28, 2007)

Here are some photos of my trip to Chicago. The lobby had a strem and waterfall. The plasma only had shows that cost extra so I never used that. I did take advantage of the wireless internet. I have a contact now with a Yamaha employee in Singapore. There were 10 people total at the training event but 155 showed in China. Breakfast isn't all we had but these are all the photos taken.























































I missed a history question. History has always been my most difficult subject of mine. I know it is what I missed because I realized the correct answer after I took the test.










I have a THX Demo Disc 2 but no wall plague yet. :sad:


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

So how about a report on what was covered, what you learned, and the overall value that you perceive in the experience?


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## eugovector (Sep 4, 2006)

Ditto...I would hate to think an unused plasma was the most notable part.


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## thewire (Jun 28, 2007)

Well my knowledge is very advanced by comparison to most of what was taught and IMO it might be considered basic, but well covered. The session lasted one hour more than scheaduled. Topics that I found inderesting were those that envolve the THX primary objectives, how they operate, and what the current pursual of advancement will be. I learned where technology is going and what to expect. I also undertand small rooms much better than before and what a THX Ultra/Ultra2 certification means versus a THX Select/Select2 for example. The criteria also is much more envolving in more so than I had expected to get a good sounding room, and is not as strict as I had thought. The standards are somewhat relaxed in a THX select system and you don't need a THX Ultra system to meet the recommendations. For example you might have a THX select setup in a large room that simply does not play as loud. The reverse is also true that an Ultra system may be a small room which I also found interesting. There is a difference in the features, or what the subwoofers will do for example. It has been a very eye opening experience. I was not able to stay for the Tech 2 class where hands on experience and more in-depth training took place, but in all respect, every topic was covered. There is also a very good list of furthur reading material besides the Master Handbook Of Acoustics that I now know to read.


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## thewire (Jun 28, 2007)

By the way there will likely be a THX certified home theater certification program by this time next year. There is more time for me to finish the courses and study furthur before then.


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