THX, Lexicon Official Response Regarding BD Player Certification
Read This First: Pics and Benchmark Tests, Showing the Players are Identical
THX's Official Response
"The major focus of the THX Certified Blu-ray Disc Player certification is on video performance. THX engineers conduct in-depth analysis of image quality and signal processing to ensure Blu-ray disc players present accurate color, contrast, and black/white levels without softening the picture or producing digital artifacts. The testing is rigorous, precise and few players can meet our specification. Generally, we believe that the Blu-ray player will be connected via HDMI to an AV Receiver and Display in the home theater chain, eliminating the need to use analog interconnects."
On January 19th, 2010, THX sent us a second follow up email asking that we mention the fact that the BD-30 is capable of outputting PCM over HDMI which allows the new high definition audio formats to be reproduced on Lexicon rigs at the correct THX levels with preserved headroom.
Our rebuttal:
Thanks for responding to our article. Perhaps if THX discloses more testing metrics, consumers can better
understand the value in your certification. We conducted rigorously testing of the stock Oppo
BDP-83 and it passed all of our video tests with flying colors. Since the
Lexicon = Oppo player from our observation, we can conclude that Oppo did a
great job with their stock player and although they didn’t pay a licensing fee
to THX, it's essentially a THX player. Ordinarily we'd agree the focus should be placed on HDMI audio and video pass through with Blu-ray players. However, to our knowledge, Lexicon doesn't currently ship a processor that decodes Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD formats. Thus a consumer purchasing an entire THX certified Lexicon rig is forced to use the BD-30's analog outputs to decode these high definition audio formats in their native form. Since the BD-30 doesn't meet the critical 80Hz crossover point and slopes mandated by THX, the consumer is essentially not achieving that THX experience in their homes that they are paying for. In our opinion, this should be cause for concern.
Alternatively, a fellow Lexicon owner on AVS Forum pointed out that the end user can in fact have the BD-30 player do the transcoding and pass the multi channel PCM data out of the HDMI output where the processor can do the bass management and D/A conversion. Assuming THX still tests the bass management circuitry of A/V processors and receivers that they certify, this can be a viable option to consider, though perhaps not as seamless as the actual A/V processor doing the decoding. To our knowledge, no Lexicon processor supports 192 kHz / 24 bit audio so for those instances, the user may still wish to consider using the analog connections to achieve the highest possible resolution.
Oppo Official Response
January 19th, 2010
We received an email from Oppo stating they did work directly with THX during the certification process for the Lexicon BD-30. They allowed us to publish the following statement.
"Oppo worked directly with THX to improve video performance during the testing of the Lexicon
player and the benefits trickled down to the Oppo platform as well. We also worked directly with Lexicon engineers for various issues they discovered during their internal tests."
In light of this fact we are pleased to see there was direct involvement from all three parties to produce such a wonderfully performing platform. We do however hope the analog bass management issues we discovered on the Lexicon player will be addressed by Lexicon engineers to better support their customers using legacy analog THX equipment that doesn't have bass management facilities.
Lexicon's Response
Lexicon had a call scheduled with us for 2PM on Friday the 15th of January, but decided that a written response would be more suited to our readers and will be sending us something soon which we will post here. They have been very courteous to-date and emphasized their emphasis on the CE Channel, which we certainly understand.
Where Did the THX Certification Go?
One final observation. When this products was announced and displayed at last year's 2009 CEDIA Expo in Atlanta, Georgia, there was a lot of hoopla about it being the world's first THX-certified Blu-ray player. There were dozens of websites which posted the release. Here are just a few, not including our own:
What is a mystery to us now, is that suddenly we can find no mention of THX certification on Lexicon's own website. The original press release seems unavailable and the specs, description and product page are bereft of any mention of THX. There is even a (date-less) press release on the BD-30 which speaks nary a word of the THX certification. The THX website still has a brief mention of the original 2009 CEDIA THX announcement on the bottom its CEDIA page, but the link, which is supposed to go to a page offering more info, instead goes to a release on Panasonic Viera HDTVs. THX certification on this Lexicon product, for all intents and purposes, appears (we do not know this as fact) to be scrubbed. Whether this is a result of our investigative review or not, we're not certain, but it does seem to indicate that at least something is going on. We're hoping an official statement on this will be made at some point. The product appears to be selling as THX-certified. This is backed up at least historically in marketing literature and press releases to this effect. If this is no longer the case then consumers and CE installers need to be informed so they can have clarification in order to make appropriate purchase decisions.
THX certainly seemed to think the Lexicon was THX certified
Our review sample certainly had the appearance of possessing a THX certification
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Dear Audioholics:
A couple of questions about your reviews and company. Do you get paid advertising on your web site magazine by the companies whose equipment you review, for instance from Oppo and Lexicon?
Do they send you samples gratis for review or do you purchase the equipment using your own funds? If ‘loaned’ do you have to return the equipment?
As a former subscriber of Hi Fidelity, Stereo Review and Consumer Reports your answers will allow me to properly judge your impartiality. After reading your comments about Lexicon, and their apparent outright fraud, you treated them far more civilly than I would have.
Chris
debauchee69, post: 828429
The business of America is BUSINESS and the foundation of American Business is INTEGRITY. Once it is questioned, it is never recovered (e.g. Portfidio Tequila, Beeches ‘Apple Flavoured’ Apple juice', etc.).
Everyone uses everybody's parts and designs and that is a given in the Electronics business, especially the high-end consumer electronics business. Lexicon didn't do that—they took a $500.00 unit and dropped it into a $3,500.00 unit and palmed it off as their own!!!
I don't have a problem taking one company's product and tweeking it to make it better. ModSquad made a ton of money tweeking ordinary MAGNAVOX CD players and the well heeled consumer paid out the nose for said tweeks.
I have a problem with Lexicon taking a $500.00 OppoBD83 andpalming it off as their own. There is no excuse for what Lexicon did—they could have put in point to point 9999.9 silver wire and leads, put in better caps and beefed up the suspension or power supply and still pocket about $2K. Lexicon didn't do that—it slapped on a $65.00 aluminum front place and a darker blue lt and called it a $3,500.00 Lexicon. In my mind, that is called t-h-e-f-t!!!
There is another villian in this (I can't really spank OPPO because they could claim ignorance in the con and I wouldn't be able to say otherwise ALTHOUGH THEY HAD AN OBLIGATION TO INSPECT THE LEXICON DB30 AND ASK WTF?!!) and that villian is Mr. George Lucus (THX Certification).
Lucus is the GATEKEEPER OF THE PROCESS. Had THX did its job with due dilligence in testing, THX would have prevented this con taking place. You can't blame OPPO because no OPPO piece is THX certified. Had LexicIon spent the money to bring the OPPO BD83 into THX spec, it could justify the $3K expense (kinda sorta). I now question the integrity of the THX badging process—since the specs aren't published (propriety info) how do we know ANY THX badge meets THX specs?
Why am I wringing my hands over this? I just came into a sizeable amount of money and I have allocated $50K just on my Home Cinema and another $200K on my ‘Music Conservatry’ (Mr. Plumb, the Candlestick, yada,yada,yada). Go on, ask me if I will be using Lexicon products? Ask me if I will bother with THX certification?!!! This is why America is in decline—profits over integrity!
Maybe you didn't notice, but this thread is over a YEAR old. The story is old and the flames have long since died out and new grass has already grown. Oppo doesn't even make the 83 anymore… So you are wringing your hands for no reason. OR, you are just spamming for no reason.
santeini, post: 703268
Curiosity killed the cat,greed killed ………………….?
The business of America is BUSINESS and the foundation of American Business is INTEGRITY. Once it is questioned, it is never recovered (e.g. Portfidio Tequila, Beeches ‘Apple Flavoured’ Apple juice', etc.).
Everyone uses everybody's parts and designs and that is a given in the Electronics business, especially the high-end consumer electronics business. Lexicon didn't do that—they took a $500.00 unit and dropped it into a $3,500.00 unit and palmed it off as their own!!!
I don't have a problem taking one company's product and tweeking it to make it better. ModSquad made a ton of money tweeking ordinary MAGNAVOX CD players and the well heeled consumer paid out the nose for said tweeks.
I have a problem with Lexicon taking a $500.00 OppoBD83 andpalming it off as their own. There is no excuse for what Lexicon did—they could have put in point to point 9999.9 silver wire and leads, put in better caps and beefed up the suspension or power supply and still pocket about $2K. Lexicon didn't do that—it slapped on a $65.00 aluminum front place and a darker blue lt and called it a $3,500.00 Lexicon. In my mind, that is called t-h-e-f-t!!!
There is another villian in this (I can't really spank OPPO because they could claim ignorance in the con and I wouldn't be able to say otherwise ALTHOUGH THEY HAD AN OBLIGATION TO INSPECT THE LEXICON DB30 AND ASK WTF?!!) and that villian is Mr. George Lucus (THX Certification).
Lucus is the GATEKEEPER OF THE PROCESS. Had THX did its job with due dilligence in testing, THX would have prevented this con taking place. You can't blame OPPO because no OPPO piece is THX certified. Had LexicIon spent the money to bring the OPPO BD83 into THX spec, it could justify the $3K expense (kinda sorta). I now question the integrity of the THX badging process—since the specs aren't published (propriety info) how do we know ANY THX badge meets THX specs?
Why am I wringing my hands over this? I just came into a sizeable amount of money and I have allocated $50K just on my Home Cinema and another $200K on my ‘Music Conservatry’ (Mr. Plumb, the Candlestick, yada,yada,yada). Go on, ask me if I will be using Lexicon products? Ask me if I will bother with THX certification?!!! This is why America is in decline—profits over integrity!
“The major focus of the THX Certified Blu-ray Disc Player certification is on video performance.”
Uhh, then why does THX do that cute little short with the robot and the cow-sound-can at the beginning? Seems like audio.