Creative and THX Ltd. Partner to Launch THX TruStudio PC for Desktop PCs, Notebooks and Netbooks

The Leader in PC Audio and the Leader in Ultra High-End Sound System Engineering Have Jointly Developed THX TruStudio PC to Allow OEMs to Deliver the Finest Sound Quality to Consumers

Milpitas, CA (Vocus) July 28, 2009

Creative and THX Ltd. today jointly announced their partnership and the co-development of THX TruStudio PC™, a suite of audio technology solutions that provide an unprecedented PC audio listening experience. These technologies enable a significant quality differentiation for OEM PC manufacturers that incorporate the solution into their PCs. The THX TruStudio PC suite of technologies features THX TruStudio PC Surround™, THX TruStudio PC Crystalizer™, THX TruStudio PC Speaker™, THX TruStudio PC Dialog Plus™ and THX TruStudio PC Smart Volume™.

"Creative's invention of EAX and positional audio on the PC and its sales of more than 300 million Sound Blaster sound cards drove innovation in PC gaming audio, forever changing the gaming experience with stunning audio realism in PC games. Now Creative has joined forces with THX to develop an entirely new level of listening experiences for music, movies, and games with TruStudio PC, utilizing the expertise each company has developed to break new grounds in the consumer experience. It's an amazing suite of audio technology solutions, providing a level of listening quality that consumers have never had before," said Steve Erickson, VP and GM of audio at Creative. "Now PC manufacturers can produce PCs that sound dramatically better and they can market this significant differentiation in sound quality by using the THX TruStudio PC brand, instead of differentiating by processor or memory capacity."

"We've worked with the world’s leading manufacturers of high-end home theatre and audio components to design systems that meet THX's exacting standards for sound quality. With the PC evolving into such a major entertainment platform in the home, we've joined the leader in PC audio, Creative, in co-developing a suite of solutions that enable PC manufacturers to bring our highest standards of audio quality to the PC. We're thrilled to take our audio engineering expertise with ultra high-end consumer electronics brands and products and bring consumers the best possible audio experience on the PC with TruStudio PC," said Mitch Gelman, COO of THX.

THX TruStudio PC
THX TruStudio PC is specially designed to bring the same great audio experience found in live performances, films, and recording studios to the PC. THX TruStudio PC provides groundbreaking technologies that are the product of years of collective experience and research by Creative and THX. Together, these technologies deliver the fullest audio experience for music, movies and games, while remaining true to the source and intention of the artists who created it.

THX TruStudio PC Surround
THX TruStudio PC Surround provides immersion control to enhance the natural sense of audio depth and spaciousness by creating virtual surround sound channels. Stereo content or multi-channel content played over stereo speakers and headphones will sound as if it’s coming from all sides while voices remain centered in front and original balance and timbre is preserved.

THX TruStudio PC Crystalizer
THX TruStudio PC Crystalizer restores the natural dynamic range that is lost when iTunes and MP3 music gets compressed. This makes the music sounds as good as the artist originally intended, and adds an enhanced level of realism for movies and games.

THX TruStudio PC Speaker
THX TruStudio PC Speaker fills in the missing low frequency tones and gives the extra impact for a better entertainment experience. Consumers no longer have to tolerate lack of bass in speakers built into notebook PCs, 2.0 speakers or headphones, as THX TruStudio PC Speaker technology dramatically improves the sound experience without a subwoofer.

THX TruStudio PC Dialog Plus
THX TruStudio PC Dialog Plus enhances the voices in movies for clearer dialog, allowing the listener to hear the dialog over the rest of the soundtrack and over ambient noise in the listening environment.

THX TruStudio PC Smart Volume
THX TruStudio PC Smart Volume addresses the problem of abrupt volume level changes during playback and between songs by automatically and continuously measuring volume, and intelligently applying gain and attenuation to compensate for those changes.

For more information visit http://www.creative.com or http://www.thx.com.

About Creative
Creative is a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products. Famous for its Sound Blaster® sound cards and for launching the multimedia revolution, Creative is now driving digital entertainment on the PC platform with products like its highly acclaimed ZEN MP3 and portable media players. Creative's innovative hardware, proprietary technology, applications and services leverage the Internet, enabling consumers to experience high-quality digital entertainment—anytime, anywhere.

About THX Ltd.
THX Ltd. was founded by filmmaker George Lucas to improve the way movie audiences experience the sights and sounds of feature films on the silver screen. The goal, then and now, is to continually improve the entertainment experience through strict engineering performance standards, innovative product designs and breakthrough technologies. Leading companies from around the globe count on THX to help them create better, more innovative products and services. For more information, visit http://www.thx.com.

This announcement relates to products launched in the United States. Availability is subject to change without notice and may differ elsewhere in the world according to local factors and requirements. Sound Blaster, Crystalizer, Smart Volume and ZEN are trademarks or registered trademarks of Creative Technology Ltd in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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