THX System demonstration disc, Laserdisc, Lucasfilm. USA, 1992

Known as the "THX WOW!" disc, this laserdisc was meant to show off the superior image and sound of a THX-certified home theater. As such, it was never issued for stand-alone sale, but came bundled with high-end, THX-certified amplifiers and speakers. "This disc is for use on THX audio systems only", the back cover defiantly states. The so-called "WOW!" montage of Lucasfilm movies and John Williams' music is thrilling, and at 8 minutes it doesn't overstay its welcome. Following that there are promotional presentations and demos of the THX system, as well as the "Soundtrack!" featurette on sound recording and mixing. The featurette is marvelous, as it provides some behind-the-scenes footage from Star Wars and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, as well as raw audio of David Prowse delivering Darth Vader's lines on set. The rest of the disc features test-signals to properly calibrate your THX home theater. The disc is somewhat scarce, but not too hard to find and not off-the-wall expensive. I got my first copy working in a Hi-Fi store in 2000, and bought a second one just for kicks off eBay (where else?) ten years later. Make sure you get the two inserts that should be included. I didn't.

Assorted screenshots:

Copyright notice	Table of Contents Side 1	WOW! demo	WOW! demo
WOW! demo	WOW! demo	WOW! demo	WOW! demo
WOW! demo	WOW! demo	WOW! demo	WOW! demo credits
Home THX presentation	Home THX presentation	Home THX presentation	Home THX presentation
THX sound demos	THX sound demos	THX sound demos	THX sound demos
THX sound demos	THX sound demos credits	Table of Contents Side 2	Soundtrack! featurette
Soundtrack! featurette	Soundtrack! featurette	Soundtrack! featurette	Soundtrack! featurette
Soundtrack! featurette	Soundtrack! featurette	Soundtrack! featurette credits	Test tones
Test tones	Test tones	Test signals	Test signals