Audio Video News

Audio Heavyweight Holman to Join Apple

Mark Fleischmann  |  May 18, 2011

Another day, another Apple rumor. Surround audiophiles may find today's rumor especially juicy: R. Tomlinson Holman, who was instrumental in developing THX, may be about to take a job with Apple.

If this is true, it suggests Apple may be planning a major audio-related move, one in which the help of a certified home theater audio heavyweight would be indispensable.

The news, if that's what it is, came from TWiT host Leo Laporte, who tweeted: "I have it on good authority that Tomlinson Holman (of THX fame) is joining Apple to run audio. Major upgrade."

Further details are scanty but we do know for sure what Holman has done in the past. During his 15 years at Lucasfilm, he took the lead in creating THX, whose certification program is now a sought-after feature in surround receivers and other audio products. The acronym actually stands for Tom Holman's eXperiment.

Later Holman staged the first height-enhanced 10.2-channel surround demo (which incidentally used the Mac OS). He holds 23 audio patents that have been licensed to more than 45 companies. Currently he is Professor of Film Sound at the USC School of Cinema-Television.

See Twitter.

COMMENTS
Colin Robertson's picture
Submitted by Colin Robertson on May 19, 2011 - 3:14am

While I genuinely appreciate all that Apple has done for the music and audio industries, I can only hope that the addition of someone like Holman will have a positive effect on the ultimate sound quality of Apple's devices and services. Perhaps they will develop a revolutionary sound processor that can be used in everything from an iPad to an Apple TV and even licensed for use in receivers much like AirPlay. A processor that makes bouncing iTunes throughout the home and with better quality and ease of use could be nifty!

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