Impossible in Theory

Thursday, July 14, 2011

By James Wood

“A symptom of the revolution: When we state something is impossible in theory, but then change our minds when we discover that it is possible in practice.” ~ Seth Godin

It’s easy to sit back and say that things are impossible. It’s an excuse to not try. If something’s just not possible then it needs no thought, no action. But the world has been shaped by people who dare to challenge the limits of what’s possible. Heavier than air flight, the light bulb, the four minute mile, and a global computer network are just a few possibilities that were once thought impossible. Nearly every story in the history books is about someone standing toe-to-toe with impossible and wrestling success out of its grasp.

Impossible takes a long time to realize, but before too long it becomes the new standard. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) were first created in 1927, but it wasn’t until the late 60s and early 70s that the technology became inexpensive enough for mass production. But the energy efficient, solid-state light sources were always too dim for anything except indicator lights. It was considered impossible to use them as a significant source of light.

But now LEDs are brighter than ever and keep increasing in brightness all the time. The once dim-bulbs are now at the head of the class in new technologies like the Runco InfiniLight™ LED Projectors. Because LEDs are solid state, they won’t burn out and don’t need to be replaced like typical lamp projectors. They don’t produce the same level of heat because the LEDs are more efficient at turning electricity into light without waste, and with Runco’s image processing, they modulate to match the color and brightness intensity of each frame. That efficiency results in a 70% drop in power consumption over lamp projectors. Just a few years ago all those things would be considered impossible. Not anymore.

The Infinilight technology pioneered by Runco gives not only consistent, bright light over the life of a projector, but the widest range of colors ever seen. Not only is there a myriad of colors, but the colors are accurate to what you’re viewing due to the color calibration that happens automatically every time you power on your Runco projector. Stop worrying about warm up or cool down time. Instead, turn the projector on and off instantly when you want to watch a movie or when you’re ready to leave.

At Runco, the impossible isn’t a barrier but a starting point. Anyone can do what’s always been done. Most people look at the impossible and see it as the place to stop. History makers see a challenge to be overcome and a new standard to be set. Let the home theater revolution begin!

Distinct Flavors

Friday, July 08, 2011

By James Wood

If you’ve ever gone to Taco Bell, you might notice something about the food. It’s essentially the same ingredients packaged in slightly different ways: meat, cheese and tortilla. Tacos, burritos, gorditas or tostadas are all basically the same food in slightly different packaging. It all tastes the same and it all tastes like Taco Bell.

Not long ago I wanted to share one of the classics of cinema with some friends. Sam Rami’s Army of Darkness in which Bruce Campbell travels back in time to fight the hordes of Evil Dead with his “boom stick.” We sat down in front of their brand-new high definition, flat screen TV and began to watch the movie. It didn’t take more than a few minutes for me to notice that something was wrong. Things looked, well, weird. My best description was that things looked soap-opera-ey. Everything looked flat and over-lit.

I didn’t want to be a bad guest so I finished watching the movie, but the whole time I was noticing the odd way that this movie appeared on my friends TV. Later on I did some research to figure out what was going on. Their TV had a low quality video processor in it that tried to up-convert the standard definition DVD to high definition. The result was that everything looked the same.

The problem is that movies are made to be blurry at times. When you’re watching the final game of the NCAA tournament you want every detail to be crisp, so a high refresh rate is just the thing. But movies are made by directors who want to show you their vision of the world. Sam Rami used blurring during camera pans to hide some of the special effects flaws. Making the background fuzzy in relation to the foreground is a way that directors draw our attention to the important elements in the story. But with the overly high refresh rate on their run-of-the-mill television flattened it out and all the details looked the same.

A cheap video processor is the same as a cheap fast food meal. Just like everything on the menu at Taco Bell tastes the same, all the images on my friends TV looked pretty much identical. But Runco DHD video controllers are more like a chef at a fine restaurant than the kid at Taco Bell. Each flavor in an exquisite meal is distinct and pairs well with the other flavors to create a total experience that is far beyond any one of the components.

If the incoming signal is a grainy like old black-and-white film, the DHD won’t wash out all of the character the director poured into the celluloid, but rather massage it and present it beautifully. Standard definition DVDs, HD Sports, old movies and cutting edge Blu-ray blockbusters are all seamlessly brought to life on a Runco flat panel or projector without losing the flavor of the original.

WindowWall Installation by Runco Dealer: Premiere Systems

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Runco dealer, Premiere Systems in Chicago, IL installed a 2x2 Runco WindowWall LCD Video Wall in the Bentwood Kitchens showroom, in the Merchandise Mart.