Runco Introduces Next Generation Digital Video Processor

New Model Establishes Benchmark for Quality and Performance

Las Vegas, Nevada….January 8, 2004….Runco International, the acknowledged leader in video display technologies for high-end home theater, announces the first of its next generation digital video processors. The all-new DHD-12 boasts 21st century design and engineering, with sophisticated processing capabilities, providing unprecedented performance.

“We designed this product to enhance all standard and HDTV material for widescreen viewing with perfection. This processor has multiple output capabilities and the ability to individually manipulate every type of signal, providing precision customization for every conceivable configuration with the greatest of ease. The DHD-12 is Runco’s most versatile processor to date, and will set the standard for enhanced video processing,” said Bob Hana, President of Runco.

The DHD-12 incorporates Runco’s new ViVix II™ digital video processing, with its digital and analog enhancement capability. The pure digital signal output sets this model apart from other video processors on the market today. Runco employs Orthogonal Line Correction to address time elapsed field video issues and eliminate artifacts. Multiple resolution output capability includes 480p, 576p, 720p and 1080i, as well as 1024 x 768, 1280 x 768, 1366 x 768 and 1280 x 1024, all with multiple aspect ratios.

The DHD-12 also incorporates proprietary 3:2 and 2:2 pulldown processing for maximum quality at both 50Hz and 60Hz playback from programming originating on film, and videophile-grade edge enhancement. To protect against 4:3 image burns when used with plasmas, the DHD-12 provides gray sidebars to greatly reduce or eliminate the possibility of causing burn-in damage to the display.

The DHD-12 comes with two DVI inputs fully compliant with HDCP (high-bandwidth digital content protection) protocols for copyrighted HD sources. To assure full performance in any system configuration, the DHD-12 is equipped with flexible input and output options. Incoming video is also accepted in an optional SDI (Serial Digital Interface), and standard RGBHV, Pr-Y-Pb, Composite, S-Video, and Component Video. In addition, an IR and RS232 system control interface and three 12-volt DC triggers are provided for seamless integration with automation systems.

Founded in 1987 and currently headquartered in Union City, California, Runco International is a market leader in state-of-the-art projection systems, flat-panel plasma monitors, video processors and other components for the consumer market. Runco’s innovations have won numerous awards and citations from the world press. Runco was the first company to introduce and market a line doubler with a multi-frequency projector in 1990 and also introduced the first multiple-aspect-ratio controller, the ARC-IV, to the Home Theater market. Recently, both of these features have become necessary for the new digital high definition capable televisions. For more information on Runco International, visit the Web at www.runco.com.

Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $6,995

Availability: First Quarter 2004

Runco Introduces New Single Chip 16:9 DLP Projector

New high-End Model Offers Top of Line Features/Performance at Attractive Price Point

Union City, CA….November 21, 2003….Runco International, the acknowledged leader in video display technologies for high-end home theater, introduces the new Reflection? VX-4000ci,a single chip projector based on Texas Instruments Digital Light Processing? technology. The VX-4000ci proudly follows the heritage of its sibling, the VX-5000ci, sharing a common chassis, light engine design and the spectacular lens shift capability that makes installation in difficult situations possible where other projectors would never have the flexibility to adapt to difficult installation environments.

The VX-4000ci boasts a native resolution of 1280 x 720 and a true 16:9 aspect ratio. The VX-4000ci is offered with a choice of six premium home theater lenses to accommodate a wide range of throw distance requirements. These home theater lenses are of superior optical design and quality for outstanding picture performance in situations where the cinema grade professional optics offered with the VX-5000ci are not required.

Runco has engineered its GEN 3 products, including the VX-4000ci, to make more efficient use of optical light engine design. Runco has implemented a host of advancements into this new engine to take full advantage of TI’s latest widescreen high definition DMD? (Digital Micromirror Device) chip.

“The VX-4000ci becomes Runco’s fifth model of single chip projector. We have provided the dealers with another high performance solution for tricky installations. The incredible flexibility provided by the horizontal and vertical lens shift combined with the efficient optical design, make the VX-4000ci a true value for those who don’t need cinema grade lenses,” said Bob Hana, President of Runco.
Among the advances Runco has developed are a sophisticated color balancing system resulting in the industry’s best gray scale tracking. Additionally, the VX-4000ci incorporates RVR? or Reflectance Volume Regulation, which provides for infinitely variable adjustment of the light path through the optics, enabling the perfect balance of black and white levels for each individual installation.

Measured using Runco’s extremely accurate Cinema Standards Measurement System (CSMS?) the result is a variable contrast ratio ranging from 165:1 – 179:1 (2500:1 to 3000:1)—depending on how the RVR system is calibrated and light output of 451-780 Home Theater Lumens (1500ANSI). The foot- Lambert light output of the VX-4000ci is 16.9 – 29.2 foot-Lamberts. Runco’s exclusive CSMS? specifications provide light output in both foot-Lamberts and Home Theater Calibration ANSI Lumens, where the measurement is taken from a properly calibrated projector using a specified screen, in a home theater environment.

The VX-4000ci also offers all of the extensive features needed to achieve outstanding image quality and operational ease, including a DVI input with HDCP copy protection decoding. The VX-4000ci is furnished with Runco’s award-winning PFP? Controller, for outstanding video processing, scaling and aspect ratio control.

Founded in 1987 and currently headquartered in Union City, California, Runco International is a market leader in state-of-the-art projection systems, flat-panel plasma monitors, video processors and other components for the consumer market. Runco’s innovations have won numerous awards and citations from the world press. Runco was the first company to introduce and market a line doubler with a multi-frequency projector in 1990 and also introduced the first multiple-aspect-ratio controller, the ARC-IV, to the Home Theater market. Recently, both of these features have become necessary for the new digital high definition capable televisions. For more information on Runco International, visit the Web at www.runco.com

MSRP: $19,995
Availability: January 2004

Runco Announces A Host of Technology Advancements
In the Gen 3 Projector Line

New Enhancements Propel Runco Projectors Ahead of the Pack

Las Vegas, Nevada…January 10, 2004…Runco International, the acknowledged leader in video display technologies for high-end home theater, announces a host of new innovations now featured in many of its current products, including the CL-710/710LT, VX-1000ci, VX-4000ci and VX-5000ci. Runco’s “Enhanced Gen 3? “technology results in even greater contrast, the lowest black levels in the industry and significant improvements to color purity. These advances are in addition to the fantastic performance refinements achieved with the advent of Gen 3 technology in 2003.

These new Enhanced Gen 3 improvements are implemented through a variety of advanced engineering triumphs, including our new “SuperOnyx?”, 16:9 Advanced Light Engine, incorporating TI’s latest DMD? chip technology with Dark Metal Process, 12 degree mirror tilt and redesigned hinge components. Complimenting the SuperOnyx chip refinements is an elevated chroma reproduction system for outstanding colorimetry and greater color purity.

In addition, the new Enhanced Gen 3 products include the Imaging Science Foundation’s “ISF 3c” (Certified Calibration Configuration) setup and calibration standards.

“In keeping with Runco tradition, we have chosen to incorporate these significant improvements in our existing models where applicable. This is an integral part of Runco’s ongoing philosophy of bringing the finest performance enhancements to our customers as rapidly as feasible,” said Ben Jamison, Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Runco’s Gen 3™ Technology
And New Enhancements for 2004

Gen 3™ technology consists of a number of engineering enhancements developed by Runco to deliver more efficient use of our DLP™ light engine design. This is achieved by implementing proprietary and unique methods to achieve superior images. Products using Gen 3 technology deliver improved black levels, better contrast ratios, more uniform gray scale tracking, better color temperature control and improved color saturation and fidelity.

Enhanced Gen 3 Features for 2004

Runco has enhanced its Gen 3 technology with a host of new innovations now featured in many of our current products, including the CL-710/710LT, VX-1000ci, VX-4000ci and VX-5000ci.

Runco’s “Enhanced Gen 3” technology results in even greater contrast, the lowest black levels in the industry and significant improvements to color purity. These advances are in addition to the fantastic performance refinements achieved with the advent of Gen 3 technology in late 2002.

These new Enhanced Gen 3 improvements are implemented through a variety of advanced engineering triumphs, including our new “SuperOnyx™” Advanced Light Engine. This Runco technical innovation incorporates TI’s latest HD-2+ DMD,™ Chip technology with a new Dark Metal Process, 12 degree mirror tilt and redesigned hinge components. Complimenting the SuperOnyx light engine refinements is an elevated chroma reproduction system for outstanding colorimetry and greater color purity.

In addition, the new Enhanced Gen 3 products incorporate Imaging Science Foundation’s “ISF 3c” (Certified Calibration Configuration) setup and calibration standards in projector GUI menus that facilitate picture quality conforming to the highest standards in the industry.

Runco’s Gen 3 products all have DVI inputs, which include HDCP copy protection decryption. While this new chip technology definitely contributes to improved image quality, it is only one part of the story. Overall picture quality depends upon the optimization of the total projector design, including the lens system/optics, the careful design of the entire optical light path, color-wheel filtration dynamics, precise color balancing capability, and superior digital video signal processing. Runco’s Gen 3 products collectively optimize all these factors to provide today’s best possible picture quality.

Optimizing Color

Runco’s Gen 3 products utilize a seven-segment color wheel. This type of color wheel was chosen for use in our Gen 3 products because it provides a very true color imaging model that creates the best balance of color accuracy, light output and black level. Many other projectors on the market opt to use a 4-segment color wheel to achieve greater light output. One tradeoff to this approach is that it raises black levels, resulting in degradation of picture quality and the introduction of undesirable moiré patterns resulting in what is known as a “rainbow effect”. Other methods of achieving greater light output utilize less saturated colors in their color-wheel components, resulting in less faithful and vivid color reproduction.

Runco has developed a proprietary nine-point color balancing control system that is used in all of its single chip DLP projectors. This unique Runco innovation consistently provides the best grayscale tracking in the industry- surpassing any CRT color tracking system and is as good or better than most 3 chip DLP projectors. There are three parameters that can be calibrated for gain, bias, and gamma, delivering uniform color temperature and unprecedented gray scale tracking.

Enhanced Gen 3 Technical Information Page Two

Optical Light Path

The optical light path is one of the most critical areas of any video projection system as it ultimately determines overall projector brightness, contrast ratio and most importantly, black levels. Runco has developed and incorporates another key technological innovation called “Reflectance Volume Regulation™”, into many of its Gen 3 projectors. This variable aperture control allows the installer to calibrate the projector for the best possible combination of black level and light output, to obtain the optimum image for any specific room environment where the projector is being installed. The aperture opening can be reduced to obtain superior black levels in a controlled lighting environment or increased to provide greater light output in environments with higher levels of ambient light. This feature is controlled mechanically on the VX-1000ci and is controlled electro-mechanically on Runco’s higher end single chip DLP projectors like the VX-5000ci.

Lens Systems

The lens system optics used with any projection technology is critical because it is this component array that controls the ability to fully resolve and optimize video signals and the resulting images, by creating a sharp pixel presentation. The dimple in the center of DMD™ pixels should be clearly defined; this is essential in projecting a clear, well-defined image without soft edges. The superior Home Theater and Cinema Grade lenses that Runco uses also do not produce color fringing. Most projectors built with standard lenses, usually plastic, exhibit chromatic aberrations and color fringing on image edges that result in the projector appearing to be slightly misconverged.

Runco’s Gen 3 projection display devices feature a range of professional, all-glass lenses of the same type that are also used in the best digital cinemas. The primary advantage of all-glass lenses is the ability to produce a highly detailed image without any chromatic aberrations or other optical distortions. This is very challenging in a single lens display device because the lens must focus the entire spectrum of RGB primary colors, which have different wavelengths, increasing the likelihood of chromatic aberrations. While the projector is limited by the resolution of the DMD, how well it can focus that resolution on the screen plays a large part in the final image quality.

Signal Processing

All of Runco’s Gen-3 projector products use Runco’s award winning ViViX™ video processing. Runco’s “Pixel for Pixel™” technology matches the output resolution, sync types and output format, to most efficiently drive the display unit. This prevents ‘double scaling’, which can cause a loss of resolution, or other unwanted artifacts often associated with other processors. This feature is one of the keys to turning an otherwise good, fixed-pixel display device, into a high quality video display suitable for the discriminating home theater enthusiast.

In addition, ViViX boasts other features that no other processor has, providing chrominance and luminance enhancement controls that increase sharpness without inducing ringing, as well as image shift and blanking capabilities that allow an image to fit perfectly on the screen. This remarkable image shift feature is designed for projectors that do not have lens shift capability, adding extended projector installation flexibility for the custom installer without the need to introduce keystone correction side effects to the image. Runco’s ten-bit video processing also makes the picture look brighter because of increased perceived contrast ratio.

Summary

It is important to understand when evaluating DLP projectors that even when comparing two projectors that use the same DMD chip, the HD-2 for instance, that all projectors won’t look the same. The final picture quality produced by each projector will vary significantly based on how well each system addresses all of the parameters that determine the final image quality.

Enhanced Gen 3 Technical Information Page Three

In addition to using the newest DLP technology available from Texas Instruments, Runco’s Gen 3 and Enhanced Gen 3 products have been designed from their inception utilizing proprietary Runco features and engineering to address all of the areas that contribute to superior image quality. This more effectively and efficiently increases the performance levels of our projectors.

The final result is the creation of a new generation of DLP projection systems that set new standards for video performance, ease of installation and use, and the ability to view virtually any source with the finest image reproduction available today.

Founded in 1987 and currently headquartered in Union City, California, Runco International is a market leader in state-of-the-art projection systems, flat-panel plasma monitors, video processors and other components for the consumer market. Runco’s innovations have won numerous awards and citations from the world press. Runco was the first company to introduce and market a line doubler with a multi-frequency projector in 1990 and also introduced the first multiple-aspect-ratio controller, the ARC-IV, to the Home Theater market. Recently, both of these features have become necessary for the new digital high definition capable televisions. For more information on Runco International, visit the Web at www.runco.com.