Oliver Stone is one of the most influential filmmakers of all time with legendary screen credits including films such as Platoon, JFK, Wall Street, and Midnight Express. His works have won a total of nine Academy Awards^® and nine Golden Globes^® along with a gamut of other honors. Stone demands the best for his films, and the displays used in his home theater are no exception. When it came time to upgrade his personal theater in May 2011 with a new 3-chip DLP projector and 65-inch LCD flat-panel display, Stone selected a Runco projector and Runco LCD flat-panel display because they offer the same quality and performance as he would find in a professional cinema.

“The Runco projector I recently installed in my home provides as close an experience I’ve had to being in a top-flight motion picture theater”, stated Stone. “The flat panel display has an amazing image quality that draws me in. You will end up watching more movies than you think and falling in love once more with films you saw a long time ago. It’s been a journey through time of rediscovery for me.”

Known for using several different camera and film formats, often in the same film, Stone’s eye for cinema goes beyond the traditional views and delves into a much deeper understanding of cinematography. Because of the different film formats and edgy camera angles, his films provide unique viewing experiences that can only be recreated using the best video products available.

Committed to excellence, Runco has been the pioneer of the home theater experience for more than 30 years and has continued to redefine the luxury home theater. Always striving to offer the pinnacle home theater products has allowed Runco to bring its customers a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience in their homes. Creating a synthesis of design and engineering, Runco offers the most technologically-advanced displays backed by a commitment to products and service that is unprecedented in the industry and unparalleled in video displays. Hand built to each customer’s exact home theater specifications provides a unique, completely customized viewing experience that is envied by most.

Runco^®, a Planar Systems (NASDAQ: PLNR) brand and a leading video provider to the luxury home, is pleased to announce its participation in an exciting new TV series from the DIY Network. Set to be unveiled at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and will premiere in June 2011, the DIY Network’s Hollywood Hi-Tech (wt) show will follow lifestyle-technology expert Janna Robinson as she uses innovative gear to give celebrities’ homes the ultimate high-tech makeover. The series will feature A-listers including reality-TV star Khloe Kardashian, basketball champion Lamar Odom, Entourage stars Kevin Connolly and Jeremy Piven, and Transformers star Josh Duhamel. The celebrities themselves will be involved throughout the makeover process, from the initial consultation to the unveiling of the finished room.

DIY Network will reveal never-before-seen video clips from the show on a Runco WindowWall^™ tiled LCD wall prominently displayed at the exclusive press launch event at the Crazy Horse Paris Theater in MGM Grand on Thursday, January 6^th. This cutting-edge display wall with its 92 inch overall diagonal size and greater-than-HD resolution illustrates Runco’s ongoing commitment to provide the show producers with the ultimate in display technology.

The Hollywood Hi-Tech’s (wt) unprecedented show concept will feature award-winning Runco products, including the LightStyle^™ and VideoXtreme^™ series of projectors with FinishPalette^™ options to perfectly match the celebrities’ unique decorating style which help transform their rooms into beautiful and high-performance theater spaces. “Runco’s pioneering legacy in the home theater industry and our continued technical and design innovation is a perfect match for the Hollywood Hi-Tech concept and the celebrity homes that will be featured,” says Jennifer Davis, VP of Marketing at Planar. “Our products are completely tailored to the specifications of the installation, from the design of the projection system to match the room and screen dimensions, to the custom color scheme, which is something all of our A-list clients can appreciate.” Each product from Runco is factory-calibrated to the specific requirements of each order to ensure that its authorized dealers and their clients enjoy the ultimate entertainment experience. Runco technical experts are involved in the room designs for these celebrity installations and offer ongoing consultation on-site during the installation and final calibration of the projector.

Though A-list homes are the focus of the series, from video, to lighting, to whole-house automation, the program will be full of helpful information any consumer can use when evaluating and choosing hi-tech options for their own homes and working with audio visual specialists, like local Runco authorized dealers. Offering real solutions for real people, Hollywood Hi-Tech (wt) covers the best technology in home audio and video components, whole-house control systems, wireless security webcams, and state-of-the-art projection displays from Runco.

“Runco has consistently been a leader in the field for custom electronic design and is one of the founding members of CEDIA,” noted Utz Baldwin, CEO of the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) who is co-sponsoring the launch event.  “This new show gives viewers nationwide a never-before-seen look at the hi-tech solutions that Runco and other CEDIA manufacturer members offer to clients through selected CEDIA dealers.”

Runco products are available exclusively through the Runco authorized dealer network. For more information about Runco or to find a local dealer in your area, please visit www.Runco.com.

Whether you call yourself a custom installer, AV dealer, technology integrator or gadget guru; all the knowledge and CEDIA credits in the world don’t guarantee a successful business. The ability to keep existing customers and earn referrals while drumming up new patrons is really the hallmark of any successful business.

You will NOT be shocked to learn that social media is an effective way to help your business. Whether it’s improving customer service, increasing brand awareness or reinforcing a position as the de facto home theater, automation, or $21,000 speaker wire experts in your community, social media can help.

It’s easy to get hyper focused on the actual tool or network being used, but the communities of social media are no different than your typical Chamber of Commerce function, 18-hole business meeting or three-martini lunch, except they happen from the comfort of your desk without the associated fees. Are the relationships a bit more superficial? Sure, but the ability to connect with hundreds, even thousands of existing and potential customers in a way that fosters trust, educates and shows your business is focused on the right things does more to plant seeds for the future than quaffing any number of martinis.

Rather than go on about tools and technology (we’ll do that another time), here are some real world examples that communicate the value of social media.

1.)    A marketing manager starts the day checking emails and perusing social networks for new posts, questions or feedback. A deeper search turns up a negative review on Google local saying an employee had drilled unnecessary holes in the wall, stained the carpet and left before getting the job done. Seeing it was only one day old, and knowing the customer, the owner reached out privately offering to make amends. Feeling taken care of, the customer updates the Google local review with glowing remarks and a potential long-term scar is turned into a beauty mark.

It’s nice to see reputation management tactics in full effect, but still not a WOW example.

2.)    Later in the day, the same marketing person is monitoring his Twitter feed and notices a trade media update stating that Big Box AV Store is closing down its nearest location. Knowing the store represents the biggest competition, the owner immediately approves an email marketing and social media campaign built around the idea that local residents don’t need to travel far to get the same prices with better, more knowledgeable service. Three months later, the shop sets a record for most flatscreens sold in a quarter.

While it’s possible for the planets to align and create a scenario like above, we won’t always have the good fortune of 50,000 new customers with nowhere to buy gadgets and gear. This is why the notion of community building is such an important part of social networking. You can’t reach the entire 50,000 all at once, but sharing a call-to-action with your existing social network that encourages them to invite friends who may be looking for electronics or technology upgrades certainly can’t hurt.

3.)    A custom installer has 50 Facebook fans and wants to grow a follower base quickly, but not just with riff raff and irrelevant “likes.” The owner considers giving away an iPad, TV or some other prize after hitting a certain benchmark, but doesn’t think it effectively shows the company’s philanthropic side.  Instead, the owner chooses to support a friend in the community because of the personal connection and because he’s never tried cause marketing. For every new fan the agency’s page gains that month, the owner donates $2 towards the treatment of a terminally ill boy who also happens to be his friend’s son.

Situated in a suburban community, people recognize the name and the page earns over 800 new fans in the course of a month. $1600 is not pocket change, but helping a terminally ill child in need is money well-spent, even without a single new follower. The added benefit; by supporting a cause close to the agency’s heart, staff morale improved and the fan base grew exponentially. An unexpected twist were the comments left by new fans worth far more than $2K, things like, “What an amazing thing to be doing for our community, thank you,” and “I can’t believe an electronics shop is doing this!”

A strategic social networking plan won’t manage your employees or teach you the finer points of C++ programming, but if done well, social media can play a critical role in reputation management, thought leadership and brand awareness.  Add to that the low (no) entry cost, SEO and trust-building benefits and it’s hard to find reasons not to consider.

One of the biggest factors working against social media engagement is a perceived lack of time. In the next post, we’ll explore how to make and budget social web time effectively.