UNION CITY, Calif. — October 17, 2005 — With so much focus given to the technological breakthroughs and latest models in home theater projection systems, it is sometimes easy to forget that what matters most at the end of the day is the experience.
On clear late-summer evenings, with a full moons rising in the east, a large group of families settled in to watch the hit comedy Ice Age on a grassy field in Topanga Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains just outside of Los Angeles. It was a series of three “Movie Under the Stars” fundraisers that benefit the Topanga Co-Op Preschool. This past August and September, Vidikron partnered with the Topanga Co-Op Preschool to assist in their fundraising initiatives, and it was easily the most successful event to date — both in terms of money raised for the school, as well as the general feeling among the participants that it doesn’t get much better than this.
“When we heard about Topanga Co-Op Preschool’s mission of providing low-cost, quality childcare for preschoolers in their area, we knew we wanted to be involved,” says Jim McGall, vice president of sales and marketing for Vidikron. “This is a 30-year-old institution in Topanga, California and three generations of students and alumni work hard to continue the tradition of caring. Their success is infectious and we at Vidikron were honored to play a part in their fundraising activities.”
A large part of that success was the big, sharp picture created by a Vidikron Vision Series Model 40 projector on a screen positioned at one end of the ball field. Many in attendance commented on the amazing quality of the picture, and this being Los Angeles — where a large percentage of people work in the film industry — it was a very discerning audience.
In fact, while families picnicked and waited for it to get dark enough for the movie to start, several audience members drifted to the theater equipment set-up, lured by the impressive assemblage of electronics. More than a few movie-industry types eyed the Vidikron projector asking, “Where did you score that?” One accomplished commercial and movie-video director, whose kids are Topanga Co-Op Preschool alumni, eagerly volunteered his services for the “A/V Squad” at future screenings. “I love this stuff,” he enthused, “especially that projector!”
“We sometimes focus so much on the process, we forget to enjoy the results,” McGall said. “When you see the look of amazement on people’s faces it really validates all of the hard work, the engineering man-hours, and the sweat equity we put into delivering our video display products to market. And while it was very nice of Topanga Co-Op Preschool to acknowledge Vidikron in their promotional material for “Movie Under the Stars” and single us out with a “thank-you” at each of the screenings, the real satisfaction is knowing our company was part of something special that benefited a good cause.”
After the movie ended and families were packing up to head home for the night, there were more than a few envious looks cast at the Vidikron Vision Series projector as it was packed away until the next movie event. Several viewers even graciously offered to store the projector at their house between screenings as people laughed and joked about how awesome the experience was for them. There is just something compelling about watching on the big screen and Vidikron’s Vision Series paints an impressive picture for all to see.
About Vidikron
The highly respected Vidikron brand was established in 1980 in Milan, Italy, and was acquired by Runco International in 2002. Vidikron offers a comprehensive selection of high performance, cutting edge video products, distributed through a select network of authorized Vidikron dealers and custom installation professionals. For more information on Vidikron, visit our website at www.vidikron.com.
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