HOWARD SINKOFF INTERVIEWED BY CE PRO MAGAZINE
Vutec’s Howard Sinkoff, a pioneer in video projection screen technology,
interviewed by CE Pro Magazine, the leading magazine for custom electronics professionals. The interview was published in the magazine’s April issue, and published on-line on April 7th.
Q&A: Howard Sinkoff, Vutec Corp
Vutec CEO on video market, home theater and training dealers.
Vutec CEO Howard Sinkoff
04.07.2008 - Within the realm of two-piece video systems, Vutec Corp., with its wide selection of products, has annually been one of the industry’s most sought after brands.
Good examples of the company’s unique product lines include its high-gain SilverStar screen, Theater Art Systems and ScreenArt lifestyle products.
The company’s CEO, Howard Sinkoff, recently spoke to CE Pro.
How has video changed over the years?
The video market has changed dramatically since we first entered the market back in the ‘70s. That was during the early stages of the red, blue and green tubes [cathode ray tubes or CRT].
Together, the three CRT tubes totaled only 125 lumens of light output. Today, a tiny projector will give you 2,000 to 3,000 ANSI Lumens.
We started with the original high-gain curved screens, which had gains up to 13.2. Over the last four or five years, we have developed a product we named SilverStar, which is a high-gain, high-definition flat screen with a gain of 6.0 with some new patented technology.
The SilverStar screen produces very high contrast, vivid colors and extraordinary detail.
We’ve become quite well known for the product.
It’s used in ambient light or controlled lighting, and it’s probably considered a green product today since you can run a projector at less than full brightness.
What industry trends has Vutec recently addressed, and how?
For the dedicated home theater, we’ve added many products. These products have many “bells and whistles,” with remote controls and masking systems (horizontal masking, vertical masking or the combination of both).
The dealer can request a broad range of products for almost any application. All of our screens are also offered on a custom order basis.
Another area is the undedicated theater. This is a very important new area of business. Not every household has a room that can be dedicated for just a theater and some people are not videophiles.
We’ve come up with a number of products for this category. We have a new product that we introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and at CEDIA last September. We call it Theater Art Systems.
Theatre Art Systems transforms virtually any room into a home theater and it speaks to an increasing consumer demand for versatility and beautification.
It’s a combination of three different Vutec products that includes canvas art-a SilverStar screen at a 2.35:1 aspect ratio for CinemaScope presentations-and also a motorized masking system, which brings it down to a 16:9 format.
Then, we have our motorized ArtScreen, concealing the screen when it’s not in use along with a large selection of Giclee fine art prints of the customer’s choice or custom photographs inside a hardwood frame.
How much of the company’s strategic development is based on dealer feedback?
We listen to our dealers very carefully. They’re out there in the field and we regard their feedback as extremely important. In fact, we seek them out to see what they’re encountering in the field.
A lot of the product modifications we’ve developed have really been the result of dealer feedback.
There has been a growing emphasis on 2.35:1 aspect ratios. How is Vutec addressing this particular trend?
We offer almost every screen variety in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio. It’s in all of our masking systems in the Vision X product line.
We’re unlimited with 2.35, 16:9 and we can even do a double masking, where we take 16:9 down to 4:3.
How is Vutec training its dealers on things like aspect ratios, throw distances, resolutions and other calibration elements?
We’re very proud of the fact that we are the first screen manufacturer to offer onsite factory training at our facilities. In fact, we promote our two-day training sessions to all of our authorized dealers.
All they have to do is come down to South Florida in January. We put them up on the ocean and they can even enjoy other activities, such as swimming. We have a very intensive and interesting two-day training seminar.
For those who can’t fly in, we offer Internet training. This training is a live two-way communication on a regular basis. We’re constantly sending them updates by e-mail or “snail mail.”
What are the most effective ways to sell Vutec products?
We provide dealers with demonstration products so they can actually make comparisons with competing products or show the end-user the difference between the different types of screens and screen surfaces.
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