Discerning gentlemen know that while it is possible to find a high-quality, well-fitting suit at upscale men's stores, only a tailor-made garment that is specifically created for each individual has the perfect combination of style, comfort, and fit. Bespoke tailors from London's Savile Row to Milan and Rome exemplify craftsmanship and personalization, creating custom-made clothing with qualities that could never be obtained via mass production.

For high-performance video, America has its own bespoke manufacturer: Runco International. It began in the early 1980s by customizing existing CRT projector designs for the burgeoning home theater market. These days Runco and its sister company Vidikron are virtually synonymous with the very best high-definition video projectors and LCD and plasma flat-panel displays. I recently joined a number of Vidikron dealers from around the country who were wrapping up a weeklong series of product training sessions, culminating with the Vision Model 150 LightAmp projector, a powerhouse model that defines the present state of the art in home theater front projection.

The company builds the Model 150 around a reference three-chip 1080p DLP projection platform originally designed for large venues such as movie theaters. Vidikron assembles the finished product using its own cabinetry and ancillary electronics, including an outboard video processor and scaler, along with one of three lenses (for various throw distances). You also have the option of fixed or motorized anamorphic lenses for cinema-style 2.35:1 widescreen presentation. The company calls the fixed lens option CineWide, and the motorized lens option CineWide with AutoScope.

The 150 is truly a powerhouse—it features a 1.2-kilowatt xenon lamp, with four or five times the light output of conventional front projectors. Xenon lamps are superior to the more common mercury lamp types in two significant ways. First, they're powered by DC, which means there is only one arc beam spot (as opposed to two beam spots with AC-powered arc lamps). That allows for more precise light collimation through the multiple prisms within the three-chip DLP optical assembly. Second, xenon lamps produce a purer white, which improves color accuracy.

The projector's prodigious brightness provides the ability to illuminate really big screens—Vidikron recommends a 20-foot maximum width, but the projector is rated to handle a 30-foot-wide screen. In addition, you can extend the bulb's life and gain more consistent performance by using the lower output mode; as the lamp ages, the projector will continuously adjust itself to assure consistent performance throughout the lamp's lifespan.

That brightness also allows the projector to put up a watchable picture in high ambient daytime lighting. I was surprised to hear from the visiting dealers that a number of their clients are forgoing a dedicated, light-controlled home theater, instead choosing to have the theater in a windowed area that lets them enjoy their view while taking in the 150's brilliant image.

After the training session concluded, I was able to spend some time with the 150, running it through its paces with test patterns and standard- and high-definition discs. The 150 is equipped with the correct colorimetry to properly display both standard- and high-definition color gamuts, so that each format's color characteristics are optimum for the particular source material. It's also equipped with an expanded color gamut that extends well beyond current technical standards. This bodes well for the expected availability of wide-color-gamut high-definition movies in the not-too-distant future.

I was neither shocked nor surprised to see that the 150 passed all of my favorite torture tests, including direct addressing of every one of the more than 2 million pixels on each of its three DLP chips. That is but one of the requirements of the 150's THX video certification. Upconversion from standard-definition DVDs was completely artifact-free, as the outboard processor has a dedicated interlaced video input specifically tailored with its own dedicated deinterlacer chip to ensure proper conversion to progressive scan.

The defining moment of my visit occurred with a clip from Training Day on HD DVD, featuring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke as two undercover cops, motoring around in the rain in a jet-black, tricked-out 1970s vintage Chevy Monte Carlo. Even though the 150 was providing around 50 footlamberts of brightness on Vidikron's very large test screen (that's at least three times as bright as the picture in a typical movie theater), the projected image featured the deepest blacks one could imagine, with all of the dark gray details richly rendered. A subsequent clip from the animated movie The Ant Bully provided gorgeously saturated colors, again with superb contrast and inky blacks.

Given the tremendous light output capability, along with the current state-of-the-art (for home use) three-chip 1080p DLP imaging system, the Vidikron Model 150 LightAmp projector represents the pinnacle of home theater front projection. Discerning buyers will surely want to opt for the top-tier version with the anamorphic (and automatic) CineWide with AutoScope motorized external 2.35:1 lens setup, and pair the 150 with a suitably large 2.35:1 aspect ratio wide screen for the ultimate home theater video experience.

DESCRIPTION
Three-chip DLP front projector with companion video processor/scaler/switcher. Optional fixed anamorphic widescreen lens (CineWide) or motorized anamorphic widescreen lens (CineWide with AutoScope)

RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080 pixels

CONNECTIONS
Processor: Two HDMI inputs, component video input, two RGBHV inputs on BNC connectors (can also be used for component video), S-video input, composite video input, HDMI output to projector
Projector: HDMI input

DIMENSIONS
Processor: 3.8 x 17.5 x 11.2 inches (hwd)
Projector: 13.5 x 28.8 x 25.9 inches (hwd)

PRICE/CONTACT
PRICE: $99,995 base model, $111,995 with fixed CineWide anamorphic lens, $114,995 with motorized AutoScope anamorphic lens system
CONTACT: 510.324.5900, www.vidikron.com