[Dirk Dinsmore]

Stopped by the local custom home theater store today. Are Runco projectors any good? I know nothing about projectors at this time as I am just in the planning stages of my theater. I am still in the research process. Does anybody have experience with this company?

Dirk

[Alon Goldberg]

Runco produces some of the finest home theater front projectors ever built. What is your budget.. $5,000? $250,000?

That being said, Runco is on the Rolls Royce side of the scale when it comes to the projector market. There's much more value to be found with other manufacturers.

[Dirk Dinsmore]

I would say that my budget is $2000-4000. I had the opportunity to view a Runco projector at my local theater shop the other day. I am not sure exactly what model it was, but it was rated at 720p. It also had some type of lens on it that took away the black bars on the top/sides. The picture was better than watching a bluray disk on my 1080p samsung lcd. Is it worth going with this brand with this price range?

[Leo Kerr]

Runco built their reputation in the era of CRT projections. Now, well, if it's DLP, they're using the same fundamental "engine" as every other DLP projector. I doubt they actually make any of the boards themselves. They do probably have better support for anamorphic optics than most other companies out there.

That said, for the given cost of a typical Runco projector, I'd rather get an industrial/commercial projector.

Why?

Because for that $30,000 Runco projector, you might be getting a fancy single-chip DLP projector.

For that $30,000, you could be getting a 3-chip DLP projector with no color wheels.

Leo

[Jim Mcc]

He said his budget is $4000 max. Do you want LCD or DLP? That's the first thing you should decide. You have a lot of great 1080p choices for $4000 or less. You need to do your homework at Projectorcentral.com and Projectorreviews.com.

[Gregg Loewen]

lots of choices in the 4k price range.

for DLP, consider the BenQ w5000, if you can squeeze 5K get the W20000, it has a much better contrast ratio.

Ive been using the new Epson 1080ub in my THX class recently. It is very nice and has a great CMS system. This unit is LCD.

regards

Gregg

[John Gates]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirk Dinsmore

I would say that my budget is $2000-4000. I had the opportunity to view a Runco projector at my local theater shop the other day. I am not sure exactly what model it was, but it was rated at 720p. It also had some type of lens on it that took away the black bars on the top/sides. The picture was better than watching a bluray disk on my 1080p samsung lcd. Is it worth going with this brand with this price range?

Hi Dirk,

Well, I wouldn't personally pay any more than $1000 for anything at 720P these days. If you want to go with 1080P in that price range, I would recommend:

Epson 1080UB ~$3000 - These have had a few quality problems
Sony VW40 ~$2700
Sony VW60 ~4000
JVC RS-1 ~$4500

Other brands to consider:
Optoma - these have had some reliability problems
Mitsubishi - these seem pretty good, but I haven't seen one myself. The HC4900 seems like a screaming deal for entry level 1080P.

These are all digitals.

These days, you can also pick up a VERY GOOD Sony G70 CRT for under $2000, or any number of good to great 720P digitals for under $2K (again, I would hesitate when 1080P is so affordable now).

but do some reading on these and see what strikes your fancy.

good luck!

John

[Gregg Loewen]

there are so many things more important then resolution when trying to obtain image fidelity.

Id buy a good 720P unit for $2000 then a crappy 1080p unit for $2500 (any day).

I still have a 720p DLP in my own theater, and it blows most of the cheap 1080p stuff away.

Gregg

[John Gates]

Yes, what you say is true, Gregg. I certainly respect this point of view. But I would also suggest that in the last couple of years since 720P was state of the art, black levels and contrast have (generally) greatly advanced. So, IMO, there is more than just a resolution advantage in *some* of the newer 1080P machines.

I'm not dissing 720P as a general rule, but at the 3-4K price point, there are some very high performing 1080P machines available.

That said, a well dialed in G70 CRT can probably outperform them all at a lower cost until you get to JVC RS2-land. And a G70 can't really do 1080P either. It's the contrast ratio (and other things) combined with resolution that make the magic.

So to be fair, it's true that *some* $2000 720P machines might outperform *some* $2500 1080P machines. Hard to say unless you bring out specific machines.

To the original poster: Do some reading of comparison reviews and where possible compare good setups with your own eyes. You may decide that the 720 is your preference.

Enjoy the journey!

John