It looks like the new Pioneer Kuro projector is based on the JVC HD100/RS2. Does anyone have any idea whether the Pioneer is simply a rebadged JVC or if it adds something extra, and if so, what?

of course there's something extra... Marketing :)

couple of discussion threads already on the subject

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1023042&highlight=pioneer

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1015794&highlight=pioneer

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1017800&highlight=pioneer

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1011845&highlight=pioneer

Plus, it's been discussed in some of the JVC threads too.

I haven't seen a spec sheet on the new Pioneer. I somehow doubt it is any different, but I would think it would be great if they were better. Progression is always good.

It looks like the new Pioneer Kuro projector is based on the JVC HD100/RS2. Does anyone have any idea whether the Pioneer is simply a rebadged JVC or if it adds something extra, and if so, what?

Our understanding is that there is no difference except for the nameplate - no tweaking or other changes are being made.

This has not been verified by Pioneer though...

Is AVS a pioneer dealer?

Our understanding is that there is no difference except for the nameplate - no tweaking or other changes are being made.
What's the point, then? For either party involved?

I would say that if you are some sort of premier pioneer dealer with a showroom, you could display that etc.

AVS is not a Pioneer dealer.

I suspect the reason Pioneer is doing this is to have a reletively painless and inexpensive way to get into the front projection business. And I'm sure there are dealers that carry Pioneer, but don't carry JVC (Pro or otherwise), which allows increased sales opportunity for both companies.

"Badge engineering" is really pretty common. In the car world, think about the Honda Passport / Isuzu Rodeo twins, which was Honda's way to get into the SUV market. Or the Dodge Ram 50 / Mitsubishi Mightymax twins, which was a way for Dodge to have a an economical minitruck with no development cost.

Pioneer did not invent this, not with the RS2/HD100 even. There are other versions of the HD100, i.e. by Cineversum and Dreamvision. At least they chose a different cabinet.

However, Cineversum and Dreamvision offer better warranty conditions than JVC over here in Germany.

This is really relevant because I had several JVC LCoS that were very badly set up out of the box, even with flaws with respect to light output and shading.

All that shoud teach a lesson not to buy any of these high end projectors without having an authorized dealer check every unit before the pj is installed.

The same goes for the Pioneer Kuro which is 100% identical to the RS2/HD100 (a JVC rep here in Germany told me that Pioneer is bound by contract NOT to change anything!).