Well here is they appear to be:

http://www.runco.com/projectors.html

Looks like the Planar 8130 rebadge now has horizontal ,as well as vertical lenshift, if the specs are to be believed. The 8150 had both anyway.

EDIT: on the proper specs it looks like the LS-3 still only has vertical lenshift and has the same CR as the 8130 too.

are they the exact same rebranded models with no difference other than branding? can anyone confirm this?

are they the exact same rebranded models with no difference other than branding? can anyone confirm this?

I have been in contact with the UK distributor for Runco (Pulse Marketing ) re pricing and asked them about this. They said Runco had emailed them to say that the LS-3 is the 'equivalent' of the Planar 8130. I asked him to query with them again, if there are any differences/enhancements, what they exactly are.

I should be hearing from him tomorrow about this.

I was disappointed that the LS-3 (provisionally £6,000 ish) has much more inflated price than what the 8130 was in the UK (£4,500). It should be out in the UK in November, he said.

Unfortunately I can't source a Planar in the UK now anymore and will have to consider the 'equivalent' Runco LS-3 when its out:


"Built from the ground up, the Runco LightStyle™ LS-3 projector incorporates Runco’s proprietary engineering, advanced features and performance enhancements to achieve an elevated home theater experience. The LS-3 combines DLP with Runco’s SuperOnyx™ technology with ConstantContrast™ and ViVix™ proprietary digital video processing to achieve deep black levels and significant contrast, well above 10:000:1. All incorporate the ISF™ (Imaging Science Foundation) calibration suite for optimal performance in various rooms and lighting conditions. These calibration tools feature day and night calibration memory settings, individual sharpness and noise reduction controls, programmable image memory selection keys, built-in test patterns and a dark room-optimized remote."


I'm not sure what exactly "SuperOnyx™ technology , ? refers to the DMD chip.

Call me cynical but all this may just still be marketing spin on what essentially is a rebranding exercise. I would like to know the specifics of any claimed differences/enhancements- I am still waiting to hear about that.

Here is a message from Runco to the UK distributor:

Hi Tausif,



Please see the below response from Runco regarding the LS-3, unfortunately it does not directly answer your question but I think Thomas is intimating that the units are very similar with a tweak to the software for Runco use.

We have now had confirmation of the pricing on the LS3 projector and I am pleased to say that this will have a suggested retail of £4,995 rather than the £6,495 originally expected. I was also able to confirm that we are unable to obtain any of the older PD8130 projectors.

I hope this helps, please let me know if I can assist any further.

Regards

Andy Jones

+44 (0)7920 080040



Pulse_email_sign

To: Andy Jones
Subject: RE: Planar PD8130 - Runco Alternative


Andy,

The LS-3 is built off the similar chassis as the PD8130, the internal software was adjusted for Runco use and the glossy finish was changed to the matte finish. I cannot confirm nor deny that the LS3 is a rebranded PD8130.

Thank you,

Thomas

>> Well, I guess direct confirmation would be a little too transparent, given the way corporations are.

T.

For the DMD they are probably using a marketing term for their batch of chips. Remember that just because a chip is a DC3 or 4 doesn't mean they are all the same within that line. There are grades within with different tolerances. So a manufacturer could opt for a low grade DC3 chip and still market it as DC3 compared to a higher grade one used by another manufacturer. I am sure Dan Miller could attest to this as well as I know Marantz was quite selective with their DMDs. Runco/Planar are the same way. They only use the highest grade available from TI for any line of DMDs.

so do you think the runco model "tweaking of the software" would better the picture in any way? im wondering what they could tweak and why.

For the DMD they are probably using a marketing term for their batch of chips. Remember that just because a chip is a DC3 or 4 doesn't mean they are all the same within that line. There are grades within with different tolerances. So a manufacturer could opt for a low grade DC3 chip and still market it as DC3 compared to a higher grade one used by another manufacturer. I am sure Dan Miller could attest to this as well as I know Marantz was quite selective with their DMDs. Runco/Planar are the same way. They only use the highest grade available from TI for any line of DMDs.

Is this really true?

In the old days, the DC designation seemed to be used to distinguish between different manufacturing processess (and different CR levels that went along with them). Now, it seems like the DC designations really are purely CR performance designations. There are even unrated (no DC designation at all) chips out there. In other words, I think that DC4 chips are those that measure the best and DC3 don't measure as well but are made on the same process. This is simialr to how CPUs are graded. I may be wrong about this, but TI really does not help matters much in explaining things.

Again, I think some of the guys like Bob Williams or Dan Miller could shed more light on it but that is essentially what I've been told from several vendors now.

Anthony-

Highly unlikely. Planar now owns Runco. The Planar projs., now sold as Runcos, were designed from the ground up and tweaked by Bob Williams. I can't imagine "Runco" further tweaking the Planars. They don't need it.

I have no doubt that the only thing that changed is the name on the case.

I have no doubt that the only thing that changed is the name on the case.The software may have been changed to update the splash screen to say Runco. :)

I don't really know anything about whether there were changes or not, but the "the internal software was adjusted for Runco use" could have been referring to something as simple as the names in some menu to go from Planar to Runco or to change the model number.

--Darin

The software may have been changed to update the splash screen to say Runco. :)

I don't really know anything about whether there were changes or not, but the "the internal software was adjusted for Runco use" could have been referring to something as simple as the names in some menu to go from Planar to Runco or to change the model number.

--Darin

Maybe they put some menus in the user menus that are in the Planar's service menus, like the CMS.

Federico

Maybe they put some menus in the user menus that are in the Planar's service menus, like the CMS.

Federico

I doubt it. The CMS was not user friendly and was designed as an automated process with a specific meter. You could still use it with other meters, but it required some extensive instructions that were not for the novice by any stretch. It was never intended for consumer use, or even for calibrators, just for the initial factory calibration.

I doubt it. The CMS was not user friendly and was designed as an automated process with a specific meter. You could still use it with other meters, but it required some extensive instructions that were not for the novice by any stretch. It was never intended for consumer use, or even for calibrators, just for the initial factory calibration.

Short answer...they are a PIA to calibrate. :)

Short answer...they are a PIA to calibrate. :)

LOL Well, at least the did a great work, calibration out of the box is almost perfect :)

To calibrate it you need to obtain from Planar special software. The calibration is basically plugging in the xy and L of RGB and W as read from the screen with an accurate spectroradiometer. Its more work than say the Samsungs which once you enter the service menue lets you directly plug into a table those values. The gray scale is set automatically based on the values as pluigged in.on balance its a different method but really not as difficult as using a traditional CMS.