I purchased a Runco PL50c("PlasmaWall") display back in fall 2000. It has been an awesome unit, and I have really enjoyed having it. Went to turn it on recently, and nothing happened... :( I presume I have a power supply problem, but that is only a guess.

The PL50c only has analog connections (BNC/Component, no DVI/HDMI) and is obviously older technology. It is going to cost me $600 to get it off the wall and back to Runco. Repair costs are unknown ( to me, at least), but my wild guess says expect at least $500-$1000 (based on no factual data, just a guess). I can't but wonder if it is worth it??? Should I save the repair cost and put it toward the purchase of a new set? I can't believe that my "investment" would go to 0 so quickly.

Any insights here? Although older(old), is this technology worth hanging onto? What is the most I should pay to repair it?

Really appreciate any help!

A 6 year old hdtv? It must have been a beauty when new - and far ahead of any competiton. I thought Runco only made projectors - shows my ignorance, eh?

Not knowing this set but thinking on it's age, your estimate of fixing it might be too low - and at 6 years, might be unrealistic to fix, anyway. Would they still have parts? In the car industry the manufacturers only have to guarantee parts availability for 10 years. I have no idea what it's like for electronics.

Call Runco and try to get some real idea of the repair cost. There's been alot of advancement in the past 6 years in HD - Hell, there's been alot of advancment in the past 6 months!

What size is your display? 50" plasmas can now be had for less than 2 grand in some circles. 60"+ will still set you back over 6K, though. The new generation of projectors are pretty slick - and very price competitive compared to flat panels - only drawback is the need to view their pic in a cave-like setting. Not the optimum for watching regular SD or HDTV,,,,,,,

Whatever you choose to do - best of luck with it and WELCOME to this place!

I Also Have A Runco Pl50c, And It Recently Did The Same Thing As Yours. Did You Send Yours To Runco, If So Please Advise Status. I Live In Vegas And Was Told I Have To Send Mine Back To California For Service.

I decided to send back to Runco. They happen to be nearby. I've been trying to get an installer to get it off the wall and deliver it for me. Have not had much luck :(

When I have some news, I will update the post.

My memory may be failing me, but I seem to recall the panel was made by Pioneer. Pioneer had some power failure problems with its line of 503CMX panels, which date back to the same period. They offered a free fix for anyone with the problem. Perhaps this will work in your situation, if that in fact is the problem.

I Also Have A Runco Pl50c, And It Recently Did The Same Thing As Yours. Did You Send Yours To Runco, If So Please Advise Status. I Live In Vegas And Was Told I Have To Send Mine Back To California For Service.

i love the way you write.

i love the way you write.

:D

If You Type In All Caps I Think The System Fixes It For You
LIKE A ROBOT

Sent this back to Runco for repair. The power supply needed to be replaced as well as some other components. Repair cost $750 appx, $150 for shipping from factory, probably another $800-900 to uninstall/deliver to factory (I'm local)/reinstall. Appx final cost will most likely be in the neighborhood of $2K.

This was the upper limit of what I was willing to pay. Equates to the cost of a new lower end plasma, but I think a new Runco plasma 50" would be in the $6K range. Ultimately a tough call as this set does not have HDMI.

:(

no disrespect, but almost any plasma (low tech/priced/average, etc...) of today is better than highest priced plasmas from 5+ years ago. i'm sure the runco was great, "back in the day" but a new pioneer 5080 with the latest tech in black levels and contrast would only be $2500 delivered. you might could have sold the runco for $100/200 maybe even $500 to go against a newer much better plasma.

Believe me, a difficult decision. I don't disagree with the previous post at all. I would say that my plasma has served me well. Seemed like too much of a waste, environmentally and otherwise, to just let it go.

2001-2005, flawless operation.

2005 Power supply went with a loud snap! Replaced with much assistance finding a qualified service center from Runco. Super company. July 2007, another power supply failure. Same service center replaced the new supply.

October 2007, bright cyan bars take up the center of the screen. Only the top 25% and bottom 25% is visible.

The Runco is headed for the scrap heap and is being replaced with a Pioneer PRO-110FD the begining of next month.

GOOD NEWS. Runco has now partially adopted the extended warranty policy of Pioneer. I have two Runco PL50C. A truly outstanding Plasma from any year. Both developed defective power supplies. A friend also has the same unit and one day the power supply just died. Runco has authorized one of its local dealers to replace them at NO COST. You need to find a local Runco dealer and let them do an evaluation. If the power supply is bad, Runco pays the 150 evaluation cost and supplies a new power supply. You will need to provide the original processor with the plasma. They are matched by serial numbers at Runco.

One more point. Runco had a habbit in the past of putting in the same part number power supply. These went bad too. Now, they are getting the new upgraded power supply from Pioneer and they work great. Make sure you get the upgraded power supply.

A 6 year old hdtv? It must have been a beauty when new - and far ahead of any competiton. I thought Runco only made projectors - shows my ignorance, eh?

I think my 3 year old Runco 43 DHD plasma still betters the displays from latest Pioneer plasma generation!!

Sorry if I'm off topic...I can't quite figure out where to put this...My father in-law bought a Runco PL-43 plasma in 2004. A local AV company sold him the plasma and also a Rotel-based surround system. All-in-all, not a bad looking system.
I checked the Runco manual and the specs say that the DVI input on the panel is HDCP compliant but they also seem to include the DHD controller in the mix, which the AV installler did not include. He is currently watching analog component video only, from a cable box in HD connected to the analog RGB in on the plasma.

I tried to connect HDMI from the cable box through an HDMI/DVI adapter to the plasma to no avail.

Is there any way to use the DVI input on the display for a BluRay drive or does he have to buy the DHD controller?

Any help would be greatly appreciated...as, I bought him a BluRay player for Christmas and I'm not sure if it will work without the DHD processor.