That said, forums always tend to make manufacturers seem like they have problematic projectors, even when not. and that’s because when you encounter a problem, you will do one of 3 things – 1. call dealer or manufacturer, 2. search online for your product and a problem phrase, or 3. both of the above.
As a result – forums are magnets for people with issues. I also suspect that since models don’t change as quickly as with lower end projectors, that they would be more stable. And that there is a used market for Runcos and many of them are old. Remember Runco was the dominant “home theater projector” manufacturer in the ’90s. Today’s modern “lower cost” single chip DLP’s and 3 chip LCD home theater projectors didn’t even hit the market until the last decade, and really there was no “low end” (under $5000 market) until about 2002 or 2003. One of the very first popular LCD home theater projectors was Epson’s TW100 – at $4499 MSRP, launched July 2002. It was 720p, had 800:1 contrast, and rated 700 lumens. My point being, there are a lot of ancient Runco’s out there, CRTs as well as DLPs…

At any rate, RUNCO has always been about having highly trained dealers and maximum support, so it is strange to hear, unless a lot of it is coming from the used market. Runco owners, I would think, are often the “check writing” type. That is, they buy Runco’s because they are “the best” and they can afford them, not because they themselves are necessarily enthusiasts. It’s just like going to the Eagles concert recently. I’d venture to say that most of the people in the first 10 rows, were less likely to be Eagles fanatics, than people who simply like the Eagles, but don’t have a problem paying $500+ a ticket, because they have the money.
Well, enough rambling, for an answer that really answered nothing. -art

This RUNCO has been a revelation. I imagine the optics are superb because, despite being 720p it appears every bit as sharp as my JVC RS20. Also because they don’t go with zoom lenses with excessive range (like 2:1), since they offer 7 different lenses, and none have more than a 1.6:1 ratio, one’s even fixed)
And, OMG, 1400+ juicy lumens in best mode… Makes me want to sing that old Belinda Carlisle song – Ooh, Heaven is a Place on Earth. Now when a movie goes from a dark scene to a bright one, I wince. It’s like stepping outside, my first thought is sunglasses. Of course, the eye’s iris shuts down to compensate. I don’t care what others say. 1400 lumens on a 128″ Firehawk G3 works just dandy for me, for movie watching. And voila’ a 3 chipper, a dlp projector without a rainbow in sight. And it was also nice to see a dynamic iris implementation and very, very, good (definitely “ultra-high contrast”) blacks. Boy am I having fun.

BTW the Mitsubishi HC6800 is just about ready to post. I only have the summary page and the competitors pages to go, and, as always, I’m willing to post before I’ve written the competitors page. Hopefully, this evening, tomorrow for sure. Hey, it’s Memorial Day weekend, my daughter’s birthday weekend (party was last night), and plenty of other things going on. My wife thought I should see daylight this weekend. Hard to say no to her! -art