Advice Needed for New Plasma to Replace Stolen Pioneer Kuro

[Chizzap30]

Originally Posted by Sonny

I got more of the "wow" factor from Kuro's then Runco's. Might be hard for some to believe and or agree but, the highend shops that have them, have them setup in nice dark rooms fully Calibrated and they do look great, but are more of a status symbol than anything. I'd take an elite or Sig/KRP over any of them. They sell them to folks that have no limit on $ & the add ons just add to the hole "I paid the most, so it has to be the best"

I think I need one...

I would agree with that for the older Runco's that were using Panasonic glass that had the double glass on the top. But the new Vistage is a in a whole new league. It destroys all. I've only viewed uncalibrated and in a large open room with sunlight and the lights up. It still looks stunning. Right next to it is a 70" Sharp LED and the Sharp doesn't compare. Motion, color accuracy, black levels are just heads over the sharp.

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by Chizzap30

I would agree with that for the older Runco's that were using Panasonic glass that had the double glass on the top. But the new Vistage is a in a whole new league. It destroys all. I've only viewed uncalibrated and in a large open room with sunlight and the lights up. It still looks stunning. Right next to it is a 70" Sharp LED and the Sharp doesn't compare. Motion, color accuracy, black levels are just heads over the sharp.

Even the Vistage series (which has been around for a while now) don't give me a wow. Yeah, the sharp LED has nothing on Runco. Runco is nothing special to my eyes. Yes they look very nice & have lots going for them, but they don't even have correct 24p playback (not the end of the world of course but for a super top tier & expensive display....leaves me wondering) and the black levels are not 0.000fL (thats zero light to peoples eyes) like Kuro's are. My Kuros came in at 0.000fL but that's as low as my calibrators equipment could go. They might go lower but 0.000fL anything lower really wouldn't make a difference as your eyes can only see so much yummy blackness. I find my self looking at the blacks on the kuro and loosing my focus because it's like looking into an infinite black hole. It doesn't get any better than that :-) !! I tried everything to get the black bars to just fade away but it would crush the blacks and kill the shadow detail. I'd like for these TVs to be "Kuro" or better, I just can't see it... I have 3 and know how dark they can really get. I have pics that give you an idea atleast & but don't do it full justice. You are just paying a premium for the name and prestige, not to mention their foolish screen covers "so the TV just disappears into the room & becomes just another piece of art", that's a load of shite for what they charge. They couldn't make the TVs any better than the last, so they make "add-ons" instead.... I'd rather have a VT30 (if I couldn't get a Kuro). I've seen fully calibrated Runco's & in a dark room setup just for them and yeah I'd watch a movie on one. They are just over priced .

[fathergll]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

It's a lot harder to shell out that cash when you know what they were going for in the last year or so that they were still being made.

Thats the problem. Unless you're very wealthy(if you were you'd probably have a 100"+ projector for most blu-ray viewing anyway) then its obviously not a big deal.

Problem is you could have easily drove over to the store and picked one up one a few years ago for well over half the price. Paying almost three times the price for a TV that was out a few years ago is just idiotic. Everyone had plenty of notice that the Kuro's were being discontinued. So if you're that big of a AV nut to spend $10,000 on one now then you should have stocked pile away some in a vault when you could because that's Darwin at work with your finances.

[oildude]

Never seen a Runco. There are a few high end home theater stores in Houston that carry them, but have not searched one out. I did view a couple of websites of high end dealers that sell the Vistage series. Right now I am thinking VT30, and if the settlement is true value for a Kuro Pro-151, then bank the excess for a few years when Panasonic finally achieves Kuro blacks.

Still waiting on insurance. This is a national company but I think a plasma more than doubling in value and hard to find is slowing the process down.

Not sure I understand the limitations of the Runco Vistage series. An earlier poster mentioned the 60 Hz issue that the Vistage lacks 72 hz or 96 hz film mode to eliminate 3:2 pulldown judder and, therefore, lack proper 24p playback. I guess I need to google this and learn what it means exactly (I thoght plasmas were 600 Hz - maybe I am confusing specs). Not in the market for a Runco anyway, but I feel I need to educate myself on this.

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by Wingman1977

Man, if I had the cash on me, I would literally run over to BK (and I live in upper Manhattan). BTW, anyone knows which is the best Kuro model ever made?

Pro 151FD. Top of the line. 60" with speakers. Truth be told, the non-speaker model, sold as a studio monitor, is just as good.

[scweb13]

Originally Posted by Blu-Dog

Pro 151FD. Top of the line. 60" with speakers. Truth be told, the non-speaker model, sold as a studio monitor, is just as good.

Actually, the 101 and 500m have darker black levels and are for that reason considered better.

[Chizzap30]

Originally Posted by Sonny

Even the Vistage series (which has been around for a while now) don't give me a wow. Yeah, the sharp LED has nothing on Runco. Runco is nothing special to my eyes. Yes they look very nice & have lots going for them, but they don't even have correct 24p playback (not the end of the world of course but for a super top tier & expensive display....leaves me wondering) and the black levels are not 0.000fL (thats zero light to peoples eyes) like Kuro's are. My Kuros came in at 0.000fL but that's as low as my calibrators equipment could go. They might go lower but 0.000fL anything lower really wouldn't make a difference as your eyes can only see so much yummy blackness. I find my self looking at the blacks on the kuro and loosing my focus because it's like looking into an infinite black hole. It doesn't get any better than that :-) !! I tried everything to get the black bars to just fade away but it would crush the blacks and kill the shadow detail. I'd like for these TVs to be "Kuro" or better, I just can't see it... I have 3 and know how dark they can really get. I have pics that give you an idea atleast & but don't do it full justice. You are just paying a premium for the name and prestige, not to mention their foolish screen covers "so the TV just disappears into the room & becomes just another piece of art", that's a load of shite for what they charge. They couldn't make the TVs any better than the last, so they make "add-ons" instead.... I'd rather have a VT30 (if I couldn't get a Kuro). I've seen fully calibrated Runco's & in a dark room setup just for them and yeah I'd watch a movie on one. They are just over priced .

The Vistage just came out about 2 Months ago. The Opal series is what was out for quite some time from Runco. As for their price, I personally don't view them as overpriced as they are manufactured in the U.S. they are using better video processors than anyone regardless of what tech specs someone can find. Unless someone sees it, you cannot really formulate an opinion on the unit. That cover you speak of goes on the back of the unit if someone it going to stand mount the television. And if you haven't seen the vistage compared to the Opal, then you really have no place to talk. The Vistage is a single pane of glass the the Kuro's where the Opal had a double pane like the older Panasonics. So just from your talking, with all due respect, you really have no idea what your'e talking about in comparisons of older units from Runco. After seeing both a VT30 and a Vistage, I would personally choose the vistage. It really is as close, if not better than a Kuro. Ultimately though, that would be anyone's personal choice and without comparing with one's own eye and just reading whatever "spec of the week" that is out there, people are doing themselves an unjustice.

[HDTV1080P]

Pioneer stopped assembling plasma screens in the USA in April of 2009 (2006, 2007 and 2008 Pioneer plasma models were not profitable with all the competition going on in the flat screen market).

The 2008 Pioneer PRO-141FD and PRO-101FD were also assembled in the United States using both US parts and imported parts. Since the year 2006 Pioneer has offered the film quality 72fps mode when a 1080p/24 signal is received. Also a 72Hz reverse 3:2 pulldown advanced mode when film based programs are detected. Runco plasmas are still all 60Hz with 3:2 pulldown judder. It would be ideal if we could get some professional reviews on the Runco plasma and LCD screens to see how good they really are. Runco should get Home Theater magazine and/or Widescreen Review to do a professional review. Sometimes the higher priced electronics offered by some companies have better performance but other times one is just paying for a longer warranty, fancy frame, and a high profit margin.

Runco does make some amazing front projectors. When it comes to 3-D Front projectors Runco is either the best or one of the best on the market currently. The Runco D-73d is an amazing 3-D projector that properly displays 2-D and 3-D signals at Cinema quality frame rates.
https://forum.blu-ray.com/45458-post1.html

[oildude]

Thought I would update what has happened. The insurance company finally came to a decision on the worth of my Pro-151fd. They would not cost it against available models on Amazon or other sites (i.e., the ones that cost $10,000). They decided that since the TV is no longer readily available, the nearest equivalent model is the Runco 63" Vistage and priced the settlement accordingly.

The fact that the TV has more than doubled in value from what I paid for it has caused delays and a few problems. While I agree that the Runco is a good choice for matching the Kuro against a TV still in production, the problem has been the dollar value. They have found a store in Chicago willing to sell them a Runco 63" Vistage for $8300. They offered me the cash or the TV shipped from Chicago. I argued that I live in Houston and would like to base the price on a local vendor. I pointed out that if I was willing to consider a non-local vendor requiring shipping, then I wanted a Kuro from one of the out-of-state dealers I had already pointed out to them.

To their credit, they were willing to consider this as valid, and let me search out a local Runco vendor. Unfortunately, while there are several high-end AV stores in Houston dealing in Runco, they mostly handle projectors and not plasmas. An email to Runco asking for a local showroom dealing in their plasmas was responded to with a negative. Nearest dealer is three hour away.

So I am getting $8300 based on a Runco price match. Still, I would rather have back my dream TV that was stolen from me.

[Wingman1977]

Originally Posted by oildude

Thought I would update what has happened. The insurance company finally came to a decision on the worth of my Pro-151fd. They would not cost it against available models on Amazon or other sites (i.e., the ones that cost $10,000). They decided that since the TV is no longer readily available, the nearest equivalent model is the Runco 63" Vistage and priced the settlement accordingly.

The fact that the TV has more than doubled in value from what I paid for it has caused delays and a few problems. While I agree that the Runco is a good choice for matching the Kuro against a TV still in production, the problem has been the dollar value. They have found a store in Chicago willing to sell them a Runco 63" Vistage for $8300. They offered me the cash or the TV shipped from Chicago. I argued that I live in Houston and would like to base the price on a local vendor. I pointed out that if I was willing to consider a non-local vendor requiring shipping, then I wanted a Kuro from one of the out-of-state dealers I had already pointed out to them.

To their credit, they were willing to consider this as valid, and let me search out a local Runco vendor. Unfortunately, while there are several high-end AV stores in Houston dealing in Runco, they mostly handle projectors and not plasmas. An email to Runco asking for a local showroom dealing in their plasmas was responded to with a negative. Nearest dealer is three hour away.

So I am getting $8300 based on a Runco price match. Still, I would rather have back my dream TV that was stolen from me.

Well, if you really still want a Kuro, I've pointed you in the direction where to go.

[Mahatma]

Originally Posted by oildude

Thought I would update what has happened. The insurance company finally came to a decision on the worth of my Pro-151fd. They would not cost it against available models on Amazon or other sites (i.e., the ones that cost $10,000). They decided that since the TV is no longer readily available, the nearest equivalent model is the Runco 63" Vistage and priced the settlement accordingly.

The fact that the TV has more than doubled in value from what I paid for it has caused delays and a few problems. While I agree that the Runco is a good choice for matching the Kuro against a TV still in production, the problem has been the dollar value. They have found a store in Chicago willing to sell them a Runco 63" Vistage for $8300. They offered me the cash or the TV shipped from Chicago. I argued that I live in Houston and would like to base the price on a local vendor. I pointed out that if I was willing to consider a non-local vendor requiring shipping, then I wanted a Kuro from one of the out-of-state dealers I had already pointed out to them.

To their credit, they were willing to consider this as valid, and let me search out a local Runco vendor. Unfortunately, while there are several high-end AV stores in Houston dealing in Runco, they mostly handle projectors and not plasmas. An email to Runco asking for a local showroom dealing in their plasmas was responded to with a negative. Nearest dealer is three hour away.

So I am getting $8300 based on a Runco price match. Still, I would rather have back my dream TV that was stolen from me.

How much is the 65" panny vt30?Have the 55",and I find it very good.But guess you have thought of that...

[Chizzap30]

I'm sorry to hear you're having a difficult time with your area with the television. Any Runco dealer is able to get the TV's. It seems weird that your insurance company would be the one trying to purchase the Television? As well as Runco, like most other fine audio/video products, limit dealer areas and if the company in Chicago sells it and ships it out of state, they run the risk of losing the Runco line.