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In June, 2004 a small malfunction in the cooling circuit of my Runco CL-710, covered  under warranty, provided me with an opportunity to upgrade my projector once more. A faulty thermostat in the unit prevented it from turning on and Runco provided me with a return authorization number to repair it at no cost. Imagine my surprise when the unit that arrived (actually crossed in the mail with the one I sent back) was a totally redesigned model - at least on the inside! Runco has always stated that they make numerous changes during a model’s life and I can vouch for this based on personal experience. They upgrade components as the model matures without any fanfare. This allows them to offer state of the art products without resorting to frequent catalog changes and all that this entails.
And what were the changes? Besides a redesigned cooling system, engineered to prevent future thermostat problems and even quieter than my first CL-710, the new unit now contains the HD2+ DLP chip, which offers increased contrast, even better blacks, and an overall improved picture thanks in part to a slight change in the micro-mirror angle.  Another enhancement has been the introduction of a 7 segment color wheel, replacing the 6 segment wheel in my previous CL-710. This reduces the possibility of the rainbow effect even more, I’m told. I never had a problem with the rainbow effect in my first unit, so I can’t talk personally about this improvement but I would imagine that it will satisfy the needs of an even larger audience.
There are several other subtle changes, like the doubling of the rated life of the bulb (which I think was a bit more conservatively rated than need be in the first unit) and I’m told that the optics have been tweaked a bit more as well. Full details are available at the Runco Web Site for those interested. Externally, the units appear to be identical.
Am I pleased? Of course I am. I considered the picture produced by my first DLP projector to be outstanding and the images offered by this updated model are even better. Practically speaking, the next real significant visual step forward as far as I’m concerned will be affordable 1080p projection. Based on recent history that day is probably closer than any of us thought it would be. This ride never ends, right?
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