CEDIA 2011

Runco upped the 3D ante at its press conference with the new D-113d dual-engine projector system. Each 3-chip DLP engine includes twin UHP lamps, which means even 3D images have plenty of brightness—the company claims it can fill screens up to 420 inches diagonally. Instead of linear polarization to separate the left and right images as in the D-73d, the new model uses spectral filtering similar to Infitec/Dolby 3D, though this system was developed by Panavision with five spectral bands rather than Infitec's three.

The demo was presented on 215-inch-wide Stewart SnowMatte 100 screen. To show off 3D, we watched the hang-glider scene from Rio, and the stereoscopic effect was exceptional. However, spectral-filtering glasses are prone to internal reflections from prescription glasses, so I was quite distracted by that, as were others. I talked with Runco's chief product architect, Bob Williams, about this, and he agreed that it's a problem they are trying to solve by perhaps angling the lenses.

The 2D clip was the "Toot Sweets" song-and-dance sequence from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which looked wonderfully detailed but way too bright. We were told they had measured a peak-white level of 100 foot-lamberts on that huge screen with a gain of 1.0!

The base price is a mere $200,000; add about $30,000 for the optional CineWide anamorphic lens by McKinley with an AutoScope motorized sled. I'll take two!