Planar has remained mostly quiet since CES, but given that CEDIA is within spittin' distance, it's no shock to see it making waves once more. Today, the outfit has revealed its first 3-chip HD projector, the DLP-based Viper. Other specs include a native 1,280 x 720 resolution, 10,000:1 contrast ratio, 2,000 lumens and 10-bit independent dual image / motion adaptive processing. You'll also find an RS-232 port, twin HDMI 1.3 sockets and a jaw-dropping $15,495 price tag. It's shipping immediately for those with the requisite coin. Full release after the break.

If Mitsubishi's polite pair of projectors weren't enough to satisfy those impeccably high standards of yours, we've all ideas that Planar's duo won't let you down. First spotted at Runco / Planar's zanily themed booth at CEDIA, it seems that Planar is just now getting around to giving us a ship date that we can dutifully pencil in. The flagship PD8150 -- which checks in with a glorious 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, 1,000 ANSI lumens and a 15,000:1 contrast ratio -- will finally ship in early March for $7,999. As for the $5,999 PD8130, which also hits the road in March, you can expect the same resolution with a slightly lower 10,000:1 contrast ratio. Pretty tempting, no?

[Via AboutProjectors]

High-end manufacturer Runco is headed for the great outdoors with a 42-inch LCD panel that's ruggedized and weatherproofed for use outside the home. The 1366 x 768-native WP-42HD flat panel sports a cabinet design to minimize exposure to the elements, and has a "Winter Mode" to allow it to operate down to -4° F -- low enough to want to watch it through the window instead of beside it. As is usual for Runco, the set includes RS-232 automation, a custom high-gloss bezel, and a $8,995 price tag to match, leaving us to wonder if we can instead pick up eight Vizio sets and just replace one every winter.

While Planar was all about snazzy projectors and enviable plasmas at CEDIA, the firm is branching out a bit with its latest displays. The transparent and segment electroluminescent (TASEL) displays join the firm's family of EL displays and offer up the "added benefits of transparency and the ability to be cut or shaped." The units can also be transparent or mirrored, boast a viewing angle of 179-degrees, and feature "instant on" response times of under one-millisecond. Currently, only samples of Planar's TASEL displays are available, but hopefully these things will be going commercial real soon.

[Via LetsGoDigital]

Looking to satisfy the demands of those yearning for more pixelated real estate, Planar has added a trio of expansive options to its PX series. The 22-inch PX2210MW checks in with a WSXGA+ resolution, built-in TrueMedia speakers, a headphone jack, HDCP-compliant DVI port, and a VGA connector for good measure. The middle child (that'd be the PX2411W) steps it up with a WUXGA resolution, Planar's RapidVideo accelerator, and six-millisecond response time, while the flagship PX2611W adds four USB 2.0 ports and a five-millisecond response time. All these units come with a three-year warranty and look to be available right now, and while the low-ender will run you right around $299, the 24- and 26-inch iterations are going for $599 and $899, respectively.

Joining the growing array of recent acquisitions is Planar and Runco International, as just today Planar has written a check for $36.7 million to take on the assets of privately-held Runco International, Inc. Planar, while not a household name in the home theater biz, managed to hold its own amongst competitors in the HT market, and while the majority of its products catered to the mid-range consumer, we suspect that picking up Runco was the easiest way to launch into the high-end realm. As expected, it looks like the Planar, Runco, and Vidikron brand names will remain as they are, and just as Planar will continue to sell through its current network of distributors, it sure sounds like Runco will remain a niche offering rather than bleeding over towards the mainstream.

Last weekend we posted about a $500 projector, but if you thought to yourself that this was too cheap for your blood -- try spending 100 little pieces of paper with Ben Franklin's mug on one. Planar has just stepped into the high-end projector market with its first native hi-def 1080p model, the Planar PD8110, priced at $10,000. This puppy sports 1,920 x 1,080 full HD resolution, using a DLP 0.95 DC3 1080p chip at 1,200 lumens and 8000:1 contrast ratio. Planar also introduced several lower-end models, which include the PD7150, PD7130, PD7060, PD7010 and the PD4010 ($1300). All the new models will be demoed at CEDIA Expo in Denver, which begins tomorrow. The market for 1080p projectors is getting a little crowded -- how about somebody making our day and coming out with one that sells for less than two grand?

While it's tough to deny the wow-factor involved in watching a flick or gaming it up on a wall-sized screen, the one dig that front projection has been forced to deal with is the necessity of darkness for optimal viewing pleasure. Planar has reportedly developed a specially designed screen that works with any front projector to provide a "colorful, sharp image" even with all the lights on. This widescreen display, dubbed the Xscreen, pulls off the seemingly impossible by sporting a 4mm layer of hardened glass beneath the actual screen, which apparently provides the "perfectly flat" surface needed to reflect those random rays of light that currently cause all that viewing frustration in lit environments. If that wasn't enough, Planar's design team stepped it up a notch by crafting a "black high-gloss finish frame sure to enhance any décor," which is presumably an attempt to overcome the Xscreen's inability to roll up and out of the way like other screens without a glass backpanel. While the Xscreen is nothing more than a display, the Xscreen Plus offers a smorgasbord of standard video and audio inputs / outputs (DVI, VGA, component, S-video, RCA, etc.) to make routing those lengthy cable runs a bit more manageable; the upgraded version also rocks "Pixelworks video processing," onboard speakers, a universal remote, and Europeans even get the luxury of dual TV tuners (got beef with America, Planar?). While both flavors are available in 60-, 70-, 80-, and 100-inch sizes, there's no telling how much this gigantic blank picture frame / front projection display will run you -- but until we get some face time with this enlightening panel to determine marvel or gimmick, you're probably better off left in the dark.

[Via Gizmag]