By: Thomas J. Norton,
UltimateAVmag.com, June 2008
Although Planar has a significant presence in the video-display business, it's relatively new to the home-theater market. The company first popped up a couple of years ago at a major trade show with some intriguing prototypes. Since then, it has expanded its home-theater resume by acquiring Runco and Vidikron, and all three brands maintain their separate identities under the Planar umbrella.
The Planar brand is aimed at more budget-conscious home-theater consumers. As the company's top-of-the-line projector, I would hardly call the $8000 PD8150 "budget," but both Runco and Vidikron offer far more pricey products.
Those upmarket nameplates are most often found in custom installations, while Planar's market includes the buy-it, unpack-it, and install-it-yourself crowd—which, I suspect, describes many of UAV's readers.
Features
The PD8150 certainly sports an eye-catching design, with its smoothly rounded, glossy black case. A matching, detachable cover retains the shapely look while concealing the input panel and cables at the back.
The standard zoom lens has a relatively long throw (see Specifications), but a shorter-throw lens is available as a $799 option. Both focus and zoom are manual, as are vertical and horizontal lens shift.
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The P400 features 1-watt (x2) built-in speakers for convenience. Measuring in at 5 inches wide by 3.7 inches deep and 2 inches high, the 1.9-pound pocket imager is both light and portable. Plus, by utilizing LED with a lifespan of up to 30,000 hours, there is no projector lamp to replace. Other offerings included with the P400 Pocket Imager include a remote control, power cables and a sliding lens cap that protects the projector lens without worrying about it falling off or losing it during transit.
Although Planar has a significant presence in the video-display business, it's relatively new to the home-theater market. The company first popped up a couple of years ago at a major trade show with some intriguing prototypes. Since then, it has expanded its home-theater resume by acquiring Runco and Vidikron, and all three brands maintain their separate identities under the Planar umbrella.
Those upmarket nameplates are most often found in custom installations, while Planar's market includes the buy-it, unpack-it, and install-it-yourself crowd—which, I suspect, describes many of UAV's readers.