I know this is possible. The Runco 50" plasma is just a Pioneer that has been painted different. It is just three pins. I know that the pinout is in the runco manual but I don't have one. Did the Pioneer manual not have that info? You won't have any difficulty at all controlling the display with the IRF-6. However discrete IR commands are just as reliable in good installs and I believe are available for that unit, and saves you the money for the CM-232i.