That's good to know! I found it really odd that their next gen projector looked like a downgrade but it looks like I was missing important info about their color wheel technology.
When it comes to media consumption I am worse than a junkie
Movies, series, gaming, Concerts and even the background art on blu ray audio! 8 hours is too much but I spend an average of 6 hours per day on media consumption (including music) and you know how it goes with gaming... Some times you get carried away which I assume is easier to happen when you own a home theater system
In any case, even with a realistic scenario of 6 hours per days, it will still last over 10 years but I don't like the idea of throwing away my 3.5K+ investment after only 10 years. I say "only" because I am not the type of person, or rather, I cannot afford to be the person who saves money for new equipment every few years. I was able to save 8K over the years and I want to spend half for sound and half for the projector. I don't know when I will be able to afford new equipment again and I would like the option to extend its life if necessary. I can even sell it eventually for 1/3 or even 1/4 of the price to buy a new one which I cannot do if there are only 1-2K hours of laser life left...
You are right, noone is publishing prices on laser replacement so before I choose I will make sure to contact both optoma and samsung support to ask for an estimate. Since Optoma openly said that they are planning to support laser replacement I don't see why they would withhold the price for this service.