Panasonic,how to extend lamp life?

[bmac]

My first projector was the panny 700AE, I purchased it from visual apex about a year and a half ago. I sold the unit to a family member with 400hrs on the lamp. He owned a Panny 500 with 2000hrs on the lamp . My 700 was used with a power conditioner, and I powered it down completely after every use(because of a fear of banding).Now after less than five months the 700's lamp has blown. Has anyone had a problem with lamp life?

1)Should I power it down completely, or does it matter? I am allowing for cooling time of course.

2)I only watch about 4hrs per setting, I know the off and on is hard on the lamp. How much do you watch per setting?

3)Do I have any recourse with no extended warranty?


I'd like to prevent this from happening to my 900.

 

[BMXTRIX]

There is never a way to really predict how long lamp life will truly be and manufacturers claims are complete BS. The reality is that lamps will last as long as lamps decide to last - and it's a gamble. I always recommend that people BUDGET for a new lamp every 12 months. That way, if the lamp lasts longer it's a bonus, but if it doesn't, then it doesn't take them by suprise.

It is worth noting that most lamp warranties are 90 days. There's a reason for that.

You are doing things right and I'm not sure how much help or hurt it does to completely power down the projector. As long as it goes through a full cool down cycle, as you say it does, then you should be fine.

I know my first Panny lamp went at about 900 hours or so, but my second lamp is lasting a good deal longer than the first lamp. Go figure.

You can always try to run things in high fan mode to see if added airflow helps, but even that may not do the trick. Very frustrating at times for sure.

 

[majorloser]

Lamps in my Yamaha DPX-1 lasted between 700 and 1,100 hours (1,000 rated). The first lamp for my Optoma H78-DC3 lasted about 500 hours (rated 2,000 hours) just days after the bulb warranty. I'm on my second lamp with about 300 hours, fingers crossed. My work projector, an InFocus LP600, which I abuse to death has maybe 800 hours on the bulb.

You'll notice a loss of brightness and contrast when a bulb is failing. If you re-calibrate every couple months you should be able to keep track of how fast it's deteriorating.

The best advice to getting the most life out of the bulb is:
>Keep the projector cool and well ventilated.
>Let it go through proper cool-down cycles.
>If possible, put the unit on a UPS (for surges and cool-down)
>Limit the amounts of bulb starts.

Each time the bulb starts (strikes) it takes a large voltage surge. It also deposits carbon on the interior of the bulb glass. Sometimes it's better to leave it on for a while rather than shut it off and restart.

NOTE: Buy your spare bulbs early. Don't want to end up like I was earlier this year with no bulb. The bulb burned out on my Optoma early and the replacement bulb was on backorder from the factory for three months. Needless to say I keep a spare on the shelf.

 

[sbowler]

This seems to be the cheapest place for bulbs, over here in the UK anyway.
http://www.avprojectorlamps.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

 

[bmac]

Using it as a regular TV?

Do any of you use your projector as a regular TV ? I don't but my parents do. Other than special events I don't believe in using it for TV.

My friend works for and electronics/furniture store, and attends CES every year. From What he is telling me their are some LED lamps on the horizon.

What about OLED? They need to get moving on that.

 

[rgriffin25]

Why is it the front projectors bulbs have such a short life? I changed a bulb in a customers rptv lcd and he had used it over 8000 hours. This case is not typical, but from what I have seen rptv bulbs seem to outlast fptv.

 

[majorloser]

Why is it the front projectors bulbs have such a short life? I changed a bulb in a customers rptv lcd and he had used it over 8000 hours. This case is not typical, but from what I have seen rptv bulbs seem to outlast fptv.

I guess it has to do with balb wattage, projected image size and required lumens. Don't need as much power to project an image inside a box vs. through ambient light.

And yes I do use my projector as a regular TV.