OK I had probably 2,300 hours on this PT-AE900U lamp (the original) when I think it blew - red lamp light flashing and the unit won't fire up.

My question is, what exactly does a blown lamp look like? I finally got the lamp out after much more effort than I thought should be necessary. I've tried to take some pictures of the lamp but my camera doesn't do too well at close range, but what's against the inside of the glass (the glass that's part of the whole removable contraption, but right in front of the bulb element) is a splattering of white specs. The front of the glass also has a white hue.

The lamp (the mirrored part w/ the stem sticking out of it) doesn't look so bad, with the exception of the very tip looking sooty. Obviously it's not an enclosed unit, so I can't shake it around like a regular light bulb to see if something rattles.

I'm assuming this is a blown lamp and am looking for confirmation because I don't want to drop $400 if the lamp isn't blown and my real problem is a several hundred dollar repair somewhere else in the 720p projector, that I would replace w/ newer technology if that's the case.

thanks!

A lamp can fail and not be "blown". It can just wear down and refuse to fire.

What it also may be is that the projector will shut down when the lamp hours reach 3000. That can be reset if the lamp is still good, although you're really supposed to replace the lamp at that point.

A PJ lamp does not have a filament like a household incandescent bulb. It has two surfaces a couple millimeters apart. There is nothing to rattle although if you are not careful, it could blow up in your face since they are pressurized to about 200 psi. WHen the two surfaces erode so that they are too far away from each other, it no longer lights up. Just like a spark plug.

My PT-L500U did the same thing last night. I assume it is the lamp since the unit has been used for 4 1/2 years and has over 2600 hours. The bulb has a crystalized surface and there are silver flakes from the bulb. I guess it is time to pony up for a new bulb. I hope that solves my problems.

TOOFLESS - I think you will need a new bulb very soon even if that is not the reason for the failure. I will keep you posted on my results.

Received the replacement lamp from VisualApex yesterday. After I replaced the lamp, the projector worked fine. I forgot how good this projector can look with a new lamp. I reset the lamp hours to zero. I had 2222 hours on the first bulb (not 2600 per the previous post). At first the lamp low/high toggle was faded out. However, after the unit was turned off and restarted I was able to switch the toggle. I can now see some dust blobs when viewing very dark scenes that were not visible with the old bulb.

By the way, I purchased the projector and the repalcement bulb both from VisualApex. They have been very good with providing advice and information about projectors. I would highly recommend them for your projector needs.

TOOFLESS - Did you get your replacement lamp yet?

TOOFLESS???

Did this fix your problem???