Hi,
I installed a brand new VW200 recently, which is obviously pretty damn impressive :) .
My single concern is a bizarre glass "clink" sound that happens every time you power up the projector - a few seconds into the power-up sequence. It can be anything between 1 and 3 clinks.

I actually put a mike next to the rear exhaust and recorded it: drewlahat.com/misc/VW200.mp3
Yes, that sounds comes from the PJ.

Sony consumer support was at least as clueless as I was, eventually telling me that "if everything else works fine, then it's fine." But if my lamp dies in 100 hours or something, I beg to disagree.... After the lady on the phone declared that they have no email support, I emailed Sony tech support with the same link to the sound. Will be interesting to see if I get a response from them.

Bottom line: is this normal, or should I cause plenty of downtime for my poor client and hassle for me, and send it back?

Thanks.

I've owned a 200 for about a year, and also had a 100 before that. My guess is that the sound you recorded is in all likelihood just the normal striking of the Xenon lamp arc, although it does sound a little more resonant than mine. I have almost 800 hours on my first lamp now, and to date it always strikes on the first 'ping'. I do remember that the 100 had a "hard start" issue where it would take several attempts (pings) to get the arc to start, which could eventually go through several cycles and ultimately fail to start. This was addressed by a modification at Sony service. This is the first time I've heard of anything similar happening with a 200.

Kevin

That was my first thought...striking of the Xenon Lamp. How long has the unit been installed? I personally would get whatever Sony is telling you in writing so that should something happen outside warranty, at least you have it documented that you reported it and they said "not to worry".

You're already way more helpful than Sony. Phone support thought my remote control buttons were making the sound, and email support referred me to a KB entry about a TV without reception making a high pitched noise. Honestly, I doubt they've grasped that my VW200 is a projector and not a TV.

As said, the unit is about 2 weeks old, with 1 hour on the lamp. Maybe 2.
Usually it is just one ping, when I wrote the post was the first time I heard 3 pings in a row.

I can request assurances in writing, but am not sure what to request... is there any sort of warranty or guarantee on lamp life?

AS stated, that is just the sound of the lamp firing up and I doubt it has any deleterious effect on the bulb. My VW 200 goes on after one or two strikes, but my old Ruby sometimes had to strike several times and the bulb wasn't replaced until after 2000 hours. I use a xenon bulb at work for curing plastics, and it "plinks" as well. The work bulb shuts on and off a couple of times when it is being used and has been going for at least four years without problem.

The lamp has a 90 day warranty, regardless of the hours. Will Sony (or the dealer) swap this for a new unit? If so, you might want to go that route.

Or at least check the dealers display model to make sure you are hearing the same thing.