Sorry if I missed the punch line buried in the ultra deep AX100U thread... I read quite a bit and got the basic story but couldn't see a clear conclusion.

Over the past few days, my unit has developed the "eco flicker". Yes, setting to "Normal" makes the issue disappear. That said, I want to use the lower power mode to increase lamp life and lower the fan noise.

It sounded as though there was a firmware fix (my unit currently is MM:1.04, F:1.00, Im:1.02) and I saw one post that mentioned a unit being upgraded to MM:1.08, F:1.00, Im:1.02 which fixed the issue.

Can someone summarize where this issue stands? Has Panasonic acknowledged the issue? Does a firmware update exist? If so, does it fix the issue? Most importantly, how do I get my unit upgraded (i.e. downloadable by me, I hope)?

Any help would be much appreciated...

Cheers

Sorry if I missed the punch line buried in the ultra deep AX100U thread... I read quite a bit and got the basic story but couldn't see a clear conclusion.

Over the past few days, my unit has developed the "eco flicker". Yes, setting to "Normal" makes the issue disappear. That said, I want to use the lower power mode to increase lamp life and lower the fan noise.

It sounded as though there was a firmware fix (my unit currently is MM:1.04, F:1.00, Im:1.02) and I saw one post that mentioned a unit being upgraded to MM:1.08, F:1.00, Im:1.02 which fixed the issue.

Can someone summarize where this issue stands? Has Panasonic acknowledged the issue? Does a firmware update exist? If so, does it fix the issue? Most importantly, how do I get my unit upgraded (i.e. downloadable by me, I hope)?

Any help would be much appreciated...

Cheers

Hi my friend. The same problem here. I have 1.06 and would like to update by myself. Didi you get any additional information ? Thank you. Alex

It's normal for the types of lamps our PJ's use. Run your PJ at regular lamp setting for a couple of days and it should go away, even when switching back to econ.

It's normal for the types of lamps our PJ's use. Run your PJ at regular lamp setting for a couple of days and it should go away, even when switching back to econ.

Good afternoon.

Obviously, you are representing yourself as an agent and/or employee of Panasonic and more importantly, specifically Panny's projector division.

I would like to see your comments regarding the discoloration issues experienced by many here as well as hear your comments regarding the warranty changes in Australia as they relate to the the ramifications to the machine's longevity, once in the hands of an ultimate consumer; here in the US.

Surely you've already happened across the threads and posts. I'd be interested in hearing what you have to say, not for the purpose of starting a pi$$in' contest but for you to have an opportunity to share some sincere dialog with us with regards to where we are with this guy.

I love my AX100 but it only has <100 hours on it at this point and I have to admit I have some concerns about all the negative things I'm reading. I purchased a 3 year extended warranty with mine so I'm not that worried but $2k is a serious outlay for a hobby-related item for a lot of us and I'd really like to hear the company line on this one.

Thanks in advance for anything you'd be willing to share.

-bob

Good afternoon.

Obviously, you are representing yourself as an agent and/or employee of Panasonic and more importantly, specifically Panny's projector division.



Bob - sorry for the confusion. When I said "our" projectors, I was refering to us as consumers (I'm not in the business, nor would I like to be :p ). The lamps used in all brands of projectors are subject to this condition, and it has been discussed many times here in the forums. Since the earlier posters had limited post counts, I was just trying to reassure them that their projectors were behaving in a normal manner. There is an excellent post by an InFocus employee floating around somewhere that gives the full technical details. If I had it, I would post it.

Edit: here's the link (http://archive2.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5820302&&#post5820302)

Over time, the plasma arc slowly burns away the electrodes, causing the gap to get larger and the projector to get dimmer (the smaller the arc the better the lamp reflector collects the light). This burning also causes the electrodes to become smooth and this smoothness leads to a tendency for the arc to move around, jumping from spot to spot as it tries to find its least energy point. Plasma arcs are “lazy” and always hunt for the smallest distance between the electrodes to conserve energy. As the electrodes wear back, there can exist situations where there are two such places on the electrodes. The jumping back and forth between these two places is known as arc-jump, and is the predominant form of lamp flicker that will be seen in our products.

I would agree this could be the culprit on a pj with hundreds of hours on it, hence the "over time" statement made. How do you explain the numerous people with this problem with only a few hours on the bulb?

I would agree this could be the culprit on a pj with hundreds of hours on it, hence the "over time" statement made. How do you explain the numerous people with this problem with only a few hours on the bulb?

I'm not the expert, so you'll have to develop your own conclusions. Many of us have gone through periods of flicker at all levels of lamp life and had much success using the remedy of running the lamp on high for a few hours or days. That is the first thing anyone should try before seeking warranty service, etc. For the vast majority, this eliminates the problem.

How do I check my firmware? I saw somewhere that there was a secret menu.

Thanks!

I have had same flicker issue with other projector models, and in all cases TIME was the cure, as stated by others it is very likely the lamp going through its normal aging process. To me the telling thing was the ability to modify or eliminate flicker by changing the lamp power setting, either up or down. Now, it might be that a specific bulb model is more susceptible to the flicker process under a different timetable, but probably the same effect in all cases.