I've had a Sanyo PLV-Z3 for about 2 years, with about 1800 hours on the bulb. Over the last 2 to 3 weeks, there's been this large sort of blue area, almost like neon blue, over the right side of the screen. It's not really a circular spot, it just kind of spreads over the right 10% of the screen, and I have no idea what it is. Does it mean I need to replace the bulb, is it dust in the projector???? It really kind of stands out on certain color backgrounds. Anyone have this happen to them, or know what it could be?

This looks like failing blue polarized glass-out. Somebody in the forum already reported this problem and sent also illustration pictures.

Common LCD problem due to organic nature of the panels. Switch to DLP or SXRD and it should last you much longer.

what is the cause of the problem?

just got myself a Z3 at about $600, 7 days warranty tough, distributor clearing stocks.

Heat damaging older organic transmissive LCD panels. SXRD is nonorganic 3 transmissive panels. DLP uses tiny mirrors and color wheel.

It could just be dust. Instead of just bashing lcd, someone might be able to help you. Do you still have a 3 year warranty with Sanyo? If you do and you send it to them, make sure you clean the filter first. Also, tell them you clean the filter before every use.

Dust does not cover the right side of the screen. Even if he has 3 year warranty on his Sanyo, Sanyo will blame him for not keeping his PJ clean. LCD (and fanboys) can't take the heat :D

I've NEVER clean my 2 DLP PJ's I own (NEC LT150 and Mits HD1000u).

I've cleaned my Sony CX1 (old XGA LCD) every 2 weeks of its bottom filter and guess what, it's panel turned blue on the edge after 2 years too. This blue will grow with use until it covers the entire image. It's now in the basement collecting dust. You can replace the LCD panels for $300 (myself, or $700 for Sony to do it) but it's not worth it for 200:1 Contrast Ratio :(

I've had a Sanyo PLV-Z3 for about 2 years, with about 1800 hours on the bulb. Over the last 2 to 3 weeks, there's been this large sort of blue area, almost like neon blue, over the right side of the screen. It's not really a circular spot, it just kind of spreads over the right 10% of the screen, and I have no idea what it is. Does it mean I need to replace the bulb, is it dust in the projector???? It really kind of stands out on certain color backgrounds. Anyone have this happen to them, or know what it could be?

If you are still around take a look at this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=572889
Maybe this is what you are experiencing.

This sounds like what happened to me.

I had the blue polarizer on my Z3 fail last October. Sanyo tried to say that it was my fault for not cleaning it (not true) and for ceiling mounting the projector. I went around and around with them. Finally I called a lawyer and had him write a letter to Sanyo.

The thing is, several people on this forum (and others) have had Z3's with this issue fixed under warranty (myself included eventually). Therefore your treatment of the projector is not relevant since they have fixed this issue under warranty for other people. How would they determine if it failed due to your misuse or due to a design flaw?

Anyway - good luck with them. Some people have better luck with Sanyo Warranty than others.

I have what I think is a similiar problem with my Sanyo PLV-Z3. It is at least 4 years old and it out of warranty. There is a blue discoloration on the lower left corner of my screen that gets worse as the projector warms up.


If someone familiar with this problem could take a quick look, I have attached a picture of what is happening and I would be very grateful for confirmation that this is the Blue polarizer discussed in this thread. Since my discoloration is blue, I was thinking it might one of the other two lcd panels that actually has the problem and I really want to understand exactly what I need to change to fix this blue discoloration. If this is indeed the problem, any advice on where to buy the replacement parts would also be apperciated.

I have a PLV-Z3 projector that is about 6 years old with 2160 hours on the original bulb. I have seen many posts regarding the "spreading blue area" issue, but I have not seen any AVS forum posts with a definitive resolution. Some say it's the bulb, others say it's the blue polarizing filter and others blame the LCD itself.

I have taken the projector apart and the blue polarizing filter shows some burn-in, but there is no dust on it. The inside of the projector is very clean so I am sure that dust blobs are not the issue. The polarizer burn-in might account for the static blue areas, but I doubt this is responsible for the blue areas that change as the projector heats up. Is it a bad LCD?

So, does anyone have a resolution and also a recommendation on where to obtain replacement parts.

It is NEVER the bulb, bulbs CANNOT produce light with color anomalies. Burned polarizers are responsible for off-color areas in most cases. And they can spread. But if you're describing a condition where the discoloration comes and goes as the projector is used, then that is not a polarizer, that is panel degradation. Once a polarizer is burned, it CANNOT "unburn", that area is forever damaged.

So if that is the case, you would have to replace the complete optical block assembly and at about $1500 just for the assembly, it would make more sense to buy a new projector.

The individual polarizers are replaceable, but they cost about $175 - $225 each, depending on which one, Red, Green or Blue.

Yeah, I didn't think it was the bulb. It looks like I have 2 issues. If you look at the photo, you can see the blue polarizing filter burn-in area (the hazy blue rectangle in the middle. That is exactly the position of the burn-in when I visually inspected the blue polarizer. You are probably right that the blue streaking areas are due to a bad blue LCD panel. Thanks for the response.

Here is a link to a photo of the problem:
http://www.kitefly.com/projector/Projector-IMG_5355.jpg

Yep, that "comet" streak on the right is the panel. You can see a big difference between the burn and the streak. Unfortunate.