My coworker has a new Sony Pearl (VW50) and he complains about a burning plastic or melting plastic smell when it's running. He's only got a few hours on it so far. Will this go away or is this unusual? It is well ventilated...

Perfectly normal and will disappear after a while.

I've had mine for 8 months and the smell does NOT disappear it just diminishes a little over time.

My Pearl odor disappeared after about 2 months. It returned at a lower level for a few days after I replaced the bulb. It is normal, and most owners report it going away after a while.

Mine diappeared by 15-20 hours of usage...

Thanks for the replies. I gave him your feedback and he was relieved. He was concerned his bad luck with Samsung projectors spread to his new Pearl. He went through 3 Samsung 710's in 1 year before getting the Pearl. :eek:

If he finds melted plastic on his carpet below the projector he should not operate the unit further, should immediately shut the bulb off and after the cooling fans have stopped, unplug it and call 1 800 435 763. Ext 7669) (not a real number, see if you can figure out the words the numbers after 800 spell out.) :)

If he finds melted plastic on his carpet below the projector he should not operate the unit further, should immediately shut the bulb off and after the cooling fans have stopped, unplug it and call 1 800 435 763. Ext 7669) (not a real number, see if you can figure out the words the numbers after 800 spell out.) :)800-HELP ME ext SONY :rolleyes:

You win. I'll send you the melted plastic. :)

I've had mine for 8 months and the smell does NOT disappear it just diminishes a little over time.
Pretty much the same here, installed last December and it still smells a bit hot.

My coworker has a new Sony Pearl (VW50) and he complains about a burning plastic or melting plastic smell when it's running. He's only got a few hours on it so far. Will this go away or is this unusual? It is well ventilated...
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That was exactly what was mentioned by the reviewer at Home Theater magazine during his test of the Sony Pearl : that it smelled very strongly of burning plastic when used for the first time; He even suggested turning the unit "ON" and leaving it outside the house for about 50 hours, and now i see that he wasn't kidding !
I don't know how i personally feel about any piece of electronic equipment that uses light bulbs becoming so hot as to overwhelm anyone's sense of smell; I would imagine that such noticeable high heat would shorten the life of said electronic equipment by a good amount, wouldn't you agree ?
Althought, in all fairness, my understanding is that the internal cooling path of the Pearl is very well-designed, thankfully...
During a previous review of a Sharp front projector he also mentioned that Sharp FPs throw an unbeliveable amount of heat, more so than other FPs....

R E L A X... It is perfectly normal

I along with multitudes of othes also went through the exact same thing with my new Pearl. I also contacted AVS out of concern and found out that the smell is normal and goes away after a shourt period of time with use. Tell your friend to
R E L A X... and enjoy hie Pearl The more he uses it, the quicker the smell will be gone. :)

You win. I'll send you the melted plastic. :)No thanks... Send it to Tryg instead.

My experience is the opposite. I now have 800 hours on my Pearl, and the smell of burning plastic has grown stronger to the point where significant other complains and is sure that we will all die from poisioning. My arguments for "Give me HD or give me death" do not work.

I have cleaned the air filter, but that does not help.

Any other suggestions?

My experience is the opposite. I now have 800 hours on my Pearl, and the smell of burning plastic has grown stronger to the point where significant other complains and is sure that we will all die from poisioning. My arguments for "Give me HD or give me death" do not work.

I have cleaned the air filter, but that does not help.

Any other suggestions?

Get it serviced. That's not the normal smell the rest of us have experienced.

If you are curious, you could open the cover where the lamp assembly is seated, as that is a user-accessible area and won't void your warranty.

Perhaps something is lodged in there adjacent to the lamp and getting too warm?

Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of Sony Pearl in the morning.

Yeah I agree if the smell isn't going away, probably worth a call to Sony.

my bulb has about 1100 hours on it and still has that smell when set on high

Yeah I agree if the smell isn't going away, probably worth a call to Sony.
Gee thanks for telling us that 2 years after we bought a POS that still smells like burning plastic, and you refuse to address associated reliability problems because it is 'out of warranty so see Sony to get it fixed'.

My expectations of AVS are higher than that. You should prevail upon Sony to honor an extension of the warranty for such an obvious design defect.

Gee thanks for telling us that 2 years after we bought a POS that still smells like burning plastic, and you refuse to address associated reliability problems because it is 'out of warranty so see Sony to get it fixed'.

My expectations of AVS are higher than that. You should prevail upon Sony to honor an extension of the warranty for such an obvious design defect.

Whoa.

Where did Jason say THAT??.

Before we jump to anybody implying that AVS as a reseller should be responsible for a potentially defective out-of-warranty product, perhaps it might be best to determine exactly WHAT the issue is?

You say "obvious design defect", yet the vast majority of VW50 users who have posted on the matter say the smell goes away after the residual oils, etc... that accumulated during manufacturing burn off. These issues where the smell lasts for some time appear to be individual cases. That points AWAY from it likely being a design defect.

And do you even know that Sony would deny fixing the issue if it was determined to be defective from the factory?

And lastly it's probably a good idea for anybody nearing the end of warranty for any product to log a call with the manufacturer if it's behaving out of expectation, if for nothing else to get it on the books as an issue. Especially in a case like this where other owners suggested after a few hours of usage the problem subsided, yet this person had the problem persist for the entire first year.

My coworker has a new Sony Pearl (VW50) and he complains about a burning plastic or melting plastic smell when it's running. He's only got a few hours on it so far. Will this go away or is this unusual? It is well ventilated...


Relax, many of us VPL-VW50-60 owners have experienced the same thing and freaked out after smelling it but take heart, it is normal and as others have said, it will go away as time goes by. :)

Whoa! Hold the phone! First off, it is not a POS. Secondly, I am not sure who you even are. Third, you might want to contact me if you need assitance and see what I can help you with.

You have to understand that I am not the only one with this problem (do a search) that causes premature bulb failure (274 hours) and electronics compromised by heat with various symptoms includng a total lack of response to the remote or the buttons on the side. The symptoms cascade and degrade over time.

My first symptoms occurred 14 months after purchase. The AVS response then, and now, is to contact Sony. I have NEVER owned electronics with such an obvious heat dissipation design defect. I design electronics and software for a living and such a defect would never survvie qualification testing. Yet Sony ignores it.

I am not saying that AVS is directly responsible for a design defect, but they are the mfrs represenatative from whom I purchased this unit, in good faith. AVS has a sterling reputation but my confidence has been shaken and that leaves me to ponder whether the next step is to abandon the 10 year relationship since I can afford to deal with this issue on my own.

Have you given Jason a call, tm22721?

All I can say is that my Sony Pearl behaves like the vast majority. It smelled for the first 4 months or so, but it hasn't smelled since then (except for during a very brief week or two when I changed the bulb). Otherwise, no problems with the smell or excess heat.

You have to understand that I am not the only one with this problem (do a search) that causes premature bulb failure (274 hours) and electronics compromised by heat with various symptoms includng a total lack of response to the remote or the buttons on the side. The symptoms cascade and degrade over time.

My first symptoms occurred 14 months after purchase. The AVS response then, and now, is to contact Sony. I have NEVER owned electronics with such an obvious heat dissipation design defect. I design electronics and software for a living and such a defect would never survvie qualification testing. Yet Sony ignores it.

I am not saying that AVS is directly responsible for a design defect, but they are the mfrs represenatative from whom I purchased this unit, in good faith. AVS has a sterling reputation but my confidence has been shaken and that leaves me to ponder whether the next step is to abandon the 10 year relationship since I can afford to deal with this issue on my own.
(emphasis mine)

1) You are claiming this STARTED after 14 months? Your own POST (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=11078538&postcount=3) in this thread indicates that you had the issues with the smell up through 8 months:

I've had mine for 8 months and the smell does NOT disappear it just diminishes a little over time.

The facts: The majority of reports here indicate that smell dissipates after a few hours of use. Your case and the 1 or 2 others are outliers, and may indicate an individual defective unit that you should address with the manufacturer. It would have been easier for you if you had opted to do this within the warranty period, as your earlier post in this thread indicates you were aware of the issue at 8 months, and posts in the same time frame (including mine) indicated that was abnormal. Unless you post to threads you don't read?

2) You claim above a bulb failure at 274 hours. Are also claiming that was 14 months later? Regardless, you managed to not mention that in your little tirade against Jason earlier.

The facts: A number of users, myself included, have experienced premature lamp failure. Particularly the initial lamp shipped with the unit. Subsequent reports of this issue have dropped off. My second lamp lasted >1200 hours, and I'm nearing that on my third. This may have been a lamp production issue, and does not necessarily indicate a design flaw with the projector.

Incidentally, I got Sony to replace my initial short-lived lamp by contacting them. Did you ever do that for either the lamp or smell issue?

3) This is also the first time in this thread you have mentioned non-responsive console or remote buttons. You may want to consider stating all the details before you accuse somebody of being non-responsive.

The facts: There are also no widespread reports here on AVS of this being an issue with these units. This is another indication that you have a bad unit. Manufacturing defects do occur. That is not necessarily indicative of a design flaw.

4) Even if all of the above issues WERE widespread, it would not be AVS's responsibility to address them 2 years after the units had hit the market. It would be Sony's.


You would do well and take your own advice and "do a search" regarding these issues before you post. Particularly you may want to read your own previous posts in order to keep your story straight.

If you can point me to posts here on AVS indicating widespread problems with continuing odor, recent premature lamp failures, or non-responsive buttons, that would be productive and as a fellow VW60 owner, I'd be interested in seeing them. Otherwise you are just venting your misplaced frustration against AVS undeservingly.

Remember also that your projector was 15 months old...we cannot predict when there might be problems. Plus I sold many many many may VW50's, most with no problems.

If the unit is still under the 2 year warranty, why not contact Sony or a local Sony authorized repair shop?

I know a couple of Pearl owners.. They seem very happy with the product now three or even more years into ownership.

Wow, not bad considering they hit the market ~9/06.

;-)

I have yet to own a new digital PJ that did not smell for a while . New lamps usually stink for a bit too from my experience . Consider that the smell might not be going away totally , we just adjust to it and do not smell it any longer . Most guests coming over will seldom complain of an odd smell in your house but maybe if asked they would care to comment ;) .

- Jason

- Jason

I just talked to the dealer (fortunately a reputable dealer) and it is still just covered by the 2 year warranty. I will take it to them, and let them deal with it.

Ill keep you posted on interesting developments. Thanks for the feedback so far.

Talked to the dealer again after it has been in their custody for 22 days. They have realized that it needs to be shipped to Sony Prime Support, but it is still there collecting dust - repair hasn't even started :mad:

Acute HD withdrawal symptoms setting in...

Talked to the dealer again after it has been in their custody for 22 days. They have realized that it needs to be shipped to Sony Prime Support, but it is still there collecting dust - repair hasn't even started :mad:

Acute HD withdrawal symptoms setting in...

Ooof... that stinks.

I really should send my unit in for the 24P "tearing" firmware fix, but I've been trying to wait until I'm going to be out of town for a few weeks for that very reason...

Just an update on my Sony Pearl smelling of burnt plastic:

It should finally be on its way back from Sony (I returned it for service november 5th, so it has taken 5 weeks and 2 days so far). Here is the info I got from the repair centre (their mail in italics):

Good afternoon Mr [person at dealer]

I am updating you on the issue on subject, where earlier today customer called asking for an update. We explained to the caller what the Repair centre found (see below). Customer insisted that the unit smells of burning plastic after half an hour, and wanted to have it tested again. I enquired the repair centre just to make sure, but they confirm the following information:

"You can also smell it when the unit is not on, fan openings; of course this gets stronger when the unit warms up.

Also looked at the inside from the unit and no burned or melted plastic inside".

We have attached the pictures taken from the inside before the repair centre cleaned it.

I hope this will provide the right information to consider this case closed, for, as you can see below, there is nothing else left for the repair centre to check:

REPORT FROM REPAIR CENTRE:

- We have checked the unit and there is a bit of a smell coming from the unit.

- We have cleaned the inside from the unit with compressed air; there was dust (not very much) and spider webs inside the unit.

- This can cause the specific smell. The smell cannot be removed completely.

- The unit is ceiling mounted and we can also see that the bottom plate is wiped off, because there was also dust all over the bottom plate.

- The unit is in technical good shape.

- We have updated the software.

- The unit has 1080 operating and 1054 lamp hours.



In the meantime, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us for further information,



I have attached the photos they sent, and from those it seems that dust inside the unit is fairly insignificant. I find it hard to believe that removing that should change anything, so I am rather anxious that I will receive the unit with the exact same problem it used to have. The smell is sufficiently strong that my wife will no longer watch movies with me (and I can easily smell it too, so she is not being hysterical :).

I was thinking about plugging it in at the store when I get it back, and check whether the problem is there right away. If so, I can demonstrate it to the people at the store too. By now the warranty has run out, but it would seem fair that it should still be fixed as long as the problem occurred before the warranty was out.

Any opinions or ideas about this?

An update:

Finally got my unit back after 6 weeks of "service". The smell problem is exactly the same. I have of course contacted Sony again and here is my description:


What is worse is that the unit has been returned with exactly the same problem that it had when I returned it for warranty repair. It still has a strong smell of "burnt plastic" emanating from the front left exhaust port when ceiling mounted. It is not prevalent when the unit is not running. About 30 minutes after turning the unit on it becomes very pronounced. If you smell the exhaust port itself, it is very unpleasant and clearly smells of hot plastic, not the few specks of spiderwebs/dust that were cleaned by the repair centre. The entire room (around 50 cubic metres) where I run the projector will have a very noticeable smell of plastic after about an hour of running time even with the door open.

If needed, I can do a demonstration of the problem at the store where I bought it.

I should add the it is a problem that was not there when I bought the projector. It has increased over the last few months which leads me to the conclusion that it is not "working as intended".

The email from the repair centre stated that they had examined the unit for burn marks. When it was returned to me, I took it upon myself to check the user servicable areas. I opened up the lamp replacement cover since that would be a natural place to look for heat problems and my findings are documented in the attached picture. It only took me around 10 minutes to locate that, so I am bit surprised that the repair centre failed to notice that.

http://home7.inet.tele.dk/hhb/grafik/burnmarks.JPG

As you can clearly see, the plastic edge above the bulb housing is scorched and bubbled in places at what seems to be the airflow path. When I smell the scorched part, I can easily recognize the same unpleasent smell even when the unit is cold so it would be a fair guess on my part that this might be the direct source of the problem. Of course that should ultimately be determined by qualified service personel including the cause of the overheating - construction error, disrupted airflow or whatever.


Any of you Pearl owners out there that have an opinion on, whether the lamp housing should look like that?

An update:

Finally got my unit back after 6 weeks of "service". The smell problem is exactly the same. I have of course contacted Sony again and here is my description:


What is worse is that the unit has been returned with exactly the same problem that it had when I returned it for warranty repair. It still has a strong smell of "burnt plastic" emanating from the front left exhaust port when ceiling mounted. It is not prevalent when the unit is not running. About 30 minutes after turning the unit on it becomes very pronounced. If you smell the exhaust port itself, it is very unpleasant and clearly smells of hot plastic, not the few specks of spiderwebs/dust that were cleaned by the repair centre. The entire room (around 50 cubic metres) where I run the projector will have a very noticeable smell of plastic after about an hour of running time even with the door open.

If needed, I can do a demonstration of the problem at the store where I bought it.

I should add the it is a problem that was not there when I bought the projector. It has increased over the last few months which leads me to the conclusion that it is not "working as intended".

The email from the repair centre stated that they had examined the unit for burn marks. When it was returned to me, I took it upon myself to check the user servicable areas. I opened up the lamp replacement cover since that would be a natural place to look for heat problems and my findings are documented in the attached picture. It only took me around 10 minutes to locate that, so I am bit surprised that the repair centre failed to notice that.

http://home7.inet.tele.dk/hhb/grafik/burnmarks.JPG

As you can clearly see, the plastic edge above the bulb housing is scorched and bubbled in places at what seems to be the airflow path. When I smell the scorched part, I can easily recognize the same unpleasent smell even when the unit is cold so it would be a fair guess on my part that this might be the direct source of the problem. Of course that should ultimately be determined by qualified service personel including the cause of the overheating - construction error, disrupted airflow or whatever.


Any of you Pearl owners out there that have an opinion on, whether the lamp housing should look like that?

Hans... I agreee it's very disappointing that Sony Service so obviously missed what appears to be the real issue. :mad:

I've not had any smells, so I wasn't paying particular attention when I've had to replace the lamp (twice thus far). My PJ is ceiling mounts, and therefore I'd have to unmount it in order to check this for you, otherwise I'd be happy to compare.

That having been said, if you can smell the odor even when the area is "cold", then this certainly sounds like an issue.

Can you look at the lamp assembly itself and see if it appears damaged also? the lamp has cooling input and output vents on it... are they blocked?

I'm wondering if that bubbled area you circled is "actively" cooled.... I suspect not. Therefore I wonder if the cooling air supply for the lamp itself is failing to sirculate somehow, thus overheating the whole assembly.

Or perhaps there's some alignment issue and the lamp is actually "projecting" on to that plasting housing frame?

Just an update on the situation. Sony support said that the "bubbles" I noticed were completely normal. I removed the bulb assembly, and it was "smelly". I therefore bought a replacement bulb, and the smell has vanished. The old bulb had around 1200 hours on it, but still works, so I guess that I now have an emergency spare.

I have cleaned the filter regularly so the lamp should not have overheated due to that, but I will be even more dilligent in that area now to prevent the problem from arising again.