Here is a poll to try and get an idea of how many PT-AX100's suffer from the iris problem in this thread http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=762444

Mine is over 500 hours and luckily no iris problems yet.

Feel free to post additional details along with your vote in the poll.

thanks,
Brendin

I had the problem on 2 different pj's...

Heartland replaced the first...then the second one went bad 6 months later, but by then they knew what the problem was and how to fix...got it back in 4 days...

Problem started at about 850hrs. Pretty much occurs every time. Am able to start up on 2nd try with no problems. Weather has gotten much colder lately, not sure if that has anything to do with it but since it is presumably a grease sticking problem, it certainly could be.

It's mildly annoying to have to do a double startup but tolerable enough that I'm not going to send it to Heartland at this time. I might change my mind though if everybody is getting a quick turnaround time.

I haven't had the sticking iris problem, but my unit has been to Heartland twice for a flickering image and it has just started doing it a third time. That will be three times this projector goes back to Heartland in 7 months.:mad:

That's ridiculous,45.45% and counting?!That is some lousy QC, I can't believe people are jumping all over the AX-200:eek:!!!!!Well, those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.I truly hope I'm wrong on this one for anyone who ordered the new model,but can you blame me?

I had to send my AX-100 in twice for the iris problem,however,to Panasonic's credit they sent me a new lamp to cover my return shipping costs and inconvienience after I responded to an e-mail requesting an opinion on their customer support.Believe me I let them have it in my response,but when I think about it,that was the least they could of done considering the wear and tear that was caused on the bulb turning the pj on two to ten times so it would stay on eventually!I noticed a pronounced decrease in brightness after about 1500 hours.

Panasonic has a nice little deal going here,although probbally not intentional,they put out a sort of disposable projector,make a killing with it,then a year later put out the new model and everbody buys that one as well!What did PT Barnum say?!

You gotta love it,it even says in the new AX-200 manual,use of the pj six hours a day everyday consecutivelly could result in the need to send it in within a year to fix the optical engine!Which translates to DON'T USE THIS THING TO MUCH OR YOUR F####D!I mean I can't keep from laughing even as I type this lol:D!!!!!

So in closing,congradulations to Panasonic in one of the greatest success stories of the past year at the expense and aggravation to it's customers.;):D:rolleyes::eek::eek::eek:::D:D...

Tom

Just curious. What is the process to get the problem fixed at Heartland? Do you just call them and then ship it over? Is it that simple? Do you leave the lamp in?

if ur using ur pj more htan 6 hours a day ....sigh.

I had this projector now over a year, I was wondering if its out of warrenty how much does this cost to get repaired?

[B]You gotta love it,it even says in the new AX-200 manual,use of the pj six hours a day everyday consecutivelly could result in the need to send it in within a year to fix the optical engine!

I didn't know that. Do you have a link to the manual? I can't find it on Panasonic's Web site.

if ur using ur pj more htan 6 hours a day ....sigh.

That is such a weak excuse,especially during football season,get the hell out here!

What do you sleep with a Panasonic poster over your bed or something?:eek:

Tom

I didn't know that. Do you have a link to the manual? I can't find it on Panasonic's Web site.

Post 167 on page 6 of the AX-200 owners thread.It's the first link.

Tom

That's ridiculous,45.45% and counting?!That is some lousy QC, I can't believe people are jumping all over the AX-200:eek:!!!!!

Granted, we're still a ways away from a statistically sound sample, but this the numbers so far are pretty bad. I wonder what the defect rate is once you factor in the problems with color shift and image flickering. I've been a long time fan of Panasonic, but it's hard to defend numbers like this.

Granted, we're still a ways away from a statistically sound sample, but this the numbers so far are pretty bad. I wonder what the defect rate is once you factor in the problems with color shift and image flickering. I've been a long time fan of Panasonic, but it's hard to defend numbers like this.

Wonder what percentage would be required for a class action suit against them?

Iris started pumping at around 250 hours. I'll be sending it back to Costco sometime in the next month or two (way too busy right now to make the trip).

Wonder what percentage would be required for a class action suit against them?

Believe me, now that I'm experiencing my 3rd problem with my AX100 in 7 months, that thought has definitely crossed my mind...

if ur using ur pj more htan 6 hours a day ....sigh.

What is wrong with using a projector for more than 6 hours a day??

i thought projectors last longer the longer its kept on? I believe the main cause for bulbs losing life quicker then usual is striking it all the time and not letting it cool properly but isn't it better if ur bulb is on longer rather then striking it 3 times a day so 6 hours straight a day should be no problem.

The manual for the new 1080p Panasonic AE2000U contains the same warning about using that projector for more than six hours.

http://panasonic.co.jp/pavc/global/projector/manual/download/PT-AE2000U_En.pdf

See page 10:

Optical components
If you use the projector consecutively 6 hours every
day, the optical components may need to be replaced
in less than 1 year.

The AE2000U is rated at 500 lumens less than the AX200. Is this warning related to heat from the bulb or some other factor?

The manual for the new 1080p Panasonic AE2000U contains the same warning about using that projector for more than six hours.

http://panasonic.co.jp/pavc/global/projector/manual/download/PT-AE2000U_En.pdf

See page 10:

Optical components
If you use the projector consecutively 6 hours every
day, the optical components may need to be replaced
in less than 1 year.

The AE2000U is rated at 500 lumens less than the AX200. Is this warning related to heat from the bulb or some other factor?

Since the AX200 has a 220 watt bulb and the AE2000U has only a 165 watt, it would seem that it might be something other than heat, but maybe they they are just trying to cover their rear ends.

Since they are promoting the AX200 as a multipurpose family room projector, they should include the 6 hour warning in their promotional literature. With gaming, watching movies, watching sports, etc., it's easy for a family to exceed the 6 hour limit.

If you use the projector consecutively 6 hours every
day, the optical components may need to be replaced
in less than 1 year.

I'd like to know specifically what they are referring to as "optical components".

Regardless, my Panny gets 6 consecutive hours of use maybe twice a week, with an average daily use of 3-5 hours. I don't think that constitutes the sort of "wear and tear" that should necessitate me sending it to Heartland every 2 months.

That's ridiculous,45.45% and counting?!That is some lousy QC, I can't believe people are jumping all over the AX-200:eek:!!!!!Well, those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.I truly hope I'm wrong on this one for anyone who ordered the new model,but can you blame me?

I agree, if this were an actual poll of all AX100 owners. Unfortunately this is a poll of AVS members that purchased an AX100 and spend a good amount of time on the forum (or they likely never would've seen this thread).

However, I think it's a good idea to start a thread that might dispell (sp?) any myths about the AX100U's issues, and the "AX100 problem?" thread is a little bit lengthy and filled with assumptions.

Had the problem twice.. once around 600 hours and again now on around 1200.. (If I remember rightly..)
well this was my last Panny projector..

Iris problem started around 700 hours.

Projector is on 4 hours a day during the week and 8+ hours/day on the weekends.

My AX100U went around 470 hours. Exact same as described so many times by other owners... unit would shut down after 1-3 min. When I go to service menu and check self-test I see IRIS OK but in RED.

Just sent back today to Heartland. I've owned it under 4 months. It's also later build can't remember exact date but April or May I believe.

Will be interesting to see if quality control has improved with AX200U.

When this projector works it is fantastic.

Send it to Heartland. They are replacing the iris and putting the iris's in from the AX200U, per phone conversation with Panasonic Direct.

As you can see, there isn't a lot of people responding to the poll, either good or bad, so how can you draw ANY conclusions?

Anyways, hopefully the replacement with the ax200u iris will be the end all fix for those that have this problem.

if ur using ur pj more htan 6 hours a day ....sigh.

I don't know if you have noticed, but many people now use PJ's as their sole display ;)

got it around 400-500 hrs.

I bought my ax100 in October Last year.
Had the flickering problem in eco mode and the Iris shutdown after 500 hours and a 2 weeks without the projector and they replaced the mainboard and iris.
Another 500 hours and it happened again, Iris sticky again.

They ordered another iris but it was not going to happen so the repair guy said he had more success in fixing the problem himself and cleaned it and replaced the grease.
(PS my lens shift lock also stoped working.) Part was not comming, repair guy fixed it by ruffing up something so it would make better contact with something.

OK again, only been about 20hours so far.

Will be buying an epson next time.

to my knowledge other panny's have had iris problems also. I hear the ax-200 has an improved iris but whether problem is fixed, time will tell.

Started around 700 hours. Coupled with lamp flicker (never went away even when run on normal mode), and poor panel alignment, I'm with Sparehead2- Epson will likely be my next PJ.

Dont know if this is an Iris problem, because I havent seen it personally yet (havent had time to watch a movie lately on it, but my parents have been telling me, about "red sparkles" or something that will pop up and it would be on the outlines of a persons face. I dont know how to explain it but thats how they explained it to me. Anyone ever see anything like this before?

Guys! after 5 months of flawless operation, with 192h on the lamp, I relocated my AX100 from a shelf to a ceiling mount. It worked fine for about 3 hours hanging from the ceiling. Next day it started exhibiting the iris shutdown problem (after 2-3 minutes). I checked on the service menu and the iris section appears red, so I guess it's the dreaded iris sticking problem.

The AX100 is going in for repairs; I'm in Mexico so no Heartland for me. I'll let you know how it goes.

Had I found this poll last week, I would have voted "1-500 hours and still working". Sadly, I now had to vote "malfunctioning". But I guess those whose projectors are working OK have little or no reason to come into the forum.

Dont know if this is an Iris problem, because I havent seen it personally yet (havent had time to watch a movie lately on it, but my parents have been telling me, about "red sparkles" or something that will pop up and it would be on the outlines of a persons face. I dont know how to explain it but thats how they explained it to me. Anyone ever see anything like this before?

Sounds like an HDMI issue to me...is it happening when connected to an HDMI source?

Hello all,

Mine just did the first iris shutdown today. 386 hrs. in on mine, 1.0.8 firmware, bought in May '07. Shutdown happened after 3-4 minutes of use.

Will the wire DIY fix solve this issue? Or is it a grease issue?

Also, where should the TEMP1 & TEMP2 numbers (on the service menu) be when fully warmed up? My numbers drop as it is heating up, and are at TEMP1: 106, TEMP2: 167

Thanks, Scott K.

had the shutoff problem once and sent it back to heartland. worked for a while about another 700hrs and the problems have just begun again

Happened here in Australia to me a week or so ago.

Unit turns itself off after a couple of minutes. You have to switch off at the power point or the rear power switch. Merely attempting to re-power without disconnecting mains (i.e. staying in standby) does not work. Wait five minutes. Re-power and you see the red "OK" next to iris.

Took me a couple of days to find the thread describing the problem.

Have also noticed flickering in ECONOMY mode for a while now (last ~100 hours).

Unit fixed same day under warranty at WESTVIEW in Castle Hill, Sydney by replacing iris mechanism. Probem described as "OVERHEATING IRIS". They told me you should have the fan on HIGH if you ever use the lamp on NORMAL.

Knew about the six hours caveat, but it's the first I've ever heard of the HIGH fan tactic.

Hello all,

Mine just did the first iris shutdown today. 386 hrs. in on mine, 1.0.8 firmware, bought in May '07. Shutdown happened after 3-4 minutes of use.

Will the wire DIY fix solve this issue? Or is it a grease issue?

Also, where should the TEMP1 & TEMP2 numbers (on the service menu) be when fully warmed up? My numbers drop as it is heating up, and are at TEMP1: 106, TEMP2: 167

Thanks, Scott K.

I am sending my unit in to Heartland today. They are replacing the iris assembly with a newly redesigned one, replacing the optical block and updating the firmware. I will let you all know how the turn around time was and how the projector is performing when it returns.

Thanks, Scott K.

Hmmm... When did the iris assembly get redesigned? Hopefully it solves the problem, and is what the AX200U is using.

Thanks for all of your previous posts everyone. I couldn't figure out what was up but my projector is acting the same as everyone else's - after about 500 hours, starts to shut down spontaniously after 1-3 minutes. Pull power plug and re-insert, turns on and runs fine. Started out very infrequent (every 25 plays or so), now happening also every time projector is turned on. Have started conversation with Panasonic Canada customer service, will let you know how it goes. Thanks

They came out with the updated iris sometime in July. I believe it is the one that is now used in the AX200. And I believe it has two bearings, not just the one bearing in the top iris as the AX100 uses. I will look at the new iris and take photos of it when i get my projector back.

Thanks, Scott Karlins

My iris failed at 450 hours a couple months ago. A second reboot was not a problem for me but the last two weekends it took four tries to keep it on. I usually only fire it up on the weekend.

I need to get the Heatland process started as my warranty expires soon.

The WOW factor is still there on this PJ. Very nice pic even on SD stuff.

they came out with the updated iris sometime in July. I believe it is thw one that is now used in the AX200. And i believe it has two bearings, not just the one bearing in thw top iris
Perfect. Thx for the info.

190 hours here... I had the problem when I first got the projector for about the first 20 hours or so, then it went away and I did not have a spot of trouble until this past weekend, I cycled the power about 10 times and it still did not come on, a shame, I was really looking forward to Transformers this week :(

Now I need to ship it back to the states from Canada for warrenty service because I purchased out of country, what a bummer.

Got the dreaded iris problem at just under 1500 hours. Thought I might be in the clear, but no go. Same problem as everyone else - projector shuts down after 1-5 minutes and then won't restart without cutting and then reconnecting power to the projector.

So now I have to send the damn thing to Heartland. VERY frustrating. The customer service at Heartland was good so far, but the morons at Panny are stupid. Can't even transfer a call right.

I did get some info from the guy I spoke to. He did say that they were now replacing the part with the same part used in the AX-200 and that in the past they had used some re-jiggered part to try to fix the problem. He didn't know when they started using the "new" part to fix the AX-100 IRIS problem, but he didn't think any AX-200 parts had come back a 2nd time to be fixed.

He did say that it was a degenerative problem meaning that one cold reboot would turn into 2 or 3 or 20, sooner or later.

So I'm going to send it in for a fix - I guess - but I'm entirely unhappy about being without it for 4-5 days depending on shipping. He did say that this problem in particular is being given top priority in their shop.

Anyone have any luck getting Panasonic to pick up the shipping on having to send it to flippin' Kansas (any thought of putting one in the NY area? Anyone? Bueller?). They said I'd have to pay the shipping out to the service center.

Just wanted to share my story and find out if anyone had any luck on comps like free shipping the first time they had to send it in for a problem. I think I'm going to get a supervisor on the phone at Panasonic and do some yelling.

Then I just need to figure out the best time to send it in when I wouldn't be watching it as much.

I tried to get them to cover my shipping to them... No go.

I should get mine back this week or early next week. I shipped it in for a Tuesday AM delivery. Today it is on the bench being repaired. Heartland returns your projector via 2 Day Air.

Thanks, Scott K.

This will be the THIRD time,count em',the THIRD time I'm going to have to send this rinky dink POS in for the iris problem...not to mention the convergence issue that reared it's ugly face again!:eek:
If we had any brains we should get a collective pettition going and file a class action with the BBB.
I recently had to change the lamp on this due to it dimming at around 1500 hours,and then the iris goes again!My 4805's lamp stayed nice and bright up to 3000 hours where it eventually died.My point is this thing is a junker all the way around;the screws on the lamp housing were very cheap and stripped,it took some force and a good 1/2 hour to get them loose.
I talked to some guy at Heartland who told me even if your out of warranty they will supply the iris part for free,BUT,you have to pay for the labor:130$,plus shipping.Oh,is'nt that so nice of them to throw us a bone like that!That's the very least they could do...they really should pick up the tab for the labor as well.And while were at it, the shipping as well,or some kind of rebate,but we all know that will never happen!

To this day I don't know why they wrote the firmware to shut the projector off in the event of an iris failure.What an inconvienent,and somewhat egotistacal thing to do.Screw it; if it happens let the consumer pay for it.
I know some will say the iris is integral to the contrast and gamma etc.But what good is that if the thing won't stay on...this is the worst electronics purchase I have ever made.

Tom




''Just wanted to share my story and find out if anyone had any luck on comps like free shipping the first time they had to send it in for a problem. I think I'm going to get a supervisor on the phone at Panasonic and do some yelling.''

I am sending my unit in to Heartland today. They are replacing the iris assembly with a newly redesigned one, replacing the optical block and updating the firmware. I will let you all know how the turn around time was and how the projector is performing when it returns.

Thanks, Scott K.

My AX100 is shipping from Heartland today. They bumped the shipping to overnight for me, so I would receive it for the weekend. (Very nice of them!)

I will post results here once I fire it up. I will also open the lid to see what the new Iris Assembly looks like.

Thanks, Scott K.

This will be the THIRD time,count em',the THIRD time I'm going to have to send this rinky dink POS in for the iris problem...not to mention the convergence issue that reared it's ugly face again!:eek:
If we had any brains we should get a collective pettition going and file a class action with the BBB.
I recently had to change the lamp on this due to it dimming at around 1500 hours,and then the iris goes again!My 4805's lamp stayed nice and bright up to 3000 hours where it eventually died.My point is this thing is a junker all the way around;the screws on the lamp housing were very cheap and stripped,it took some force and a good 1/2 hour to get them loose.
I talked to some guy at Heartland who told me even if your out of warranty they will supply the iris part for free,BUT,you have to pay for the labor:130$,plus shipping.Oh,is'nt that so nice of them to throw us a bone like that!That's the very least they could do...they really should pick up the tab for the labor as well.And while were at it, the shipping as well,or some kind of rebate,but we all know that will never happen!

To this day I don't know why they wrote the firmware to shut the projector off in the event of an iris failure.What an inconvienent,and somewhat egotistacal thing to do.Screw it; if it happens let the consumer pay for it.
I know some will say the iris is integral to the contrast and gamma etc.But what good is that if the thing won't stay on...this is the worst electronics purchase I have ever made.

Tom




''Just wanted to share my story and find out if anyone had any luck on comps like free shipping the first time they had to send it in for a problem. I think I'm going to get a supervisor on the phone at Panasonic and do some yelling.''

I'm not sure when your AX100 took it's last trip to Heartland, but, mine is coming back tomorrow (first time). Had 1.0.8 firmware, January 2007 build. They told me that the new Iris is from the AX200, and has been totally redesigned, and they have not had any issues with the new one. Started using these new ones in late July. I will let you know what my firmware is, and what the new iris looks like once I get it back tomorrow.

I think prior to the new AX200 iris, they were simply replacing the grease on the original, then replacing the whole iris assembly with the same AX100 one.

Thanks, Scott K.

The manual for the new 1080p Panasonic AE2000U contains the same warning about using that projector for more than six hours.

http://panasonic.co.jp/pavc/global/projector/manual/download/PT-AE2000U_En.pdf

See page 10:

Optical components
If you use the projector consecutively 6 hours every
day, the optical components may need to be replaced
in less than 1 year.

The AE2000U is rated at 500 lumens less than the AX200. Is this warning related to heat from the bulb or some other factor?

Interesting, I just looked and could not find any such warning in the AE1000U manual, maybe I just missed it some how.

My AX100 is shipping from Heartland today. They bumped the shipping to overnight for me, so I would receive it for the weekend. (Very nice of them!)

I will post results here once I fire it up. I will also open the lid to see what the new Iris Assembly looks like.

Thanks, Scott K.


Ok, got my AX100 back via UPS RED this morning.

They did the following:
New Iris Assembly (the AX200 new one)
Firmware update to 1.12 (was on 1.08)
New Optical Block
New Lamp

Heartland put a warranty sticker across my cover, so I did not open the top. But, I was able to remove the Lamp Assembly and confirm I got a new Lamp and Iris Assembly.

The new Iris Assembly is a bit different, most notably, the lower iris now has a bearing like the upper one. This should indeed solve the grease issue where the grease gets gummed up. This iris moved perfectly smooth, with no resistance at all. It immediately flipped back to open with it's spring.

The 1.12 firmware has the blue background on the Test Pattern screens as others on the forum have indicated. Also, no more red / blue discoloration on a white picture. I'm guessing the new optical block solved that issue.

Picture looks perfect as always from this great projector.

Thanks, Scott K.

Ok, got my AX100 back via UPS RED this morning.

They did the following:
New Iris Assembly (the AX200 new one)
Firmware update to 1.12 (was on 1.08)
New Optical Block
New Lamp

Heartland put a warranty sticker across my cover, so I did not open the top. But, I was able to remove the Lamp Assembly and confirm I got a new Lamp and Iris Assembly.

The new Iris Assembly is a bit different, most notably, the lower iris now has a bearing like the upper one. This should indeed solve the grease issue where the grease gets gummed up. This iris moved perfectly smooth, with no resistance at all. It immediately flipped back to open with it's spring.

The 1.12 firmware has the blue background on the Test Pattern screens as others on the forum have indicated. Also, no more red / blue discoloration on a white picture. I'm guessing the new optical block solved that issue.

Picture looks perfect as always from this great projector.

Thanks, Scott K.

Wow, they gave you a new lamp too? That's nice.

Hey guys -- not sure who you heard from that they would charge you $130 for labor if your IRIS fails after the warrenty period. I have 140 hours on my AX100 so far -- no problems yet. But I emailed the Panasonic Service Manager about this-- to see if they would replace the iris after the warrenty runs out (since its a known defective part) ---- he emailed me back that if I had a problem with it in the future -- they would replace it free of charge -- I will save his email as reference (just in case)...

Hi all

thanks for all the posts. I had no idea what the problem was. I thought it was the lamp which is only 700 hours old.

When I rang the repair centre they immediately knew about the problem which means it's happening to quite a few people.

I'm sending it in for repair and they say it should be back in a few days - here's hoping.

Jeff
Melbourne, Australia

Wow, they gave you a new lamp too? That's nice.

Yes, that's cool that they gave you a new lamp. Seems like the least they could do. Anyone else here gotten a new lamp with this iris fix recently?

I have to send mine in for the fix too. I'm not going to do it until next week since I want to have it for a party I'm having this weekend. They sent me the work order and said I could send it in whenever, so next week it goes.

It really would be great if they provided a new lamp. Thanks to everyone for their comments on this subject. They have been hugely helpful to me.

Wow, they gave you a new lamp too? That's nice.

Yes, that's cool that they gave you a new lamp. Seems like the least they could do. Anyone else here gotten a new lamp with this iris fix recently?

I have to send mine in for the fix too. I'm not going to do it until next week since I want to have it for a party I'm having this weekend. They sent me the work order and said I could send it in whenever, so next week it goes.

It really would be great if they provided a new lamp. Thanks to everyone for their comments on this subject. They have been hugely helpful to me.

Huh. Normally when I see double it's an image on the left and an image on the right, but this time it's one on top and one on the bottom. Strange. Oh well - it's probably that green bread I had for breakfast. On a positive note, no staph infection for me!

Just recently I noticed a bit of flickering, nothing major, but it was there...
I had shutoff the dynamic Iris thinking this was the issue, but flickering remained..
Well, it JUST shutoff within 2 minutes of turning it on, I forgot about this issue, because I haven't had a problem.
I unplug it, and it turns back on... it failed twice, so I unplugged it twice, and so far it's working...

The Lamp has 1073 hrs, and it started flickering a bit around 100 hrs ago.

I went into the SM, and everything was OK, BUT the Iris was OK in RED.... I exited the self check, then went back into it... now self check says everything is OK, and Iris is OK still, but NOT in RED....

Seems I'm headed for the dreaded issue..... arrrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhh

Sent mine back to Heartland on Monday... from Canada, the received it Thursday and shipped it back out Thursday... I hope they did everything they needed to, to get it fixed... makes me nervous they turned it around that quickly.

So... the ultimate question is with a new optical block and the new 200 series iris, is the 100, for all intents and purposes; a 200 after the repairs by Heartland?

I don't have near the hours most of you have on yours. I use mine very occasionally but I'd like to bribe Heartland into fixing mine before the warranty runs out and before it breaks. Has anyone had any success at this tactic given the breakdown percentages?

I have always kept dynamic iris turned off, and only used normal bulb setting - and not eco-mode. I started getting the fluctuating brightness/flicker at about 600 hours, along with some other problems. Talking with Panasonic now...

Count me in.

Started just shy over 500 hours. I'm at 536 today, and this is the 3rd time. Has started back up fine after cold boot each time.

Bought mine at Costco, so I'm not sure whether I should go through Panasonic or just return to Costco. I understand Costco has changed their return policy, but I bought mine before the change. Anyone know if I'll be grandfathered in to the "old" policy?

This sucks. :mad:

Had the problem twice, both after around 500 hours of use. The first time I just got a new one, now I've been waiting over a month after this second one failed to get it solved/repaired/new .. just anything. If it brakes down again ( 3rd time ) within 2 years of purchase I have the right of a refund. I like it when it's workin though, but I did notice the flicker in economy mode on both of them ( comes and goes ).

I just purchased the projector last week. $1099 seemed like a great price. My question is is there a way to tell if the projector has the new or old style iris? My unit has a build month of July.

I`m so glad I just ran into this thread.
My Panny700 needs a replacement and I was thinking abouth gettin the AX100, but not after reading this thread.
I`m on my 3. bulb and just passing 1800 ours. 1. blowed after 440 ours, 2. blowed at 1100 ours and now the picture is starting to get dim again. Maybe 100 ours left.

As it seems they still have problems with their products, I think it is time to move on to another manufacturer.

To own a Panasonic projector has been a very expensive experience to me, sadly. But the thing that I get realy mad abouth is that Panasonic always gives me the impression that I`m doing somthing wrong, and I`m the only one in Denmark having problems with bulb lifetime:rolleyes:
No, never ever Panasonic again:mad:
Regards
Sweagle

Are you cleaning the filter regularly? Why would you get the ax100 when the ax200 is new and cheaper? I've never read where a bulb actually blew out, well maybe once or twice.

Count me in.

Started just shy over 500 hours. I'm at 536 today, and this is the 3rd time. Has started back up fine after cold boot each time.

Bought mine at Costco, so I'm not sure whether I should go through Panasonic or just return to Costco. I understand Costco has changed their return policy, but I bought mine before the change. Anyone know if I'll be grandfathered in to the "old" policy?

This sucks. :mad:
I had the same problem, and had no problem returning it to the shop-that-cannot-be-named (Never imagined that I would end up returning it after watching the projector in the first few months) . I bought mine just before the policy changed.

No more Panny Projectors for me...

I had the problem with the total shut down after 2 minutes twice, first time after about 500 hours and second after about 1200 hours and Heartland "fixed" it twice. Now, as the whether here in Los Angeles is getting below 60 degrees I have just noticed that for the first hour of running the picture is dimming and then flickering darker. I will call Heartland again, and let the forum know the result.

SEND IT BACK to Heartland and get these Iris's replaced with the AX200 iris. Problems solved.

SEND IT BACK to Heartland and get these Iris's replaced with the AX200 iris. Problems solved.

I really really really really... and I mean REALLY hope you are right, but does anyone have enough hours on the AX200 or even the newly repaired AX100's to be certain this problem hasn't come back? It took over 3 months for my problem to pop-up, I did not think this soultion was that old for someone to have hundreds and hundreds of hours on the new iris.

They just started putting the ax200 iris in the ax100 units about 5 to 6 weeks ago. You just gotta hope that Panny didn't make the same mistake twice (although I was told the bad iris's were from a faulty supplier and not all ax100's used the same iris) and take it on faith (yeah, that's hard to do) that the new design won't have the same issue.

Good Luck!

Are you cleaning the filter regularly? Why would you get the ax100 when the ax200 is new and cheaper? I've never read where a bulb actually blew out, well maybe once or twice.

The filter gets cleaned as recommended.
Projector has always been ceiling mount.
Here in EU the ax200 is still more expensive.
Think I will be watching peoples experiences with the ax200 closely before making up my mind.
It`s just very strange that some can run it witouth any problems for many thousands ours and others, like me, have to strogle with the short bulb lifetime.
I would guess the voltage regulator is to blame, taking the flickering into account, but I`m not shure abouth this ??
Regards
Sweagle

My second AX100 is on 610hours and the brightness/flicker issue that plagued my first AX100 (brand new) is now appearing. More prevalent on Eco, but glaringly obvious in Normal (expecially the pulsing). Went into Self Check in the Service Mode and noticed the Iris wasnt highlighted, but the Lamp was highlighted RED, but still said OK. Would this still be classed as an Iris issue? My first AX100 was repaired with a new optical block but still did not resolve that, and after 3 months finally fought for a new PJ. Any ideas?

You guys are SO lucky to have such a quick turnaround time from heartland. My local service center tells me they found the problem with my PJ (stuck iris, I could'a told them that), they ordered the part, from JAPAN, so I'm looking at 45 days without my projector. Well, at least it was under warranty...

Just sent my PJ back to Heartland for the third time. Purchased September '06, sent it to Hearltand with iris problems in April '07 then again when the problem returned in May '07.

I'm out of warranty and Panasonic isn't offering anything, so I'm out shipping and repair costs.

Grr.

Happened at 400 hours.

I shipped out my AX100U to Heartland for the Iris problem on Monday. Sent it overnight. They received it yesterday morning, replaced the iris with the one from the AX200 and shipped it back 2 day air yesterday (received, fixed and shipped back in the same day).

I should have it tomorrow. They also updated the firmware, but did not give me a new lamp. Dammit. Oh well. At least my problem is now hopefully fixed. The guy did say that they haven't received any units back to his knowledge after they've put in the AX200 iris as a replacement. So hopefully this problem is done.

I shipped out my AX100U to Heartland for the Iris problem on Monday. Sent it overnight. They received it yesterday morning, replaced the iris with the one from the AX200 and shipped it back 2 day air yesterday (received, fixed and shipped back in the same day).

I should have it tomorrow. They also updated the firmware, but did not give me a new lamp. Dammit. Oh well. At least my problem is now hopefully fixed. The guy did say that they haven't received any units back to his knowledge after they've put in the AX200 iris as a replacement. So hopefully this problem is done.

Heartland received mine 1wk ago and I haven't gotten it back yet. Did they contact you when they received it or when they shipped it?

I shipped out my AX100U to Heartland for the Iris problem on Monday. Sent it overnight. They received it yesterday morning, replaced the iris with the one from the AX200 and shipped it back 2 day air yesterday (received, fixed and shipped back in the same day).

I should have it tomorrow. They also updated the firmware, but did not give me a new lamp. Dammit. Oh well. At least my problem is now hopefully fixed. The guy did say that they haven't received any units back to his knowledge after they've put in the AX200 iris as a replacement. So hopefully this problem is done.

They fixed mine and shipped out the same day they received it as well. I still don't have it yet, stuck at my buddies in the states, waiting for him to come for a visit. Hopefully this week! He said they work order indicated the iris was replaced and the firmware was updated as well... no new lamp here either :(

Heartland received mine 1wk ago and I haven't gotten it back yet. Did they contact you when they received it or when they shipped it?

I just got it back today. No new lamp here either. There is no reason they should give a new lamp so I wasn't expecting it. Looks like the person who posted he got a new lamp was an isolated case.

Heartland received mine 1wk ago and I haven't gotten it back yet. Did they contact you when they received it or when they shipped it?

They did not contact me. I overnighted it on Monday. I know they received it on Tue morning so I called them today (Wed Morning) and asked for the same rep I originally spoke to and he told me what was done to it and said it got shipped back the same day by 2 day air. He gave me the tracking number as well.

They should give EVERYONE who has this problem a new lamp for our trouble (and our shipping expense!). This will factor into my opinion as to whether to ever buy a Panny again. My feeling would be to lean against for this reason. When this thing works, I do love the picture. I could never have afforded such a tremendous picture on a 98 inch screen without a projector.

Another one bites the dust.

~650 hours on the clock. Ceiling mounted. Air conditioned house with no extremes in temperature. Not run for longer than 6 hours on any regular basis. Bought in Jan 07.

As of last week it has started shutting down as described about two minutes after switching on. For now, it stays on when you power it back up, but I'll be arranging for a warranty swap ASAP.

Shame too, cause otherwise, this projector is about perfect.

Guys! after 5 months of flawless operation, with 192h on the lamp, I relocated my AX100 from a shelf to a ceiling mount. It worked fine for about 3 hours hanging from the ceiling. Next day it started exhibiting the iris shutdown problem (after 2-3 minutes). I checked on the service menu and the iris section appears red, so I guess it's the dreaded iris sticking problem.

The AX100 is going in for repairs; I'm in Mexico so no Heartland for me. I'll let you know how it goes.

Had I found this poll last week, I would have voted "1-500 hours and still working". Sadly, I now had to vote "malfunctioning". But I guess those whose projectors are working OK have little or no reason to come into the forum.

im just curious, u say u moved pj from shelf where it ran ok then to ceiling mount and then troubles started. is it upside down on ceiling mount? im just wondering if changing the pjs orientation from right side up to upside down had anything to do w iris/any other issues?

other ax100 owners, were your pjs upside down when iris or other probs started? any chance that could cause or at least contribute to issue(s)?

My AX100 has always been shelf-mounted, and it's in the shop for the third time.

Heartland got it Wednesday at 10am and I still haven't been contacted as to a quote for service (I'm out of warranty). I'm pretty disappointed after reading that others were getting one-day turnaround.

** Update **
Heartland tells me that Panasonic decided to cover the repair under warranty. They are hoping to ship today. :)

My AX100 has always been shelf-mounted, and it's in the shop for the third time.

Heartland got it Wednesday at 10am and I still haven't been contacted as to a quote for service (I'm out of warranty). I'm pretty disappointed after reading that others were getting one-day turnaround.

** Update **
Heartland tells me that Panasonic decided to cover the repair under warranty. They are hoping to ship today. :)
allright, it was just a shot. good luck!

I sent my Ax100 to Heartland last Friday via UPS ground from Atlanta and got it back today. An impressive turnaround. I had about 520 hours on the lamp.

The work order says "Replaced Iris". I hope they left the firmware alone. We'll see tomorrow.

I sent my Ax100 to Heartland last Friday via UPS ground from Atlanta and got it back today. An impressive turnaround. I had about 520 hours on the lamp.

The work order says "Replaced Iris". I hope they left the firmware alone. We'll see tomorrow.

Why? Whats wrong with the new firmware?

thanks,
Brendin

Just got my projector back from Heartland. The paperwork only mentioned an iris replacement, but the Firmware was updated. They also did something to fix the blue/red shift around the edges of the image.

Time to finally watch that HD-DVD of 2001: A Space Odyssey!

Why? Whats wrong with the new firmware?

thanks,
Brendin

The Eco and Normal lamp modes look almost identical with the new firmware. I had hoped to get some extra life out out of the lamp by switching to Normal when dimming becomes significant. Oh well.

I received my pj back from Heartland today. The paperwork states that the IRIS was replaced and the firmware was updated. How do you know if the replacment IRIS is from the AX200? This was the second time I've sent mine in for an IRIS problem.

Sounds as if im having the same issue of the Iris sticking...my question is, since my projector is not under warranty and you can buy the Iris unit off panasonic.com is it possible to replace it yourself? If so has anyone ever done this?

im just curious, u say u moved pj from shelf where it ran ok then to ceiling mount and then troubles started. is it upside down on ceiling mount? im just wondering if changing the pjs orientation from right side up to upside down had anything to do w iris/any other issues?

Yep, from upright position I switched it to hanging upside down from the ceiling mount. We might wait and see what everybody else says. Still, the thing is designed to work in that position so I don't really think the ceiling mount is an issue. Also, the service center never said anything like "aha, it was because you put it upside down". They mentioned that, due to Mexico City's altitude, I should always run on high altitude setting, which of course, I've done since I got the PJ out of the box.

Couple questions:

I, as many here, have just started having the Iris shutdown problem. Currently at around 450 hours. Taking 3-4 times to restart.

Just checked my receipt, and I purchased it on 11/29/2006 from Costco. I really like this projector, and I'm not ready to drop the cash for an upgrade to 1080p.

So here's my questions:

1. Does this projector have a 1-year warranty? If so, I need to make this decision quick.

2. If I do call Panasonic and have them fix it pursuant to the warranty, will that void my "costco warranty" should anything else happen to it in the near future?

(FYI: The reason I paid more for it at Costco rather than an online dealer, is for just this type of extended protection. So please withhold your personal feeling about Costco's return policy.)

I'm really torn on what to do. This PJ is faulty. Panasonic, in my mind, should fix it. But, I dont think its worth sacrificing my Costco protection which is the reason I paid extra for it.

Anyone have a similar situation, or if not, thought on it?

Thanks in advance.


I guess another question is, for anyone who has received a warranty serviced PJ back, is there anything done to it to indicate it had been serviced? Or does it simply look like the same projector you had when you sent it in?

I am almost at 600 hours and havent had the issue with the iris powering off, but the issue I am noticing is that I will see a line of pixelation after it is on for a while. One I will notice is in the movie 300 the yellow sky was outlined with a yellow pixelated line. This was the first I have seen it but it has gotten worse, to a point one time where it looked like a fuzzy pixelated picture. When I turned it off it came back fine but I am worried that something more serious may be wrong, has anyone hear of this issue?

Smitty20.... send in your unit to get fixed. C store extends the manuf. warranty, and you actually have a 2 yr warranty. I'd call C 1st, tell them you have a problem and follow their instructions. I'd make sure you get to send it in to heartland as they are replacing the iris with the one from the ax200.

Smitty20.... send in your unit to get fixed. C store extends the manuf. warranty, and you actually have a 2 yr warranty. I'd call C 1st, tell them you have a problem and follow their instructions. I'd make sure you get to send it in to heartland as they are replacing the iris with the one from the ax200.


Thanks, I called Costco and they said that I should just go ahead and send it in to Panasonic for warranty repair.

They said because I was grandfathered into the old return policy (bought this on 11/29/06), if I am not happy with the serviced PJ, or want to return for any other reason in the future, I may still do so at any Costco store for a refund.

I love Costco's customer service!

Just like the title says; it only took 47 days, but it appears like the iris problem is fixed. Any way to check whether I got the iris unit from the AX200?

I just got mine back, don't know if something was replaced. But I'm guessing so cause if I remember it's weight correctly (just from holding it) it's almost twice that weigth now. Also the firmware is updated.

Ok, so i feel like an idiot because I told my friend that the ax100 was a good pj 1 year ago, when he bought his from rymes with postco. Its 1 year later, he has 200hrs on the bulb and now he says the pj won't turn on at all. I wonder if the bulb went out? Have other people had this problem? He bought it from this company before they changed their return policy on pj's and tv's. Do you think he could get a refund it turns out his pj is defective. The last thing i wanna do is reccomend for him to buy a $400 bulb and then see that blow up in another 200hrs.

Sent mine in to heartland. Got it back a week later. Iris was replaced but they didn't give me a new bulb. Been perfectly fine since I got it back. Panasonic Customer Service was great; spent a grand total of 5 minutes on the phone and everything was all set.

I'm pretty worried. I've owned this thing for 11 months but only put 670 hours on it, which leaves only a month that it can die under warranty. Though my credit card does extend warranties, so I guess that helps.

1st one died ... 2nd one is holding around 520 hours on it ... so far so good .... no issues at all actually with this one .. *keeping fingers crossed*

Buddha2oo7

Well I started this thread hoping I wouldn't see the iris problem...too bad but it happened to me today with just over 700 hours on the projector. Mine is out of warranty by about a month I think. I wonder if they'll fix it for me. I'm thinking this could be a class action lawsuit. I suspect the majority of the projectors will fail. If yours hasn't failed yet its just a matter of time...Will phone heartland tomorrow and see...

Sounds like Panasonic should make this a general recall! Does anyone know what the cost of this is out of warranty?

talked to Heartland today and was told that Panasonic extended the warranty for this issue an extra 3 months so 15months for this issue. Bad thing for me though is I am in Canada and bought it from the US before it was available here. Heartland will fix it for me but I have to pay for shipping both ways. Usually they pay the shipping back. I asked if I could pay the difference and they said no :( At least I can get it fixed under warranty...

Brendin

where did u buy it from? xnaron?

Just over 700 hours, mine died yesterday at the start of the Packers Game. It did come back on after hitting the power on the back of the projector, and worked after that. IRIS was in red. It's going to Heartland tomorrow for repair.

RonO

450 hours and mine has started to go belly up. I'm really fuming about this - there is obviously a defect with this product and Panasonic should cover the cost of repair.

Anyone got any info to back up Xarnon's comment?

I got my projector back from heartland. Very fast turn around time. The repair notes say that they replaced the IRIS. It doesn't look like they updated my firmware though as I still have the white test screen. They told me they were going to update the firmware as well as replace the IRIS. I thought that when they updated the firmware the test screen would be blue? Comments?

Brendin

I shipped out my AX100U to Heartland for the Iris problem on Monday. Sent it overnight. They received it yesterday morning, replaced the iris with the one from the AX200 and shipped it back 2 day air yesterday (received, fixed and shipped back in the same day).

I should have it tomorrow. They also updated the firmware, but did not give me a new lamp. Dammit. Oh well. At least my problem is now hopefully fixed. The guy did say that they haven't received any units back to his knowledge after they've put in the AX200 iris as a replacement. So hopefully this problem is done.

How do you know they updated the firmware?

I got my projector back from heartland. Very fast turn around time. The repair notes say that they replaced the IRIS. It doesn't look like they updated my firmware though as I still have the white test screen. They told me they were going to update the firmware as well as replace the IRIS. I thought that when they updated the firmware the test screen would be blue? Comments?

Brendin


To check firmware:
When PJ is on push power, arrow right, up, down, up, down, enter
Go into selfcheck menu

With the new firmware the testscreen should be blue...
I got firmware 1.12 and have the blue testscreen

elis

My iris stuck at about 500 hrs. Was fixed under warranty. I sent a detailed email to the service centre, explaining that I understood the new iris design was the final fix, and that replacing the fautly one with one of the same design resulted in another failure, typically at 400 to 800 hours, as documented on various ax100 threads on both Avs and Av forums. I asked for a 2 other issues to be addressed.

Panny repair centre would not say what they had done, even after several requests on my part. Suggests they put an old type in, but who knows, hurra to Panny for not giving a monkies about customer satisfaction or confidence in a 1400 euro product, and a lot of folk paid way more then that when it first came out. Also, the other issues were not addressed.

Epson are usually listed as giving a 3 year standard warranty, which in itself suggests strong confidence in their R and D and QC, and that would bring their tw700 /810 comparative model close to the ax100 when you factor the need for an extended warrenty on this unit.

I argued like many people, that early reports of a problem with this pj was probably statisticly insignificant and confined to people with problems on the net looking for answers, and therefore not representative of a wider section of owners. This is a logical stance regarding threads and posts on forums. But when you get a lot of new owners with no problems posting to tell of their happy purchases, also then becoming part of the Legion of the Damed, of which you also now march, then you know the awful truth. I know of four other people in my city with this pj, and they all had the iris sticking issue. So my faith in top tier branded consumer electronics has finally been shaken, not by this little fault, but by the customer service provided so far. I'll give them another go, if they make some effort, then I'll stick with them, if not, I'm off the Panny happy boat to seek a more pleasent harbour.

Oh, in case of confusion, as in, 'well it was fixed,' the problem is...if the old iris assembly type was installed at this late point, when it's been known since July, August that the new one was the fix, then my pj was (not actually fixed), just gotten in and out the door.

My iris problems started at 1100 and I had owned it for 13 months. Sent to Heartland and was back to me in two day's. Going to give it a workout today.

I was bitching about my replacement ax100 iris, so only fair that I post my good news.

Found Vegasjefs pictures of the original ax100 iris, page 6, post 178 on the pt ax100 problem thread. By just removing the bulb, I can see that the replacement iris in my ax100 does not have the snap ring on the lower pivot and appears to have the same pivot mechanism as the one seen on the upper iris pivot in the Vegasjef post. That would make it the ax200 assembly I'm sure. You can only see the bottom pivot from the lamp bay by the way.

So I did get a the correct ax200 iris fix it seems - as it would have had plenty of R and D based on the documented problem with the ax100 iris. I am lost as to why I was not told this after several requests as to the nature of the fix. It was clear I was well versed with the issue, and had made it clear I knew the only real fix was the redesigned iris..

Anyway, I am now ready to kiss and make up with Panny, but .... I 'm not yet ready to take it further yet, although we have a relationship dating back decades. As relationships go, Panny stays up to date with the newest trends, and remains sexy to me after many years. Better then any other relationship I've been in. Glad I don't use my real name, the other fleshy woman in my life would be jealous, maybe even leave me. But, I'd still have my lovely fixed up Panny to entertain me with glorious images of Ashley and Jessica in the masterpiece ' Into the Blue.'

Bought the thing in Dec 2006.

Had the PCB replaced due to a faulty HDMI input 2 months ago now I have the dreaded iris issue.

I hope the 15 months slightly extended warranty that has been posted about is correct as I should then get this thing replaced at their cost.

Sent Panasonic service in Australia an email about it and conveyed that I was not impressed with this projector thus far. Hopefully they will come good with an AX200 iris.

I had about 700 hours on it when I had the PCB replaced but that then reset the timer so I guess I've got about 800 hours on the globe.

Thanks to all that provided invaluable insite into this problem.

Wayne Murray.

Sounds like Panasonic should make this a general recall! Does anyone know what the cost of this is out of warranty?
There is another happy way of looking at the AX100 issues. It has a fantstic picture out of the biox and many people paid around $1400.00 for it. It is now available for under a grand. When the PJ iris fails (which is the most common issue), a trip to Heartland and you get a new AX200 iris (complete redesign), a filter and lens cleaning, a firware upfate and a general check and tune. All for $25.00 shipping. i would have paid $200 for same. my test patterns are perfect now, but were only close out of the box. Although the warranty is officially one year, Costco, Amexco, and Visa all double the warranty, an also Panny has extended it. They also very are nice and reasonable at Heartland. If you can't get satisfactiion there (very unlikely) call Panny direct as Heartland is a private contractor.
So, a fantastic bargain! I have had several friends by one on Visa recentlyfor under a grand.
I am told the out of warranty price of iris replacement is $600.00, but it seems they almost never charge for it.
I guess you see that I live with my glass always half full, and love my Panny,
Barry

Another "change my vote".

My iris just failed at 1,722 hours.

Purchased mine in November, 2006.

Was actually thinking about getting a new bulb soon, but now just going to return it to "C" after I order a new ax200. Sounds like the iris is fixed in the ax200, and since I really likee the ax100 otherwise (well except for a broken IR port too), upgrading should be a no-brainer. I hope.

Bought the thing in Dec 2006.

Had the PCB replaced due to a faulty HDMI input 2 months ago now I have the dreaded iris issue.

I hope the 15 months slightly extended warranty that has been posted about is correct as I should then get this thing replaced at their cost.

Sent Panasonic service in Australia an email about it and conveyed that I was not impressed with this projector thus far. Hopefully they will come good with an AX200 iris.

I had about 700 hours on it when I had the PCB replaced but that then reset the timer so I guess I've got about 800 hours on the globe.

Thanks to all that provided invaluable insite into this problem.

Wayne Murray.

any update from Panasonic Australia Wayne?

I spoke to Heartland yesterday and they said that Panasonic has recently extended the warranty on the iris by another 6 months. I saw earlier in this thread that at one time Panasonic extended it to 15 months total for the US, but I am not sure if the additional 6 months is on top of that or only on top of the original 12-month warranty (for a total of 18 months). I have not confirmed the warranty extension from any Panasonic source, but you may want to check on this if you are having iris issues and are outside the 12-month warranty window.

My AX100 started to shutdown due to the iris problem after 450 hours. It has also always had the economy flicker problem due to an early firmware version. I sent it back for repair asking for the iris to be fixed and the firmware to be upgraded and after nearly 2 months I have finally got it back.

The iris is problem seems to have been fixed however they have not upgraded the firmware and it still flickers in economy mode. Very frustrating indeed. Has anyone else experienced poor customer service in the UK?

MarkH.

Yes I have had a response from Panasonic Australia. Sorry I have not replied sooner, I only just came back to this.

Apparantly the AX100 sold in Australia has a 2 year warranty.:D The AX200 has a 12 month warranty. Obviously too many AX100s failed within the warranty period so to avoid that just make the warranty period shorter. Don't think I'll ever buy Panasonic again.

I intend to take it into my local service centre in Kirrawee tomorrow. They hadn't heard of this iris issue (neither had Panasonic Australia which I thought strange). So I'll be printing this out in order to cut down on the trouble shooting time hopefully.

Also getting problems with drifting focus. Has anyone else had this problem? Seems as if I'm always fixing the focus which is a real pain when it's manual. Not using any keystone correction but a fair bit of len shift due to the ceiling mount. Any ideas?

My AX100 started to shutdown due to the iris problem after 450 hours. It has also always had the economy flicker problem due to an early firmware version. I sent it back for repair asking for the iris to be fixed and the firmware to be upgraded and after nearly 2 months I have finally got it back.

The iris is problem seems to have been fixed however they have not upgraded the firmware and it still flickers in economy mode. Very frustrating indeed. Has anyone else experienced poor customer service in the UK?

The firmware update(1.15),does not fix the eco mode flash,it fixes the purple/green streak problem.The optical block needs replacing for the flicker

And the customer sevice in the UK has been excellent,as far as i am concerned.

MarkH.

Also getting problems with drifting focus. Has anyone else had this problem? Seems as if I'm always fixing the focus which is a real pain when it's manual. Not using any keystone correction but a fair bit of len shift due to the ceiling mount. Any ideas?

I think it's a heat issue
I have this too and it also affect the lensshift for me, it drops down about
10mm the first 30 minutes the PJ is on

The thing I did was to set the focus and lensshift after the PJ has been
on for about 30 minutes and then leave it that way...

elis

My Pany is in getting the iris block replaced as we speak.

Rang the service centre today to see how things were going and was told they are still waiting on parts. Curious as to whether the ordered part was one for the AX200 or another "soon to fail" AX100 Iris block I obtained their ordered part number (TENC0169) and then rang the Panasonic parts department.

That part number is listed as the Iris Block for the AE900, AX100 and AX200 so it appears that they now only supply a common Iris for all of the above projectors. The old part number, presumably for the old AX100 iris, was replaced recently with this new part number. According to Bruce in parts.

Haven't as yet been advised that it will cost me anything so I'm assuming the 2 year warranty that Panasonic Australia said applied to the AX100 in Australia is still correct.

Good news.

On the issue of focus drift:

When I pulled the projector down from the ceiling I realised that there was some degree of tension on the mounting bolts.

When I installed it the ceiling beam wasn't in the exact centre of the room so to compensate somewhat and therfore minimize lens shift I did something which, retrospectively, may not have been smart. I installed the bracket on the diagonal so 2 bolts went into the beam through the centre line. I then used as much adjustment as allowed in the legs to the mounting holes on the projector to move the lens as close as possible to the centre line of the room. All fine in theory but it did result in the support bracket not being at the centre of gravity of the projector. No dramas I thought as it could still be mounted horizontally but it meant that the bracket had a fair amount of torsional force on it due to the offset C of G.

Maybe, in combination with the heat issue mentioned by elis, this results in a focus shift. I'm keen to see how the planned changes improve the situation.

Just recently I noticed a bit of flickering, nothing major, but it was there...
I had shutoff the dynamic Iris thinking this was the issue, but flickering remained..
Well, it JUST shutoff within 2 minutes of turning it on, I forgot about this issue, because I haven't had a problem.
I unplug it, and it turns back on... it failed twice, so I unplugged it twice, and so far it's working...

The Lamp has 1073 hrs, and it started flickering a bit around 100 hrs ago.

I went into the SM, and everything was OK, BUT the Iris was OK in RED.... I exited the self check, then went back into it... now self check says everything is OK, and Iris is OK still, but NOT in RED....

Seems I'm headed for the dreaded issue..... arrrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhh



Well, I now have over 2700 hrs on my unit, and it will not stay on at all, no matter how many times I try and turn it back on...
Just shuts off after about 2 minutes or so.
I'm on the phone(on hold waiting for a supervisor) with Panasonic right now, because the limit of Hrs is 2500, and the Rep. couldn't gaurantee that I wouldn't be charged.

As seen above, this started at 1073 hrs, but that was during the playoffs, so there was no way it was going anywhere..I was OK turning it on 2-3 times until I could get it fixed..

Now it HAS to be fixed, but I'm not paying Heartland $130 to find out it is out of warranty.

Edit: Well I just spoke to someone over there by the name of Alonso- Customer Care Dept.- Out of warranty issues....
He told me that it would take 48-72 hrs for a manager to get back to me regarding this issue..

And here I was remembering me telling Jeff at Panasonic that I understood his position, and asked to speak to a MANAGER...only to get another guy...
Alonso asked me " So you want to file a claim for an out of warranty issue"... I said " Yes- this product is faulty, and has been acting up for over 1700 hrs, and is well known".

We'll see where this go's......

DENIED Warranty claim.

"Your over warranty Hrs"

Warranty of < 1 year on a MECHANICAL DEFECT/FAULTY DESIGN!!

Bah

Okay, I purchased my projector about 13 months ago and I'm now experiencing the infamous "shutdown" just as it is turning on. After I unplug the projector and plug it back it, it works perfectly.

What are the steps I need to take to get this replaced?

Any help is appreciated!

THanks,
Jason

Panasonic agreed to replace the Iris.
I just got it back from Heartland, all fixed.

They came through after all.

jaalstead- Call Panasonic and tell them your AX100 has Iris/PJ shutdown issue.
Don't waste time, they pushed the warranty a bit for the Iris issue.

My "Iris Problem" didn't start until almost 2000 (yes 2k) hours. Which was also when the lamp needed replacing. I initially thought the power off was due to the lamp since it started shutting down after the "Replace Lamp" message began to stay on. Odd thing is, after I replaced the lamp (at 2010 hrs.), we used it for 6 continuous hours without issue. The next day, it began the power-off thing. I'm sure it's the iris due to the vibrating motor sounds I hear.
I'm planning to try the "hand held" version of the DYI fix as posted by "j-bo". It seems the most reasonable to me. If that doesn't do the trick, I'll go with DMI's fix.

I must say, 2000 hrs. (20 months) before a problem, Is not bad. It's been a great HT PJ. If I can get another 12-18 months out of it, It will be time to upgrade anyway.

Mine just started doing this about a month ago. Last night it required two cycles to get it up and running. I've had the projector about two years and it's only got about 451 hours on it so far. Hopefully I'm not too late to get in on the party to get this issue fixed... I found Heartland's phone number- is it as simple as calling them to get this process started? I just installed new speakers, new reciever, and panny blu-ray player. Now this? Totally bummed.

Mine just started doing this about a month ago. Last night it required two cycles to get it up and running. I've had the projector about two years and it's only got about 470 hours on it so far. Hopefully I'm not too late to get in on the party to get this issue fixed... I found Heartland's phone number- is it as simple as calling them to get this process started? I just installed new speakers, new reciever, and panny blu-ray player. Now this? Totally bummed.

Assuming that you can convince Heartland to cover you because of the low hours and other unwritten extensions to this warranty, this is a very good thing, not a bad one! Why, because how much would you pay to have a complete tune up, cleaning the lens properly and bringing the projector up to published specifications? Eighteen bucks? That is all I paid, just one way shipping. My PJ came back perfect, and has been humming along ever since. Wouldn't you pay $50.00 for a tune up at 2 years when you bought it?
I have convinced friends to buy this unit knowing about the defect, and the lower price it created and they are all happy. It is a terrific PJ, clearly beating almost everyones expextations, and losing it for a week is no big deal.
Oh, one thing. Stop using it NOW. Some people keep restarting it repeatedly after the problem begins, and I am told this will shorten bulb life,
best wishes,
Barry.

That "2 cycles to get it running" WILL turn into 3-4 and so on, until it just won't stay running no matter how many times you try it, and in the meantime you are beating the snot out of your bulb (as stated by Barry).

I would make the call and try and send it out soon if it were me.

Actually both of the posts following my first made me feel better. Thanks. I will call tomorrow. I never thought of it in terms of a "tune-up..." That makes a lot of sense. Thanks again.

I hate being the bearer of bad news, but Heartland won't cover it under warranty. Panasonic is refusing to cover any of these. I've read a few posts from people that were able to get the iris (part only) covered under warranty by going through Panasonic tech support, but from my understanding it's only a $30 part and the repair runs around $300.00.

I just got off the phone with both Heartland and Panasonic. Heartland told me that Panasonic stopped providing the part in December. And that there is a $130 bench fee to diagnose the problem... And If I were to go ahead with the repair- they will deduct the $130 from the bill. I was then given Panasonic's number. They said that they would be willing to provide the part and that I would be responsible for the labor. He then told me, that to the best of his knowledge it was about $130 in labor. About one hour. I was then required to fax in a copy of my receipt with a reference number on it. In which they will then email Heartland. At that point I should receive an email from Heartland with instructions. Purchased in May 14 2007, 451 hours. I really love that damn thing. Really hope this works out... I can't afford much more.

I just got off the phone with both Heartland and Panasonic. Heartland told me that Panasonic stopped providing the part in December. And that there is a $130 bench fee to diagnose the problem... And If I were to go ahead with the repair- they will deduct the $130 from the bill. I was then given Panasonic's number. They said that they would be willing to provide the part and that I would be responsible for the labor. He then told me, that to the best of his knowledge it was about $130 in labor. About one hour. I was then required to fax in a copy of my receipt with a reference number on it. In which they will then email Heartland. At that point I should receive an email from Heartland with instructions. Purchased in May 14 2007, 451 hours. I really love that damn thing. Really hope this works out... I can't afford much more.

...you'll have to pay return shipping as well.

That "2 cycles to get it running" WILL turn into 3-4 and so on, until it just won't stay running no matter how many times you try it, and in the meantime you are beating the snot out of your bulb (as stated by Barry).

I would make the call and try and send it out soon if it were me.

Mine now takes about 10 cycles to stay on.....last night, 14 minutes of the technique to get it to work.

Called local service techs in Bby (Vancouver, BC), who asked me if I had spoken to Panasonic customer service?

I said, well no, my projector is over 2 years old....he said, "just call them first".

Thought I had nothing to lose, so made the call. Told the rep that I had what appeared to be the dreaded iris issue, and that the service tech told me I should call, as there have been a large number of these same issues, and that Panasonic was aware of it.

The tech asked me for my model, serial number, and purchase date, which was Oct 2006 by the way.....almost 2.5 years old!

He then said that *IF* it was indeed the iris, then they would take care of it for me, ie, approve the repair cost for the local tech!!!

So, now I have my 2.5yr old projector back at home, brand new iris and firmware upgraded, and I'm very happy!!

Kudos to Panny for standing behind their product much longer than most would.....very impressed, and would not hesitate to buy another when the time comes.

Called local service techs in Bby (Vancouver, BC), who asked me if I had spoken to Panasonic customer service?

I said, well no, my projector is over 2 years old....he said, "just call them first".

Thought I had nothing to lose, so made the call. Told the rep that I had what appeared to be the dreaded iris issue, and that the service tech told me I should call, as there have been a large number of these same issues, and that Panasonic was aware of it.

The tech asked me for my model, serial number, and purchase date, which was Oct 2006 by the way.....almost 2.5 years old!

He then said that *IF* it was indeed the iris, then they would take care of it for me, ie, approve the repair cost for the local tech!!!

So, now I have my 2.5yr old projector back at home, brand new iris and firmware upgraded, and I'm very happy!!

Kudos to Panny for standing behind their product much longer than most would.....very impressed, and would not hesitate to buy another when the time comes.

I agree completely. I have bee advocating for Panasonic and the way they have handled this problem from the beginning. I have recommended to friends that they purchase the ax100 even after the iris problem became known, as the price dropped, and the fix was cheap (cost of shipping). and fast.
I just feel badly for the people who were early buyers and heavy users. They got their iris's replaced with defective ones early on, before Panasonic got a handle on the problem and designed the new iris. I buy a lot of toys (cameras, TV's projectors,etc) and Panasonic remains my favorite company in the category it resides. A highly underarated company.

Barry,

Am I missing something here? You're talking about Panasonic US and he's talking about Panasonic Canada. In the US they are no longer repairing these units under warranty. True, for a while they handled this issue well in the US, but now they've decided not to cover any iris replacements under warranty, which was a bad move for them IMO.

Barry,

Am I missing something here? You're talking about Panasonic US and he's talking about Panasonic Canada. In the US they are no longer repairing these units under warranty. True, for a while they handled this issue well in the US, but now they've decided not to cover any iris replacements under warranty, which was a bad move for them IMO.

I don't know if you are missing anything. Only you can decide that. We had different experiences, and see the situation differently. I see a warranty as a company's coverage against defects in workmananship and materials. They offered one year. There was a defect, but many people thought that the defect was outside the warranty. Why? It was a defect and that is what the warranty is for. Yet, by my count, Panasonic extended the warranty three times, and there are many accounts in the forum of people having the iris replaced long, long after their warranty expired, for free. People could have purchased an extended warranty if they wished (I did, but didn't need to use it), or bought it with Visa which doubles the warranty. My only complaint is that it took Panasonic a little too long to figure out that they had a problem. Sorry, but that is baseball, as they say,
best wishes,
Barry

I sent mine to Heartland last week. Arrived late Wednesday. They called me the following Monday (yesterday) confirming that it was indeed the Iris. Panasonic agreed to supply the part ($30 from what I've read...) The total bill for my repair including shipping and handling ($8 of which was another unmarked box to go over the original factory box...) was $198.00. It would have been $40 more if I would have went with the overnight shipping, but these days I can wait. (Kansas-Indianapolis...) Anyway, just thought I would share the process so far for anyone else who still is experiencing issues and has yet to ship to Heartland. They were very helpful on the phone and I didn't have to talk to anyone in India. Now... if I could just get the damn thing back so I can finish watching Band Of Brothers.

Jon

Mine now takes about 10 cycles to stay on.....last night, 14 minutes of the technique to get it to work.

wow , and I thought 6 times was bad... gonna take this back to my local store, and see about getting something else now that Pany has dropped the ball on this one. :mad:

Try this utube link. I did it and it solved the problem in about 30 seconds! Don't spend any money or send out your unit. Piece of cake. This does it.

youtube.com/watch?v=6jGwB05_gdk

youtube.com/watch?v=6jGwB05_gdk

really knocked it out of the park for me - after spending, oh countless hours trying to hack other fixes, flipped her over (the top is NOT the problem), lubed her up and was good to go. the difference in the resistance on the top iris is immediately noticeable after lubing the bottom iris with a cheap solvent/lube like wd-40 etc.

will report if there are any problems in the future.

DAMN I WISH I HAD KNOWN ABOUT THIS ABOUT 1 YEAR AGO.

Yes, the youtube video and some other sources are very helpful.

A link to where I learned about the problem, the solution, the youtube video and where I posted:

www. fixya .com/support/t451897-panasonic_pt_ax100u_ec

I had this problem a while back. I bought this unit in Oct 2007, and by July 2008 I had a BAD iris problem. I sent it off to Heartland, and paid the 50 bucks to ship it there and back. They fixed it, and it has been good to go ever since. No more problems. I even bought a bulb through them upon them finishing the repair as they called and asked me if I wanted to buy one and they'd install it free. It was a great price on the bulb, and I got the old one back to use as a backup.

Now I have almost 4000 hours on that new bulb and the brightness is down during the day significantly. I want to buy another bulb. Now heartland is saying 400 plus shipping.

Anyone know the best price going for a new bulb online? Best I found was Electrified.com which wants 259 +11 shipping.

They are saying its the WHOLE bulb and housing, and not just the bulb itself but it comes with just a 60 day warranty.
I wonder if its a legit bulb, or some cheap chinese knockoff for less????

Anyone have experience with them?

Everyone else online is at least 350 and up.

I had this problem a while back. I bought this unit in Oct 2007, and by July 2008 I had a BAD iris problem. I sent it off to Heartland, and paid the 50 bucks to ship it there and back. They fixed it, and it has been good to go ever since. No more problems. I even bought a bulb through them upon them finishing the repair as they called and asked me if I wanted to buy one and they'd install it free. It was a great price on the bulb, and I got the old one back to use as a backup.

Now I have almost 4000 hours on that new bulb and the brightness is down during the day significantly. I want to buy another bulb. Now heartland is saying 400 plus shipping.

Anyone know the best price going for a new bulb online? Best I found was Electrified.com which wants 259 +11 shipping.

They are saying its the WHOLE bulb and housing, and not just the bulb itself but it comes with just a 60 day warranty.
I wonder if its a legit bulb, or some cheap chinese knockoff for less????

Anyone have experience with them?

Everyone else online is at least 350 and up.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1183319&highlight=electrified

Thanks Ghost. I realized the other threads recent post was a bit dated so I didn't know if anyone would see it or not.

Thank you a bunch. I think a disaster was averted.

Glad I could help. When you said $259.00 I figured there had to be something shady going on.

Hi folks,
this is my first post here in these forums, and I'm posting in this thread for obvious reasons.............you guessed it, my trusty old Panasonic PT-AX100E has thrown up the iris problem. Firstly, I'll point out that it's run mostly faultlessly for 3 years and 1300 hours (still on the first bulb.) Anyway, it's pretty much been 3 years to the day since I bought it brand new (I'm in New Zealand by the way).
Anyway, I shall digress for a moment just to say these forums are brilliant. Upon googling panasonic projecter faults, I arrived at these forums and must say they've been very helpful.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, my projector is now back in the hands of Panasonic (fingers crossed they'll fix it for free after 3 yrs).

Watch this space for an update.

So, I shipped it off and it was back to me within a week. I was really impressed with the fact there was no charge either, considering I have had the projector for over 3 years. So to sum it up, they did the iris and upgraded the firmware. The upgrading of the firmware also corrected another issue with watching DVD's and Blurays via my PS3. Ther ewas a glitch where about 4-5 times through a movie, the screen would blink green for about half a second. No big deal, but an annoyance none the less. The firmware update has resolved this.

^ That's great news! Unfortunately those needing repair in the US are SOL, but it's good to hear the folks in New Zealand are taking care of their customers. Thanks for the update.