I just brought in someone to ISF calibrate my 3+year-old BenQ8700+ after a new screen install and their initial screen/projector brightness reading level was only 5.5 foot lamperts. He felt that was way too low output from this projector (106” white 1.1 gain screen, 13-ft approx. throw distance, very dark room). He advised my getting and installing a new bulb before he comes back to proceed with the calibration. He believes it should be a reading initially above 10 and after a few hours, in the 8 to 9 foot lamperts range.

As I only have about 450 hours logged over a 3-year period so a bit surpised I’m down to half-life so soon. I thought I was going to be good for 1,000 hours at least.

He checked my neighbor's setup with the same projector, a 96” 1.3 gain screen and 660 hours and his was only 4.5 lamperts, giving the same advice.

Will a new bulb kick it up to the near 10 range and keep it there for a decent period?
Can I assume there will be a lot more punch to the picture post replacement?
Have others experienced a similar reduction in brightness after such a short number of run hours?