*Official* Optoma HD20 Thread - Page 121

Well, I took it in for another service 10 days ago, got it back yesterday, checked it today

Service notes

"replaced bulb"

"inspected. passed"


guess what.
yellow blob is still there in middle of screen


Manager will either be calling the police to have me escorted out or giving me a new projector on the spot

wow, not cool! Sorry to hear about your troubles. I don't know where you went for your service, but if the yellowing looks exactly the same; then I am having a hard time believing they actually changed the bulb.

As you upgrade your other TV's you will start to notice the PQ of the HD20 isn't the end-all. I went from a rear projection Sony LCD to the HD20 and I was blown away.

Then I got a 50" Panasonic S2 plasma and I was like, wow I really like the look of that plasma and it knocked the HD20 down a notch.

Now I have a 55" Panasonic ST50 and its leaps and bounds better than the S2 Panasonic that was already better than the HD20.

Then I grabbed one of these Darbee gadgets for the HD20 and I think it puts it on a level with the old 50" S2 plasma.

Still love the HD20 and use it frequently and have an entire room dedicated to it, but it doesn't quite hold up against the middle of the road plasma's in PQ.

Sorry to hear about you trouble but there is another part that could cause this kind of issue - the light tunnel!

Hopefully they got you a replacement and all is good now.

Rew

Sorry, I don't compare apples to oranges. The plasma may look better but it is half the display size as my theater screen. When looking at my PQ I keep in mind that it is a projector, the screen is huge, and the picture is reflected light not from a light source. So, if you keep your expectations in line this projector is phenomenal. Show me a 100+ screen plasma that costs less than $1000 and then we can talk. For $650 my Optoma HD20 performs way better than I anticipated.

I agree. The whole point is the experience and of course cost. As I have pointed out before, and you mention here; if someone wants a 100+ inch image for under $1,000; projectors are your only option. And if 80-90" is enough for you, LCD is available, but the cost is 4x-15x higher for a smaller display. I might love the PQ of other display types, but I still prefer my movies and games on my 125" screen.

I can't wait for 4K LCDs and 4K projectors to come down in price.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1165581/official-optoma-hd20-thread/3570#post_22384617

In his other post, he mentions noticing this after a bulb change. I am pretty sure he would have noticed this issue with the first bulb that he put thousands of hours on. And then 200 hours into the "new" bulb he notices this issue. Which it could have taken some time to show up with the new bulb. My guess is the bulb or bulb housing. Unless someone took it apart at some point.

Something doesn't seem right about the bulb change. During this last bulb change, I wonder if they replaced the bulb housing with the bulb included or literally just replaced the bulb inside of the same housing. Also, I wonder if they really changed anything at all? They could easily say they did and just reset the hours. And with the issue being so easy to replicate, they have no excuse to say they fixed the issue when they did not.

Ah yes, after re-reading I see what you mean. If they changed anything at all it was probable the lamp tube itself and reused the housing. But I would guess not using "cleanroom gloves" and got a finger oil smudge on lamp or housing glass. And after a few hours this oil smudge could turn yellowish due to the high amount of heat being generated.


Rew

hi all, thanks for the newer replied

I took it back to Best Buy, demanded it either be fixed in a week or I would hire an attorney to investigate deceiptful repair practices .

Supposedly it will be fixed in a week or I will have a store credit for a replacement.

We'll see
I understand chemistry, computer programming, but am terrible at electronics and mechanics stuff.
So any insight is welcomed.

What do you think about this:

If I turn the display rightside up, and adjust the projection format accordingly (flip horiz, flip vert AND*** then revert it ***) the yellowing appears on the left side of the image.
(It is normally mounted upsided down from my ceiling, per the photo already posted where it was on the right side)

Does this confirm its some 'cleanliness' issue not a problem with any of the imaging circuitry ?

Regardless of how you have the menu set for the image format "Flip" vert, etc... when the PJ is on the ceiling the yellowing should always appear on the right like your first image. And if you have the PJ sitting on a table, the yellow should now have rotated to be on the left. Making changes to the image orientation should have no affect on where the yellowing appears.

The only thing that setting changes, is the electronic image information. Which would imply the yellow is actually in the video signal. Which it is not. No light path changes are happening when you change those settings. And of course when you rotate the PJ from ceiling mount to table top, you are rotating the whole light path and bulb/housing assembly, so the yellowing would rotate along with it.

So yes, the yellow would still be a cleanliness issue somewhere from bulb to the front element. But due to the clarity of the edges, I still think it's the bulb housing and/or bulb. Unlikely you wouldn't have noticed it during the first 3000+ hours if it existed with the old bulb and housing before the bulb replacement.

I bet if Best Buy would simply install a brand new OEM bulb with housing assembly, without touching any of the light path areas; the issue would be gone.

The most annoying thing about this story to me is the lie. To say they repaired the issue when there is no way they even checked. The issue is so easy to replicate so they have no excuse to say they repaired the issue when clearly they did not. That means they didn't even check the issue after they were done. Or it would have been obvious that nothing had changed.

That would be like taking my car to the shop because my headlights don't work. Then picking the car up with them saying they fixed the issue by replacing the headlights. Only to pick up the car and try testing the headlights and they still don't come on. Only to find out the fuse was bad, but since they never even tested the headlights after the "repair", they didn't know they didn't really fix the issue. Now of course that example is super simplified and no way any shop would mess up that example that badly. I hope. But the point is that Best Buy simply had to turn on the projector and choose the all white test pattern. They clearly did not do that.

Sorry to ramble, but even just hearing about this "repair shop" failure really annoys me!

long day, late night, will clarify more tomorrow

new proud ownder of a free (sic) hd23

You guys are still in the infatuation stage.

Congrats, looking forward to some nice screenshots & reviews from you

FYI for others that might not already know this. The HD23 and HD180 are pretty much just brighter versions of the HD20. Same casing, features, DMD, etc from what I have seen and read.

I guess that means they couldn't or were not willing to fix the HD20. Glad they took care of you. I bought mine from Costco so that I would have greater protection during the first 2 years. Of course that time has expired.

I guess I have been infatuated for over 5 years and going strong. I love the huge (dark room) dedicated theater experience for movies and certain gaming. I still prefer my TV shows in a lit room though. And some games I prefer in a different environment as well. I love having the choice though.

well, I am a lazy type of guy, setup isn't perfect again (yet)
with the weight/balance difference of this model vs the hd20, my mounting bracket needs some rebalancing. project for next weekend .

Still looked pretty good today
(click for bigger)

Hey guys!

I am need of help with my projector and was hoping you guys could help.

So I have an optima HD20.

Here is the problem:

The projector is no longer recognized by my computer,ps3 or another computer. I don't exactly know when this happened but it did sadly. But here is the thing. Hdmi still works fine if I use a device that forces video output like a cowon v5 (which doesn't do any handshaking I don't believe). So this would lead me to the conclusion that either there is a software issue in the projector that needs to be fixed/update/reset or a hardware issue with the CEC, DDC or HPD functions.

Haven't had time to read through the whole thread so if this has been addressed before then I am sorry.

Any ideas ?

* I have considered turn on sequence and tried it both ways but in the past when it was working all I had to do was turn the projector on with the computer already running and boom recognized.
* This was also eerily close in time to when I switched receivers to an INSIGNIA. I tried porting hdmi through it, the computer worked but ps3 didn't. Then at a later date computer stopped as well directly connected.
* Gonna break out the dmm and see if I can track down a hardware problem. Already have pulled it apart 3 times inspecting each board and didn't find any burn marks, swelling caps for broken solder joints.
*I have tried a reset through the menu before. Is that the biggest reset it can do?

*** And If this isn't an easy fix I wouldn't mind this being moved to a new thread to be discussed without clogging this one.

I am having this exact same issue except my green lights are blinking 5 times i believe. either way, i took it apart to clean out the dust from the color wheel and sensor, put the wheel/sensor/bulb back in, reconnected the ribbon.. left the top cover off and the bulb cover off just in case.. and when i go to power on, im getting a solid amber, then i push power and im getting a few blinking green and then back to amber... no sound of fans or power up at all..

anyone have any idea?

Did not look at Led table but if you leave the lamp cover off it will not fire up as it has a sensor on the lamp cover.

Rew

2 months in from replacing a panasonic with my hd20 (refurbished off of Woot dot dom) and i am nothing but pleased. Only real issue was a change in throw distance vs the pana without the ability to change the mounting location. Picture has been strong fed from blu ray or dish. Watcha lot of streaming netflix and amazon as well (lower resolution).

Have not experienced any of the issues outlined here...yet.

Chock me up as a fan of the hd20

Hello everyone. I will admit I didn't read every page and I'm new here Very great site with very knowledgable people!

Question:

I bought an HD20 1.5 years ago. I am at 1,800 hours. Friday when I went to turn on the projector I got the bad bulb lights. (Flashing Amber Power / Solid Red Lamp Light) I was bummed but went ahead and over night shipped a new lamp from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0091RTPJU/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

I then carefully replaced the lamp making sure to not touch the bulb at all. I noticed my original lamp looked PERFECT in every aspect but assumed sometimes when these things go bad you can't visually tell.

Long story short, brand new bulb same exact problem! I hear fans whirl up a couple times, it tries for about 4 minutes of green flashing (warming up) and then stops on bad bulb indication.

Any thought on this would be greatly appreciated. I'm planning on driving 3 hours tomorrow after noon to see a repair shop in SLC UT.

Thanks!

Scott

This is a long shot and you likely already tried it. On my previous HD70, I had the same "Lamp bad" indicator. Though I didn't buy any parts. I simply unplugged the power for a few hours and then tried again and it worked.

Though you probably already tried that.

I appreciate the reply! I did try leaving power off for even a day. I have swapped back and forth between the two lamps a dozen times. Same issue. HOWEVER: Today I pulled it completely apart myself after Optoma and Newegg said they would do nothing for me. It wasn't hard at all and the inside really wasn't that dusty.

I carefully spun the color wheel and noticed it didn't spin as freely as I thought it should, however it and all the fans looked great. I very carefully used compressed air and blew everything out. After spinning the color wheel with air for a minute I re-assembled.

BINGO works like a champ with either of the lamps. No clue as to why, but I won't complain for now. The only question left is how long it will last?

I suppose I now have an extra lamp.

If a color wheel is not spinning at the exact smoothness and speed it is supposed to, then you will see flicker. The reason is because the wheel would be out-of-synch with the light, and the colors would end up strobing as if you were spinning a bicycle tire (spokes) while shining a light through it.

Yes, I understand that. However, I was getting no light whatsoever before I tore it apart. Now, working great with both lamps. I have powered on and off 5 times and it works like new ?? Like I said, I won't complain.

Glad to hear you figured it out.

As for Optoma, what do you mean they would do nothing? If it's under warranty, they should help you. And if it's not under warranty, I am pretty sure you can still have it sent in for service at a price.

Sorry should have been more specific. They wouldn't do anything for free as it is about 1.5 years old. Wanted $110 just to decide what is wrong with it. So I ruled them out as an option. Glad I decided to just open it and clean things up. Still working good!

Yeah, mine is out of warranty too, and it came with the 2 year Costco warranty. So I would certainly open it up versus $110 for just a diag charge. Luckily mine is almost 3 years old and working fine. I still think it's really dumb that we have to send in our HD20's for firmware updates.

Tell me more about these firmware updates. I didn't know they existed. I assume I would want mine updated....

Not much to say. Other than Optoma (last time I checked) does not list the latest firmware update or change logs for the HD20. And of course as such, they also do not give the firmware online. So HD20 owners will generally just post their firmware to see what the latest one might be.

Unfortunately, you have to send it to Optoma to do the firmware updates. I am pretty sure you only have to pay the shipping there and they pay to ship it back. Still, you can easily be without your HD20 for 2+ weeks just to update the firmware. And without a change log, you won't even know if there is a reason to update.