Official Epson Home Cinema 8500UB thread! - Page 14

Bulb issues come first mostly, then maybe the lcds degrading which would be expensive to repair. Is there a chance to get an extended warranty if your concerned? If you bought with certain credit cards, they extended the warranties as well. If your still enjoying the pj, and you don't have a specific need to upgrade to a 3D model, then I'd just run it and maybe start a small savings account for when it does break. Then upgrade at that time.

yes, i am covered for third year warranty from Amex. may be i will continue using for at least six months and before end of third year, will try to sell it and upgrade. thanks for reply though..

Mine developed the dreaded purple/red/pink hue on the bottom (ceiling-mounted) 3 - 4 inches of the screen over the past few months, and Epson has zero interest in trying to help me fix it, even if I'm willing to spend some money.

They effectively offered me $80 off a projector that retails for around $1200 as a meagre olive branch. Sadly, I'm probably off Epson as a result of this experience.

I understand you are out of warranty and Epson did not support fixing your issue, even at your cost.. is that right?

That's about right.

Because the problem (did I mention it's a known problem???) is in the optics engine, their stance is that replacing that entire engine would cost more than just buying a new projector.

I'd spend hundreds, maybe even up to a thousand to get a reliable unit that gives me equal specs & picture quality but without the discolouration. Seems like it would be reasonable for them to sell me some sort of refurb unit at cost or something, so that the next time I buy a projector or other imaging appliance, I'd stick with Epson. Epson would have me spend $1200 for a unit with lesser specs with a meagre 6 - 8% discount off MSRP.

I'm less than thrilled.

What is the most neutral set of settings for the 8500UB to get simple 1080P pixel mapping, without processing, for the case where there is a processor ahead of the 8500UB?

You want to turn off 3 settings.

1. Frame Interpolation: This is adding additional frames to make the image seem smoother.
2. Super Resolution: This is the processing piece trying to upconvert the content.
3. Super White
4. Contrast Enhancement

That should be all of them.

I have a epson 8500ub and the screen stopped turning on? i only had about 1000 hours on the lamp. The lights on the top say everything is normal so it's not overheated or anything. The fan comes on like normal but there is no picture. Anyone have a fix or encounter the same problem?

If it won't show a test pattern its most likely the bulb. Try power cycling it a few times and it should start blinking red. Your beat bet is then to contact Epson support.

I bought my 8500UB in March, 2010, and I am now on my 5th lamp. The first quit working at 1,400 hours, the second at 1,200 hours, the third at 700 hours, and the fourth at 800 hours. Each time, the brightness began dropping quickly a few weeks before it quit turning on with a red error light. The bulb is getting so hot that it starts drooping, causing the brightness to decrease and eventually stop turning on, but the projector has never shut off for getting too hot. My typical usage is three hours a day.

The fourth lamp died last week, 14 months out of warranty. Epson sent me a new lamp for free, and all of the other replacements were also sent to me for free from Epson. I can't complain about their service, but this lamp model seems to have a short life in all of the projectors that use it. I've been told every time I call that they're aware of lamp issues and the new lamp I'm being sent won't quit working prematurely. They act like the problem has been identified and corrected. However, the lamp that came with the projector had the longest life at 1,400 hours.

I'll be upgrading to a 3D projector soon, and thankfully it looks like the newer Epson projectors don't have this problem.

Yep, they tell me the same story. I think I can get some good mileage on my current bulb and upgrade to an LED hybrid model in a year or so.

I totally understand. I was on my 3rd bulb, and finally took it in for service. Of course after it was out of warranty. My 8500UB had a bad ballast and needs the fans replaced. I burned out my 3rd bulb, (2 x $300 out of pocket.) I don't even have 1600 hours combined on the 3 bulbs. Epson told me that I was out of luck and I should have sent it in while in warranty. I am having mixed feeling since the repairs will be $600+ and I still need to purchase the 4th bulb. My technician told me that it was a known problem that the power supply was eating bulbs, yet I will be $1K in if I decide to repair the unit). The sad part of the story is my buddy and I purchased the projectors within 3 weeks of each other. He got a Panasonic PT-AE4000 and I got the Epson 8500UB. Originally he wanted the 8500UB, and I wanted the Panasonic PT-AE4000. I ordered the Epson 1st and he ordered the Panasonic. He is still on the original bulb over 3000 hrs so far. Sometimes you get hit in the head with a lemon, and you can't do much with it.

Man, that is rough. I'm sorry to hear that, it has been a pain for me as well. You could try hitting Epson support again, they may buckle. It is very bad that they had you swapping bulbs and not mentioning the potential for that issue given the short bulb life. That makes me wonder if my 8500UB has the same issue, it wouldn't last past 700 hours or so. Arg, I love my Epson 8500UB but I loathe Epson!

The issue with the bulbs has been pretty well known since around Oct. 2010, and Epson did come out with a pledge to replace any bulb on those models, throughout the warranty of the pj. http://www.projectorcentral.com/projector_news.cfm?2010-10-20-Epsons-Remarkable-Lamp-Guarantee&entry_id=354
That was something, granted it didn't help people after their warranties expired, but they did at least try to accommodate their customers to some degree. Still stinks for some people having problems, but any other mfg might have told people to "take a hike".

I like my Epson, but I do think they had better get their QC under control with the refurbs they send out. It gets kinda hard to recommend say, an 8350 to someone, when you know there is a possibility of "refurb runaround". They aren't pleasing to many people in that area, and it may cost 'em some customers.