Bad LCD block - should I total my HC4900 and buy new, or spend $1300 to repair it?

Scrap it, you can get something equal or better for $1300, and start with zero hours on the bulb....

Scrap it. You never know what issues you may run into down the line, and as lewke said you can buy a new projector for that price.

Review the attached image, which is a common optical block for an LCD projection engine.

I cannot see where in this light path it would cause a condition in which the optical block itself to go bad. The dichroic splitter first splits blue out of the white light from the lamp. For a failure there it would affect all light.

The next dichroic splitter separates red and green from the yellow light that came from splitting blue out. For the second dichroic splitter to fail (and not the first one splitter) would result in a blue image.

Notice after the two dichroic splitters the red, green, and blue light are individually passed through their LCD panels and come into a combiner block formed from two dichroic filters (that combine instead of split).

I cannot imagine something went wrong in the combiner block and allow green to pass and nothing else, because green simply passes through the combiner block (the combining is to allow red and blue).

If you bought the projector with Amex you should have a one year extension to the original manufacturer's warranty. YMMV

You can probably get 100 bones for it on ebay... somebody might need the parts.

It should last at least thru a couple of lamp changes, if not 5 years or more depending on how aggressively you run the thing.

Your situation seems one of just really bad luck! If it were me, I would prolly use it as an excuse to get a newer/better pj (tho I love my HC4900 and really am waiting for a future LED-backlit projector as-yet-not-created) and I would be very reluctant to spend $1300 on a repair job where something ELSE might go wrong soon after.

If you live near a good electronics repair shop, I'd be inclined to get it back from Mits and get another opinion first before doing anything...

According to this source he can get a new unit for several hundred less than the repair.

Edit: Maybe that is what the repair facility is actually going to do. Buy a new unit, give it to him, and pocket $300.

But a "factory refurb", which is what the link describes, does typically COME FROM the Mits repair facility, though they likely don't SELL THEM from the repair facility directly.

I'm not surprised the OP would be quoted such a high price, for an expensive part and a no doubt labor-intensive repair. I guess Mits does not have a "repair exchange" program?

Not sure what I'd do except the I would NOT invest $1300 in a repair on my HC4900.

Take a $20,000 automobile, and instead build it buying only one part at a time and you will spend $40,000 for the same car.

Projectors are no exception, they are manufactured in bulk with discounts on the parts in bulk given to the manufacturers. You start buying individual components yourself and then you see this problem....

It would be more cost-efficient to cut your loses and simply get a new one as odd as that seems.

I just went through the same thing! My lamp had 1200 hours and it was less than 2 1/2 years old. I bought it with Visa and they just agreed to give me the $1300 as a buyout with the extra year warranty they provide just for charging it on their card. I am waiting for my Panasonic PT-AE4000 to be delivered this Friday!

I failed to notice the refurb.

Still, a warrantied refurb for $300 less than a repair is the better option over the repair. Yet, both of those options such, IMHO, compared to buying something new.

Whatever one does, use a piece of plastic (credit card) that offers consumer protection in the form of a +1 year extension to the mfg's warranty. Of course, I wonder if this means my Amex is covering the lamp for 90-days plus one year.

If I get 2 years out of a projector I think I'll be happy, nothing seems to last anymore. Dlp wheels breaking, bearings wearing out and organic lcd degradation.

Same issue here - 4 yo projector - 2300 hours on the buld and the LCD block failed
1500 CAD to repair.... will get a new one for that price
Yes you can blame the capitalism... it is cheaper to throw and buy than repair.... unbelievable...

Chris

Yep, my HC4900 stopped projecting blue light last September with 1670 hours on it. The picture was still sharp and detailed in the two remaining colors, just off-puttingly unnatural. Barf!!

I was hoping for a $500 or so repair. I mean how bad could it be? A quick fix and it would go in the game room for games and TV. Well $1300 is out of the question for an older PJ that I paid $1400 for.

It's such a huge waste of resources to just dump it, but it's virtually worthless as it is. Ah well, I enjoyed it while it lasted, and now I've got the HC9000D. (Yes, another Mitsubishi. )