The official Epson 8700UB thread - Page 87

So would there be a noticeable difference from the 8100 to the 8700? I'm thinking of getting one of the refurbished ones since they have the same 2 yr warranty as a new one. 3D isn't really a big deal for me.

I understand the hold. My problem is that Epson is using a 3 year old price for a brand new projector (which is what they told me the charge was based on) when they are sending me a refurb? I paid $1499 for the projector - they put a hold for $1,979.10 on my card for the replacement. That's ridiculous.

I missed that for some reason in your first post and totally agree with you!

Okay....I have a decision to make:

I have both the 8700UB and the 8500UB.
Both units have their own issue(s).
I have decided to have one of the projectors repaired (out of warranty).
Would prefer the 8700 be the repaired unit since it looks better (noticeably sharper) than my 8500. But if the 8700 repair costs are far more significant than the 8500's costs, I'd probably choose the cheaper option.
Outside of sending both units in for a diagnosis and then choosing (which is probably the best option), I was wondering if anyone here could make a guess as to which repair would be more costly/significant/etc.

Here are the issues:

8500UB - starting in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, there is a yellowish/brownish "smear" that extends almost all the way across the bottom edge of the screen. It is most noticeable on the right side as it starts out about 3 inches thick and tapers off to a very thin area from right to left. The left side smear is not nearly as noticeable as the right hand side. The projector has over 500 hours and the problem arose at around the 250 hr mark.

8700UB - the left 1/3 of the image has a greenish-blue tint. The right 1/3 has a reddish tint. Very noticeable in bright/white scenes, and especially on static images like a football field. Also have noticed a slight purple tinge on the right and bottom edges of the image (nothing close to the issue with the 8500).

This may be a shot in the dark but I just wanted to pose the question before I sent both units in.

All,

I recently purchased a 8700UB. The projector has started to develop a greenish/yellow band traveling from top right side of screen down, approxamentlyy 2" x 14" tapering at the bottom.

102 hours on projector. Ceiling mounted.

Any ideas on a fix?

Thanks!

Chiming in here... At 1159h on my original bulb, just over a year. No problems I've ever noticed, everyone who sees it is blown away by the quality.

I'm not going looking for problems or I will see them every time!

***STUCK FOCUS RING PROBLEM***

Hi everyone,

So I bought a refurbished 8700UB from Visual Apex week before last, and just now finally got it hooked up. Spent hours properly unpacking it and hanging it on the ceiling, hooked up all the cables, and turned it on. Everything seems fine until I go to turn the focus ring. It is ROCK SOLID, like something that is not meant to turn *at all.* I stood on a ladder facing the lens, and steadied the projector body with my other hand as much as possible, and tried turning as much as I dared in both directions. Not even the slightest budge. It's not the most sturdy position to do this, being that it's hanging from the ceiling mount, and the only way I could turn it with more force is to take it back off the ceiling and set it on the floor between my legs and try cranking again, but I'm afraid of breaking something and making things worse. The zoom ring turns just fine.

I did a search and noticed only a couple of focus ring posts in this 8700 thread and the 8350 thread, so it doesn't seem to be that common of a problem, but does anyone know of a fix besides calling Epson tomorrow and having another one overnighted? Is the ring stuck at one of the extreme ends and just needs "loosening" so that it'll move freely again?

Very disappointing. I've been researching for weeks, and was hemming and hawing between a brand new 8350 and this refurbished 8700 from VA, and I went for the 8700 because of all that I read about the stellar black levels. And I was even leery about Epson in general due to all the issues I've read about. So of course it wasn't too much of a surprise that the minute I get mine hooked up, there's an issue.

Soulcamp, I see you bought the same thing from the same place just a few days ago.... and you're having a problem too. I wonder if I should even bother with starting this multiple Epson replacement journey, or say to hell with them at this point already. If anyone can help me with the focus ring, I'd much appreciate it, as maybe it's the only thing wrong with this unit and everything else is fine. (no convergence issues, etc...)

EDIT: I took it back down from the ceiling, held it between my legs on the floor, and really tried to turn the ring hard while holding the lens-shift knobs still with my other hand. Not the tiniest budge whatsoever. Phone calls are being made in the morning. This thing is going back.
Edited by DL4567 - 10/30/12 at 9:43pm

Yeah, the focus ring on mine won't budge, and I've used enough pressure that any more would break the plastic. My replacement is supposed to arrive tomorrow - I'll let you know how it goes.

Great, thanks! I'm very interested to hear. I'm calling Visual Apex and Epson now....

New projector arrived - what a world of difference. The picture is incredible!

Horizontal convergence is not perfect, but pretty close. Red appears to be shifted 1-pixel to the left in the middle, and about 1 1/2 pixels along the right edge, but the left edge is pretty perfect. Vertical convergence seems to be perfect as well. I'm assuming this is about the best I'm going to get?

Soulcamp, glad to hear your 2nd one is a success! I talked to VA this morning, and asked if I were to get a replacement directly from Epson, and still had a problem with it, could I send that one back to VA and get a refund? The customer service lady told me no, but if they (VA) did an RMA, and I sent the projector back to them, and then they sent me another one (without dealing with Epson) then I could still get a refund on the 2nd one if I wanted. So I said, "fair enough" and the lady started the RMA process. I know that Epson would send me one overnight, but I don't want to be locked in to the point that getting a refund is no longer an option.

In the meantime, this afternoon I bought a brand new 8350 at Best Buy. Hooked it up, and no problems whatsoever! Wow! The picture is really great. I can see that the black level isn't the "best," but it's really nothing to scoff at. And that's with the Auto Iris turned off (default setting), so I can only imagine turning it on would improve the blacks. But as it is, it looks pretty darn good. So now I'm wondering if I should even bother letting VA send me a 2nd 8700, or just get a refund from them when they get the first one back. I'm pretty happy with this 8350.

By the way, isn't it funny how easily the focus ring turns when it works properly? I got quite the chuckle.

I haven't seen a 8700 in action but I've heard the black levels are impressive. Also the 8700 has the Silicon Optix HQV Reon-VX processor, Frame Interpolation, Super Resolution, and a THX setting. Not sure if the panels are 120hz. I own a 8100 now and I'm thinking of upgrading to the 8700.

I've searched, but haven't been able to find any discussion on whether or not Epson has improved the HDMI handshake time through the various generations of this projector. I have a 6500ub and the HDMI sync/handshake time drives me crazy. It takes anywhere from 10-30 seconds when changing resolutions or devices. Does anyone know if Epson has improved the handshake time with the 8500ub or the 8700ub? Otherwise, I'm pretty happy with my 6500ub, but if I can solve those issues with a newer version, it might be worth it to me.

Those features do sound nice, but they are all moot points if the projector has other problems like convergence issues or lens rings that don't turn. I'd rather have a perfectly functioning 8350 than an 8700 with some problems.
It's pretty concerning that between Soulcamp and I, those are 2 refurbished 8700's sold by VA in the last 10 days. And BOTH had problems. Even his 2nd unit, while he seems to be happy with it, still doesn't have perfect convergence.

I'm not faulting VA here at all, they seem to have excellent service. But Epson's "refurbishing" department (what do they even do?) sure ships out a lot of duds.

Epson 8XXX series "Hidden Menu" Access:


Press and hold (MENU) for 8 seconds, release

Press (ESC) twice

Press (RIGHT ARROW) then (LEFT ARROW)

This opens some info and error log screens.

If you now repeat the access key sequence as listed above:

This opens a screen with "DP-SW" banks 1 through 6. Scrolling each bank shows 7 "bits" each with 0/1 (off/on) "buttons."


Would someone please post the factory settings for each bank/bit? It would help me with research on a project.

Thanks!

WARNING: You can look all you like without problems, but never change any parameter unless you know *exactly* what it does and have recorded original values.

I know absolutly nothing about repairing PJ's but the 8700 sounds like the pannels are going bad. Cant guess on the other. Sounds to me like you are going to have to send them both in

I guess I have around 250 hours on mine, haven't gotten around to calibrating. Not knowledgeable concerning evaluating a PJ for problems but have to say my 8700UB-R (from Visual Apex, early May) looks fantastic. I see no fault whatsoever. And, this PJ starts and stops a lot faster than my old Sanyo PLV-Z2. Now, I am partially color blind so I'll never claim the colors are perfect, I have no confidence in my ability to be discerning in that regard. The colors look fine to me. The blacks are very satisfactory indeed. Have no replacement bulb, but run in Eco mode exclusively (throw distance to a white Gator board screen is barely 10 feet, the room will accommodate no more), hope it will last a long time.
- - - -
‘Though it seems that I know that I know,
What I would like to see, is the I that knows me,
When I know, that I know, that I know.’ - Alan Watts
Edited by Muse - 11/2/12 at 8:30am

How do you make those determinations? Do you need a test disk to do that?

You can pull up a pattern on the projector then look closely at the screen.

Yeah, a proper working focus ring is a whole different beast!

I think Visual Apex will charge you a 15% restocking fee if you decide you don't want to keep the 8700, but from everything I heard, the difference in picture quality between the 8350 and the 8700 is huge. Personally, I believe I made the right choice - the picture quality of the 8700 is amazing!

The 8350 does have one of the lowest input lags of any projector, so if gaming is a deal for you, it might be something to consider. I personally haven't tried any games yet on my 8700, so I'm not sure if I'm going to notice the delay, but since I was originally planning on buying a 5020, the money I saved will give me plenty of options if the 8700 doesn't meet my gaming needs.

Yeah, a proper working focus ring is a whole different beast!

I think Visual Apex will charge you a 15% restocking fee if you decide you don't want to keep the 8700, but from everything I heard, the difference in picture quality between the 8350 and the 8700 is huge. Personally, I believe I made the right choice - the picture quality of the 8700 is amazing!

The 8350 does have one of the lowest input lags of any projector, so if gaming is a deal for you, it might be something to consider. I personally haven't tried any games yet on my 8700, so I'm not sure if I'm going to notice the delay, but since I was originally planning on buying a 5020, the money I saved will give me plenty of options if the 8700 doesn't meet my gaming needs.

IIRC, I did that and saw nothing but perfection everywhere on my screen!
- - - -
If there's anything godlike about God it is that he dared to imagine everything.
Edited by Muse - 11/2/12 at 8:32am

I was just thinking about pulling the trigger on an 8700 refurb as well.
I have had nothing but great luck with refurbished products thus far but I am much more gun shy on a $1500 item and potential hassles.

Obviously, they are units that were sent back after who knows how many hours are on them. Problem is I am not sure there are many new ones available.

If you don't care about 3D, I would grab up one of the 8700s while they're still around. My second one has an amazing picture and while I did have to hassle with getting it replaced (which seemed to be a fluke, as no one here seems to ever have reported a convergence problem as big as mine), Epson removed the hold from my card within minutes of having dropped it off at the Fed Ex office - and I managed to get an extra bulb for my hassles.

Ya, it seems as though the Epson's customer service is excellent in every way.
I am having trouble deciding between the 8700 and 3020 since it is now much improved and only $100 more. Decisions!

Hey all,

I just received my 8700UBR replacement do to a defective original. This replacement doesn't have THX mode...should I be concerned it's an older model?

I could be wrong, but I believe the black levels on the 8700UB are going to be much better than the 3020.

I know they will be better for sure, how much I am not sure. But, better black levels aren't any better if the PJ isn't working correctly.

Unreal! That makes THREE refurbished 8700's purchased recently that had problems. And that's just counting people posting in this thread.


Exactly.

I packed up this 8700ub-R with the stuck focus ring yesterday and am getting a refund from VA. Not even gonna try for a second one, as there are WAY too many issues with these refurbished models. I'm happy with this 8350, and feel better about having a brand new unit.
Again, just want to mention that VA's customer service has been excellent, and would definitely recommend them. But Epson's refurbishing dept.... yikes. I sure hope this 8350 will last with good care.

I hear ya. I was all for the refurb route until I read a little and thought about it some more.
Plus, the 8350 is cheaper to boot. I think you did the right thing.