The official Epson 8700UB thread - Page 91

I have the same noise issue in ECO...that was a replacement for a loud iris..now the fan pitchy/whinny noise in echo mode...oh well. Hopefully the next one will be perfect. Replacement on the way...

SC

has anyone here had lousy lens knobs on their unit? i replaced my first projector this past saturday due to a blue dot when i was projecting a black screen. i found out it was a bad pixel so i took no chances and took it back to my local dealer. I got a new one and now they no longer have any 8700s so mine is the last one new in a box. I was really really pushing to find a flaw yesterday to make sure i didnt get a lemon again so i found out that the knobs work, but not as good as my first 8700. When i adjust the up and down knob and then start shifting the image left or right, i find that the picture starts to drop back down little by little so i have to go back to my up and down knob to make the final adjustment. i called epson and they said that it is normal, but that if my image is dropping after i have set it in place, then yes i need to send it in. My issue with this whole send it in and get another one is that i just got this one ONE DAY ago and it is brand new and i would hate to send it in so they can send me a refurbished unit that has probably been in and out several times. i was told by epson that they no longer have new 8700s and that all units being shipped out are refurbished. i need to make sure that my problem with the knobs is something common...

Mine does the same thing. My 8100 also did that. Once it was set it was fine but moving one affected the other so it made it more time consuming to get the picture centered just right.

Just to update you guys. I'm getting a new lamp from Epson because of red blinking lamp light. The lamp hours was just under 100 hours.

received my replacement today. A day faster than I expected since I started the return process over the holiday weekend.

This one appears to be a keeper so far. No unexpected sounds, image looks great, convergence looks like the red is off a pixel or two but I'm not a huge stickler for that as long as I don't notice it during regular viewing. Now I cross my fingers on the lamp.

edit: eh, looks like I spoke too soon on the convergence/panel alignment. When I just used the crosshatch pattern to look at the convergence I didn't see much, but on all white screens I see a big red shift on the left and green on the right. Basically the same as jtenn in this post: http://www.avsforum.com/t/1281250/the-official-epson-8700ub-thread/2640#post_22683545

Actually, I guess there's a non-zero chance that this is, in fact, that projector. I notice it on regular viewing in light colored scenes. I'll be calling Epson this weekend to arrange another exchange.
Edited by clevername - 1/3/13 at 5:51pm

Yes, i get the same thing!!! Do you know what it is or have you talked to epson about it?

Do bulbs usually explode when they die? Mine only had a 1000 hours on it and it popped today, scared the crap out of me, then the projector started buzzing and i pulled the plug from it.
Would this be covered under warranty or should i just get another bulb?

The can, and do burst sometimes. All it will cost you is a phone call. They have been known to be a little generous with replacement bulbs, if the hrs are reasonable.

What's the serial number of the projector? I would notice it while watching programs. Once I was aware of it I noticed it all the time.

I'll shoot you a pm with it when I get home, don't have it handy right now.

They're overnighting me another one, hopefully it should arrive today.

Just called them and its still under warranty, new bulb is on the way

Sent you a PM. Interesting

yeah, so looks like they did indeed just send me jtenn's projector. Looks like they might not be doing much to at least some of these refurb returns before sending them back out.

got the replacement today and hooked it up briefly to view on part of my old screen and it looked/sounded fine, but I've had to rearrange my space and have a new screen on order so I can't do my full set up yet to run the latest run through its paces. It'll be a few weeks before I know if this one is a keeper or not.

can the 8700 light up a 130" 1.1 gain from 15' away in a dark room?
and is the 5020 worth $1200 more?
Edited by domingos38 - 1/8/13 at 1:41pm

In "Living Room" mode, absolutely.

Anyone here using an external HDTV tuner with their 8700 projector, and if so what has provided the best results? I have a much older Samsung, can't remember the model number, that does 1080i using a DVI connection and is not quite up to par for image quality. Not sure its possible to reach blu ray quality but I would like to take it up a notch more. The main issues are too dark of image, and lack of detail or integrity of the pixel quality, if this makes sense. Mostly watch some PBS in HD with OTA.

Thanks in advance.

Well, I have a whole house network using media PC's for ALL my tv's and the projector. All this has access to a Silicon Dust HD Homerun 2 tuner and an HD Homerun prime 6 cable tuner setup.
Since the PC does all the decoding and is adjusted for the projector as well, the images are stunning! Especially OTA HD broadcasts since they are less compressed.

Really depends on WHAT does the decoding in the chain before the projector.

Dear All:

i've had my Epson 8700UB for 2 years, mounted on a post from the ceiling, and in-wall wiring during a renovation of my apartment, so rewiring for anything is borderline impossible at this point.

i'm, thus far, entirely not interested in 3D, plus the fact that my in-wall wiring is from 2 years ago, just prior to the new HDMI cables, so i cannot do 3D using the current wiring. That, plus my personal lack of interest in 3D (for now), means that i'm strictly looking at 2D performance.

i'm fine with this projector, which i've been using in THX mode for 2 years. i almost never ever take out the Epson remote, so i've never really tried the other modes. That is, until the last week.

i'm thinking about upgrading to the current 5020 or the Panasonic PT-AE8000U, just so that the brightness is increased and the ambient light in my living room/viewing room is less of an issue. however, having taken the Epson remote out and experimenting with the other modes, i.e. the Living Room mode, i went "wow"! The brightness makes it entirely usable even with a decent amount of ambient light (i do have blinds but sometimes it is nice to have a section of the blinds not fully down, especially if that section of blinds is further away from the screen). Of course, the black level and the color balance suffers, but i can work on that and make adjustments.

may i ask the good folks here on this forum:

- are there many who have either made the upgrade from the 8700 to the 5020 or the Panasonic PT-AE8000U? If so, what are your findings please?

- would the upgrade be very significant? or only somewhat significant? I've read the reviews on the increase in light output, etc. In THX mode, the increase is somewhere between 20% to 45% from the 8700 to a current year model at this price point.

Any advice/guidance would be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Oh gosh, I've just received my third 8700UB-R from Epson and this one has even worse light engine troubles than my previous two: this time, huge primary blue and red chunks visible on the screen. These are not dust blobs or moisture.- rather, these suggest to me serious damage to the panels. Oh, and the Epson logo is upside down on the front of the unit. When this unit was new, how did it ever leave the China factory like that and, more importantly, what is happening to Epson's QC processes here in the US? This unit had a Code 52 attached to it, meaning it had been personally overseen by an engineer before leaving the warehouse (and even had his signature on a certificate included in the box).

Another call to Epson Advanced Support, I guess....

I cant remember the exact number but I went through something like 5 8700-R's without getting even a remotely acceptable one and at least three of them were "Personally inspected to ensure quality." I think they just flip the refurb's around and hope the person who receives it doesn't notice or care about the problem the previous user had. In my case I think they probably spent more on shipping costs than the cost of the unit...well maybe not but still. I would ask to be escalated to some higher tech or customer relations as this is not acceptable. In my case I had the many replacements plus I had a customer service tech treat me very poorly on one of my calls and I think mostly due to the combination of that with the high amount of bad refurbs they ended up sending me a new 5010. So keep pushing for an acceptable unit!

Thanks for that feedback, Cheezit. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth that Epson might be intentionally rotating these units and just hoping that someone who isn't as discerning will settle for an inferior product. I would have expected more of a Japanese company with their reputation. Also, I feel that I am doing their QC for them; maybe that's their strategy - get the customers to do it. This product was perfect for my requirements as I particularly wanted THX certification and anamorphic upgradability., and there's nothing else in their product line that checks both those boxes now except the 6010/20.

Anyway, looks like you got rewarded very fairly so I will soldier on as you suggest!

Thanks for this information Tinman. Since making my initial post, I have bought a Tivo Premiere which does have a noticeably better tuner in it than my old Samsung. However I am not sure I want to belly up to the bar and pay for the Tivo service, especially for what little TV we watch and what very few channels we get OTA here in the hinterlands. Have heard good things about the Silcon Dust HD HR tuners which might be a better option for me. But the Tivo was the only external tuner I could find locally unfortunately.

Thanks again.

Wow! I feel lucky, knock on wood as the first 8700 UB-R I received was fabulous right out of the box, almost no convergence at all and gorgeous picture. I almost hate saying this out loud for fear of jinxing it reading some of the stories like this. Good luck resolving this. I am using mine with an Oppo 103 BDP and Joe Kane Infinity Screen (Da-Lite HD Progressive) with 1:1 gain. Love the picture quality of it all.

well, as we pointed out earlier they sent me the exact projector jtenn had returned a few weeks earlier with the same problems. I suspect they merely opened the box to see that the projector was indeed still in the box, then taped it back up and put it back in the "ship to customers" pile without doing anything to it. It's luck of the draw at this point dealing with an ever shrinking supply that's becoming more concentrated with the defective units we keep sending back.

that said, it's still a fantastic projector if you can get one that's acceptable. I still haven't had a chance to run my 3rd replacement unit through it's paces yet, my new screen won't arrive until sometime this week.

Just installed the new lamp that Epson sent me and still the same problem. When I turn on my projector it will shut down after about a minute and I get the blinking red lamp light. Going to call Epson on Monday and see what happens.

I'm looking for some advice from some of you more familiar with the Epson warranty/exchange process.

My 8700UB has developed the redish tint at the top of the screen. Seems like it's a panel alignment issue that isn't all that uncommon. The rub here is that otherwise I have a great unit. I've put over 6000 hours on the unit and haven't had a single issue other than a bulb that started to fail around 4000 hours (of which Epson replaced enabling me to keep my brand new spare bulb untouched). My warranty is up in March and I'm on the fence on whether or not to get into the whole exchange mess and deal with getting refurbed units that have power cycle/lamp strike issues or convergence issues. At the same time, I know I'll eventually upgrade, perhaps even later this year and I know the red hue at the top of the screen will effect resale. For now I've just overzoomed the image a bit to mask out the red portion.

Just snagged one of these open box for $900. Cannot wait to set it up and try out in my new place!

Any idea if the free bulb offer is available?

Thanks guys!

I'm having this same problem but unfortunately my 8700ub is a month and half out of warranty. Has anyone paid to have this fixed by a repair service? Trying to get an rough idea of the cost before I box it up and ship it off to get an estimate.

This is usually caused by one of the elements in the light path moving a little out of position from the heating/cooling cycles.

I have fixed this on several non-epson projectors, but the principle is the same on all of them. This is NOT a DIY fix unless you are very familiar with LCD light engines, so I won't get into it here.
But don't let a shop kid you, it IS a one hour fix tops, and very simple. It does NOT require any parts.

My PJ is 1 yr and 10 days old. The blub hours is 158 hours. Anyone beat me to it?