Official Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 5010 / 6010 thread - Page 97

Mstanic, according to Epson, v. 1.08 was specifically designed to solve the loud fan/no lamp strike cycle on power-up, so I am surprised this upgrade did not work. I had the same problem and v. 1.08 worked fine. I'm sure you did this already, but did you check on the service menu that 1.08 was definitely successfully installed?

(Incidentally, prior to the firmware update, the only way I could solve the high fan start-up symptom, was to turn the unit off at the rear of the unit and turn on again.)

My unit was working fine prior to the issue I encountered. It was running firmware 1.04. Again, the issue I suddenly encountered was that the unit would just go into a continuous blinking blue light with the fan on at what seemed to be high speed and noisy and the lens cover would not open at all.

I only upgraded the firmware to 1.08 in an effort to try and reset the unit and get it to work again as nothing else I did made a difference. When I initially upgraded the firmware, which ran successfully as per the process and Windows screens, the unit would still not work on power up. It did not work also when I had changed the bulb previous to the firmware upgrade.

Then, I turned it on (some time after it was left off and the firmware upgrade had been done) and I suddenly got two red lights one of which is for the lamp. I put back the new/spare bulb and powered up the unit. It then started to work as per normal and has been working okay so far. And yes, the service menu does show I am running 1.08. I guess this is a generic firmware update for several Epson projectors as I've not seen any official indication that 1.08 is for the 6010 specifically. I don't know if it's the bulb or firmware update but I find that the projector is much brighter now on normal 2D viewing. I'm not sure this is a good thing as it almost looks too bright in some scenes.

Now, back to my original questions. Would you keep my unit or swap it out for the refurbished one? As well, how do I check for convergence.

If I was you I would take the refurb. Your projector has an issue and the issue sounds like the one I had when I bought my 6020. The projector will not fix itself so the issue will be there until it is fixed. I know you are partial to it, but the refurb should be as good as new with the latest firmware. Sorry but good luck to you.

Pain Infliction,

So, you took a refurb to replace your 6020?

Either way, I hear what you're saying which is why I'm asking the question. You're probably right and I will probably take the refurb since I never know if I will encounter the issue again with my current projector. It's just that I never had any issues with it up until this occurred and maybe it was just the bulb that needed replacing. Hard to tell, as the initial symptom was not indicative of a bad bulb and I went through a lot of crap to get it working by sheer luck.

On the firmware side, I'm not so sure Epson will ship it with the latest 1.08 firmware. Maybe, with refurb units they are more conscientious of this then they are with new units which are already boxed and ready to go. I know when I bought my 6010, it did not come with 1.04. I had to upgrade it from 1.03 to 1.04. I'll check to see what it comes shipped with though as I don't see anywhere that lists what the latest official firmware is actually supposed to be for the 6010.

How is the 6020? Projectors get updated practically every year now. Hard to stay current. Hope you're enjoying it.

No I did not get a refurb. I ordered my projector online and it was shipped to me. Upon arrival straight out of the box it never worked. I call epson to see what was wrong and they told me the unit was deffective. I told them not to send me a refub because I never got to use mine and they said they would not because it was new. By the way I do not have a 6020. I have a 5020. I must have typed that wrong and did not catch it until you responded. So far I am very happy with the 5020 but I know that a lot of people were having issues with theirs. I gues that I was fortunate not to have those problems. When do you get your projector?

Well, all their replacement projectors are "refurbished" so someone sent them in because they were bad for some reason. My experience is they don't really fix what was wrong with them, or even dust them off for that matter. Now that doesn't mean your projector didn't actually go bad. It could fail again. The issue is how you handle it with Epson. They may make you pay for shipping if you don't replace your projector. I would watch it carefully. My first projector took like 7 minutes to turn on so perhaps waiting 5 minutes wasn't enough. Anyway that wasn't acceptable and they exchanged that one for another with different problems, which eventually died. My third has a 1 minute startup once in a while, and terrible convergence. There is a tool in the menu that lets you pop up just two colors to see. Instructions are buried in this thread.
I would watch it as much as you can.
Good luck.

Thanks, sorry to hear about all the problems you're having.

That's my concern though with accepting a refurb unit. I've read a few instances where the projectors are scuffed, scratched, smudged and just don't look like they were taken care of by the previous owner or Epson themselves. And that's just the outside but I've also read where the thing just doesn't work right, dust in the lense, etc. It's a coin toss really but I guess I have nothing to lose if I keep mine and just return the refurb. If it happens again, then I will just call Epson for the replacement but I'm just not sure how they will react to me not taking the refurb to begin with. I guess I can always try it out and see how it looks and performs. Just not that easy to take down and put back up without someone lending a hand. It's tight to the ceiling and makes it difficult to work with on your own. Plus, Epson wants my projector shipped back within 7 days of receiving the refurb in order to remove the temporary fund hold on my credit card.

Always a hassle when stuff goes bad. Like today, still waiting for it to be delivered so had take work off.
Edited by MStanic - 2/25/13 at 2:21pm

I turn on my 6010 today and got a error message called Cinema Filter Error. Please Contact Epson Support. I had to unplug the unit to get it working again. I just reached 400 hrs and I dread sending my projector to Epson being everything else works perfect and convergence is very good .

I just recieived my refurb unit and the box was not even sealed. Only the folded tops, that come together to close on top of the box, were taped. However, they were not taped to the sides/edge of the box so this was basically an open flap. Underneath, the projector was exposed with only the plastic and foam keeping it somewhat safe. However, in looking at the projector, it looks okay and it looks new so I can't complain about that.

Either way, I am very reluctant to even replace my current one as I have a bad feeling about the way this refurb came shipped (in an unsealed box). The box even says "refurbished product" to make it even more ominous.

I think I will keep mine as it's been working fine since the issues I reported. I still have time on my warranty so if it ever becomes unuseable I will replace it with the dreaded refurb model.

What checks are you guys running for convergence?

MStanic, I spoke too soon about v. 1.08 curing the flashing blue light/high fan etc. start-up symptom. I just turned on my unit today and got the same thing. Anyway, I'm going to run the issue by Epson again but, like you, I am not keen on swapping out my otherwise-good 6010. Please re-post on the thread if you learn anything new about this issue (and whether your 6010R works out).

I swapped out my original flaky 5010 for one marked "Refurbished" last week and the refurb works perfectly.  I've not checked the FW level, but it boots up quickly, all LCDs are perfectly aligned and it just all-around works/looks better than the original ever did.

 

YMMV

Frank

yonk,

Glad your 5010 refurb worked out. Coin toss really with new or refurb and electronics in general. I can't really complain though as I've been very lucky with all of my electronics as they just work and I've never had to have a refurb replace them (knock on wood). I guess that's why I'm so reluctant with this incident.

musicalfox,

I never realized 1.08 was supposed to fix the issue that I encountered with my 6010 (blue light blinking and high fan noise with no lens cover opening...basically, unit just stuck in this mode on power up even if left ON for more than 5 minutes). Again, I encountered this issue and only upgraded to 1.08 to try and reset/recover the unit into a working state. I have never encountered this issue before (on 1.04) and have not encountered it on 1.08 since being lucky enough to have my unit recover from this state. So far so good on my end but still deciding on swapping for refurb or returning it . Should my 6010 just fizz out again or go completely wonky, then the refurb will have to be the solution.

Thanks.

Yep, luck and persistence.  At least Epson support seems eager to please, and the whole swap process from phone call to new unit re-hung on the ceiling and running was 3 days.

 

Before my father-in-law retired he worked for Phillips, head of their service division.  This before everything was outsourced.  I would always buy the refurbs (getting the same as-new warranty) and save major $.  His opinion was that the refurbs (this was back when ..) were as reliable or better then new because they had actually been tested more/better.  These days, who knows ..

 

Good luck!

Yonk

Yup, I don't know what to do. Epson Level 2 told me that 1.08 should have solved the high fan/blue flash etc. start-up symptom. Now I have asked them how we get out of that state without compromising the lifespan of the unit. (Apparently my idea of turning the unit off at the rear is not a good one, but neither would I think is allowing the fan to run at high for etermity.) So, I will monitor the situation over the next week or two and see if I will also need to request a new -R unit and/or warranty repair.

Guys,
I have been away for awhile, and I have a 5010 with 1.04, with around 250 hrs on it. I have the high fan/blue flash etc. problem on start up at times. I got the firmware upgrade from another forum member, but never installed it because of having to use Windows XP. Did you find a work around, or did Epson come out with a better way to install it?

There is no work around other than some Windows 7 Ultimate Owners
have used a Virtual XP system with some luck.

The FW - any version up to 1.08 DOES NOT FIX THE PROBLEM.

Thanks for the reply. That was my miss understanding. I thought I read it did fix it. It sounds like the FW is still a pain to install. What is Epson saying about this issue? It is really annoying when it happens, because I have to unplug the projector for a min. When I plug it back in, all is well again. I would say it happens about every 10 power up cycles. Does this sound like what everyone else is seeing?

Some End User THOUGHT it fixed it but changed his mind after he said it did.

I have no clue what Epson is saying

Yes, I was the one who was originally told by Epson in an e-mail that the high fan/blue flashing symptom should be fixed by FW v. 1.08, but this FW update did not fix it. Epson also recommends not turning off or unplugging the projector when the symptom occurs. Here is a quote from Epson's e-mail to me:

"If this is a frequent occurrence, I would not recommend continuing to use the hard switch on the rear of the projector to turn it off and on again. Shutting off with the hard switch, does not allow for the projector to go through it's proper shut down process. Doing this on occasion wouldn't likely be a problem, but doing this regularly can possibly affect the life span of the projector. There is no other firmware update or workaround that I am aware of to address the issue that you have described. Unfortunately, if the projector continues to do this we will likely need to look at repairing/replacing the projector under warranty."

That’s good to know about the hard switch. When my 5010 goes through this high fan/blue flashing, I usually let it do its thing until the fan shuts off and I am left with just blue flashes. The only way I have found to bring it back to life is to unplug it for a minute, and then it acts normal again. Like I said, this only happens around every 10 or so power up cycles. I am not going to return it because of this, and I have just learned to accept it.

One would HOPE Epson would know if it did work.

I thought it was a judgement that you made.

Thanks for the FEEDBACK.

Does anyone know how to use the 3DIMENSION command by serial cable to the TW9000?

I'm using EventGhost connected to the TW9000 by RS232 to power on and off the projector by sending the PWR command. I can also do other commands on this Epson Excel list however when sending "3DIMENSION?" I always get "ERR" as a response

I'd like to use EventGhost to set the projector to 3D mode automatically when playing a 3D Side-by-Side movie.

9D is the CODE for going from 2D to 3D

9E is the Code for 2D

9F is the Code for 3D

Unfortunately, those does not do what one might think. 9D-F does the same as the remote keys. That is enable or disable the possibility to use 3D Format
I could set the 3D Format to Side-by-Side then use 9D to switch between 3D on or off however this messes up the 2D mode. Using 2D while 3D Format is set to Side-by-Side does only display the left side of the image.

What I need is to set the "3D display setup" to Side-by-Side directly while leaving the 3D mode on. Then change "3D display setup" to Auto to change back to 2D. Something like 3DIMENSION 03:02 and 3DIMENSION 03:00 according to the Excel sheet: I've tried different 3DIMENSION commands but they keep returning "ERR". Also the command "3DIMENSION?" returns "ERR" even though it should be "OK" according to the documentation. I guess the 3DIMENSION command is misspelled or something else isn't right.

^

If you need Side by Side - there is NO KEY for that.

That's great information, thanks, Plasmaman. I've also just started getting a situation where the high fan/blue light flash cycle starts, continues for about 3 minutes and then, with no further action taken, the projector just powers up normally with the on-screen Epson logo. So, maybe the lesson is to just let it run through whatever it's doing.

Well I received my replacement 6010 and there is several dust blobs and the convergence is horrible. I ended up with a second level tech and he was rude. Anyways they are sending out another unit and I pray it is better than the last replacement.

Can you add your problem to the Epson problem thread?

In my Sony TV, I have an option called Backlight which increases the light (not the brightness) coming out of the TV making it better at day time. Is there such an option of the Epson 5010 projector? I would like to make it as bright as possible to be able to use it at day time. I currently have it on Dynamic but it still does not produce enough light to be viewable at day time. Another question, how do I find out the number of hours the projector was used for? Not lamp hours, but hours that the actual projector was used for. I remember reading about it somewhere. I have to press the menu button for a few seconds and then do something else that I can't remember to see how many hours the projector has been used for. The reason why I need to know this info is because I accidentally reset the lamp hours and now I don't know my lamp hours.

Thank you in advance.