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What Projectors are OK with Frequent On/Off Cycling?

post #1 of 7
1/25/13 at 11:15am
Thread Starter 
Hi All;

I am of the opinion that I should not turn my Panasonic PT-AE900U projector on and off too frequently, at least not like an ordinary TV. This presumably is because every time I switch it on, the bulb takes a bit of a "hit" and too many on/offs will shorten the lifespan of the bulb. My first bulb was still working at 2000 hours, and now sits as a spare bulb, after I installed a new one.

If this is NOT true, please feel free to correct me. However, if it IS true, then ideally, I would like to know if any newer type of projector is perfectly happy turning on and off as frequently as some TV's are. We have kids and they turn the TV on/off quite often.

For example (and I really don't know the answer), can LED overhead HT projectors be switched on/off a lot? I mean, without degrading lifespan?

Are there newer LCD projectors that can also be switched often.

Here's why I ask; We have a old 36" tube TV in our theatre for "junk" viewing. I have a Panny 900 LCD and a drop-down screen for movie night, game night etc.

I would like to get rid of the TV and just use a projector. But, I need to know if it can be cycled on/off as often as TV's typically are.

Can anyone help me with this? Are some projectors better able to handle frequent on/off switching? Even with my Panny 900, am I harming only the bulb, or more than just the bulb with frequent starts?

Thanks, Tom.
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post #2 of 7
1/25/13 at 3:09pm
You're correct that you shouldn't frequently power cycle your standard bulb PJ. From what I've read only LED projectors can do this with no detriment to the lifespan of the bulb.

The rule of thumb I follow is once the PJ is turned off leave it off for a minimum of 2 hours to allow the bulb to completely cool. I've been doing this for many years now and have never had a damaged bulb.
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post #3 of 7
1/25/13 at 3:19pm
I've read about big cinema projectors, that a bulb lasts 30% longer if given 10 minutes break (off) every two hours. Not sure though how is it related to HT projectors.
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post #4 of 7
1/26/13 at 3:37am
Reminds me of the old arc pj's I used to run, LOL, wait.... I'm old
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post #5 of 7
1/26/13 at 8:10pm
10 to 15 minutes between restrikes is usually fine. 2 hours is overkill. If the area around the lamp is still warm to the touch wait till it cools down. As far as I understand LEDs are not suseptable to the restrike problems but the jury is still out on this. If you are trying to replace a 37 inch with an LED you should have no problem with daytime viewing as long as you go with a smaller image size. You may not have the zoom ability and may have to deal with a fixed distance to the screen
Bohanna
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post #6 of 7
1/28/13 at 8:16am
Thread Starter 
Thanks all. Now I'll ask around my local stores to see if they agree about LED projector frequent on/off cycles.

Cheers, Tom.
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post #7 of 7
1/28/13 at 7:07pm
LED projectors have no issue at all with constant on off cycles. I know people that have 4500 hours on their LED projector and only watch about an hour at a time.

Also the chipset in most LEDs runs about $250 total and is user replaceable.
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