My bulb just exploded after 200 hours of use.

Stuff happens. Not to minimize the frustration you're having but would it be possible for a LCD TV to have a problem as well? Granted that problem would likely be covered under warranty but how much would it cost to ship a large LCD back to the manufacturer for repair? Probably not as much as it costs to buy a replacement bulb but it would not be cheap.

If you bought from Costco a year ago then you can just return it for a full refund. You bought before the change in return policy.

Yes, lamps are very expensive and can go at anytime. IMHO anyone that can't afford 2 lamps within a year should not purchase a projector. Lamps should certainly last longer than a year in most situations, but you have to be prepared for anything that might happen.

Sorry, that makes no sense.

What if the AC unit in my car went out. If my budget wouldn't allow me to replace (2) AC units a year, should I not purchase a car?

Things happen. Next bulb he buys will probalby last 2,000 hours. It's unfortunate, but it happens. Same way with Car and House expenses. You can't "NOT" buy something in fear that it will break before it should and therefore budget your finances for "X" number of repairs a year.

The bulb on a PJ is not the same as the AC on your car.

This is a better, accurate example:
People expect to get 30, 40, even 80 thousand miles on their vehicle tires but stuff happens and you may have to replace them sooner, much sooner in some cases.

It's stories like these that keep a lot of people away from front projection.

Almost everyone I know that has seen my projection setup says the same things, "wow, that's huge", "you are damn lucky", "but those bulbs can go anytime and are sooooo expensive".

Once a less volatile, long-lasting light engine hits the market, front projection is really going to hit it's stride. Price drops sure help but longevity is what so many people seem to worry about. Not me however.

Back on track, I would call Optoma and complain. You'd be surprised what a decent company will do for you outside of a warranty window. I'd push for a discount on a bulb or ask that they throw in (or heavily discount) and extended warranty on your next bulb.

Be sure to explain that those solutions are the only ones that will keep you buying Optoma.

Worth a shot.

I think TF Ghost's post does make sense and if you had a reasonable expectation that your car purchase would require you to buy 2 AC units in a year (and you could not afford that) then yes, you should not buy that car.

But your analogy is not very complete in that AC "units" are pretty much lifetime assemblies, just like the lens or case of a PJ. The refrigerant in your AC unit is different - it is an item that one expects to replace, just like a bulb or DLP color wheel. You should factor in the cost and uncertainty of these serviceable items and consider other purchases if you can't afford them should they fail prematurely.

That being said, do call Optoma or Costco. They may be sympathetic to your case or have knowledge of a bad batch of bulbs. OTOH, they have no idea what environment you were using the PJ in or if you were cycling the power on/off or shutting down before the fan completely cooled the bulb. If you can't live with that - eBay it. The HD72 is a nice projector and you'll get a decent salvage price.

I'm from the old "Infocus X1 bulb blow-up problem" world. My first bulb lasted about 200 hours. My next (Infocus replaced the projector) lasted about 350 hours. Infocus got a techie to talk to me on the phone before they'ld send me another free bulb. He said to ignore the shut-down procedure and warning in the manual and cycle the power off HARD by using a powerbar switch. The reasoning he gave was that the fan cooled the bulb too quickly once it was off and tiny fractures may result and/or the gassed material inside would not condense evenly.

Using this "new" shutdown procedure, the replacement I recieved from Infocus is still going strong at 5600 hours.

Is there something radically different about bulb construction today that necessitates that they must cool down quickly rather than slowly?

I think that is why you don't have the cool down fan blowing for more than a few seconds anymore.

It makes perfect sense - here, I'll break it down for you:

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John buys a projector on September 1st. He's never had a projector before and is the type of person that never read the books/manuals that came with any other electronic device, so why read the documentation on this new machine? It looks simple enough. He plugs it in, fires it up and starts using it as a television.

John doesn't like cleaning his house much, and knowing nothing about maintaining a projector, John neglects to clean his filter(s). Dust collects on the filter(s) raising the internal temperature of the machine. His lamp fails in January, so he makes a "WTF?!" call to the manufacturer and is informed of the proper maintenance procedures. John just learned an expensive lesson, and becomes anal about properly maintaining his machine.

It's now May. While watching TV John hears a pop. He takes out the lamp and sees shattered glass inside the lamp housing. Following the manufacturer's recommendation he sends the unit in for repair. No problem is found and the unit is returned. The manufacturer tells him the lamp may have been defective, but he's past the 90 day warranty so they can't replace it.

John just bought his 2nd replacement lamp and he hasn't even had his unit for a year yet! Irate, he starts a "(insert manufacturer's name) SUCKS!" thread on AVS Forum. Over the course of the next year the thread grows to 15 pages from people like John posting similar experiences.

After reading all the posts, John puts his PJ in a closet and buys an LCD/Plasma TV. He takes the unit out for parties, holidays, etc. but will never again use it as a television.
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So, Mr. Bradley, given the amount of posts on AVS where people reported similar problems, why would it not make sense to recommend they have enough $$ to cover 2 lamps within a year if they decide to purchase a PJ? It seems logical to me...

You can just add a 5 year warranty for the lamp for several bucks, and case closed.

Good call! I forgot about the lamp warranties...

Because you can get extended warranties that are much cheaper than budgeting an extra $800 a year for lamps. At that price point, it may be worth purchasing a NEW PJ that may have newer and better technology than the current PJ that just blew a bulb. I'd say that for those in the ABOVE $3K have the money to budget for multiple bulbs in a year. I bet a number of folks that purchase $1,000 PJs don't have the money to budget $800 a year for bulbs. Back to the car (I don't care if you are talking tires, AC, etc), if in a year, I had to spend 80% of what I purchased the car for, I'd either be buying new car with no miles on it, or purchasing a bike (aka TV and not PJ).

What does it mean in plain english ?

Meaning he will pay partial for the new lamp.

You should be taking it back to Costco, the employees don't care they'll just give you your money back.
Better luck, I've had some bad and lots of good. Don't give up on the big screen yet. How can you go back to a 50" or 60" screen now. TV's are too small for movie video, it's boring.

Interesting, never thought of it that way.

Exactly. Take it from someone that tried (110" screen to 40" plasma). It's impossible and you will never feel..."right" when you're watching a movie or playing a videogame.

Sounds to me like it still falls under Costco warranty.

Bring it into Costco for your $ back(that'd be CASH- be prepared for a pocket full of twenties though!!), or send it into them(or whoever they tell ya) for repair..
Either way, you shouldn't be out any cash at all.

Ummm... there's something else that's a bit radical about my methods

I haven't cleaned this X1 projector even once, in the five years(?) I've been running it. It's a "modern" old projector, and has thermal shutdown in case it gets to hot - and I'm waiting for that to happen for the cleaning signal! LOL

The color still looks bright and accurate, likely because the lint and dirt has given it extra filtering capability to keep crap out of the light path (esp. the color wheel). It looks good at 80 brightness now - 50 contrast.

I wish the bulb had blown 2 years ago, 1 year ago, 6 months ago, etc. With it going so great, my wife wouldn't let me upgrade But now because I've convinced her the projector might go at any time, she's finally allowed me to order the HD80! That should be a little step up!

In the message archive on bulb life and blow-ups, there are tons of posts about ignoring the manual and doing hard shut-downs. The Infocus tech I spoke to harped the same tune. Continuing to blow cool ambient temperature air unevenly against a very HOT, HIGH PRESSURE bulb for even 30 seconds is a dumb idea IMO (and his). It was apparently meant to protect the electronics from possible overheating from latent heat building up, but he said it wasn't necessary (for the X1) and only killed your bulb. It's not like the electrodes in your UHP bulb are going to melt when it's off and no electrical current is applied. UHP bulbs must run at a certain temperature, and people that decide to use "high altitude" settings that live by the sea shore are just asking for it IMO, as are those who attempt to start up their lamps again when still warm. That very toxic junk inside the lamp must condense fully before restarting your projector. UHP stand for "Ultra High Pressure", and are ol'arc lamps that depend on a plasma of mercury vapor. The "big boys" use Xenon.

Well I'm going to move the Infocus X1 to the bedroom when the HT80 arrives. But someone on this forum has to buy me a beer when that infamous crappy bulb is still going after 10,000 hours :P

Does this "hard shutdown only" advice apply to other InFocus pjs as well, for example the IN72, or was it just a peculiarity of the X1?

I have no idea to be honest. I do know that more recent projector models only run the fan for a few seconds rather than continuously for several minutes like these old ones. If in doubt, I'd say follow the manufacturer's recommendations or speak to a company techie there.

But I can't see how a "hard shutdown" can harm a bulb. If the fan and bulb suddenly turns off when the bulb is a certain temperature, it's not going to go higher. It will simply cool down much more slowly. But latent heat buildup could cause a problem with electronics? Lets face it, placing IC's and other electrical components within inches of a very hot UHP lamp is problematic at best. It hasn't proved to be a problem with the X1, but you'll be taking your chances with other models.

Let's go to TF's house since he has a money tree...sorry but many here can barely fit their HT gear into their budget much less add $400 for an extra bulb..

I'm one who believes that the manufacturer's statement of bulb life should not only be accurate (consumer protection law applies in Canada), but they should also be quoting the minimum bulb life and be conservative in their specs. It's utterly ridiculous to believe that 2 bulbs should be budgeted per year because the specs of projector manufactures are inherently "dishonest". A 3000 hour advertised bulb should last for 3000 hours under typical usage. If it doesn't, they are breaking the law in this country at least.

That's three-five years though, that's not the samething either.. 212 hours on a bulb thats supposed to last 2k hours is really bad. And people who can't buy 2 bulbs a year should still buy one.. Just get a warranty

I'm not necessarily advocating this, but it seems to make sense to me. Bulbs come with 90 day warranties (typically). The rest typically has a 1, 2, or 3-year warranty. If a hard shutdown melts your other electronics but saves the bulb, then at least for your 1, 2 or 3 year warranty period... melt away.

Good luck convincing the manufacturer and insurance company your melt down / fire and burned down house was due to a defect and not your improper operation of the projector.