*Official* Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 1080 *UB* - Page 105

Went ahead and ordered two as well. Thanks for posting this. I go through a bulb every 1.5 years, so even if this bulb lasts me for one year, I'm still saving a ton of money over standard epson. Will report back about my experience as well.

I am thankful for bulb advise given here, wondering where I should buy my next bulb. This projector probably has a ways to go until I feel the need to upgrade. I imagine my next projector will be a 4k.

One of the reason I upgraded my beloved 1080UB to a 3020, is because the bulb in the 3020 lasts 4,000 normal/5,000 eco mode. That's pretty much double the 1080UB. On top of that, it's much brighter and has 3D.

Think about it. I sold my 1080UB for $500 with 2k on the lamp (so pretty much needing a replacement). A replacement is $300, so that totals to $800. I purchased the 3020 for $1,280 after Epson loyalty discount making it a $480 upgrade. My 1080UB bulb lasted about a year, so I'll break-even in a few years! The only thing I'm giving up is deep blacks and lens shift (for that you'll need to drop another $1,000 for the 5020 model).

This projector works fine in my living room where brightness is important and will hold me over until the LED models come out where you never have to replace a bulb ever again (I owned the 1080UB for 4 years). Hopefully 4K will also be standard at that time.

Just a consideration for all 1080UB owners. It's a great projector, but you might want to consider an upgrade...
Edited by exm - 1/12/13 at 4:34pm

Yeah I was thinking about the same for my projector. I'm going to try out these cheaper bulbs - at $90 shipped, if it lasts for even 1/3 the time of the Epsons, it's still a better deal. A brighter projector would be nice, but I am thinking maybe another year or two and we'll start seeing bulbless projectors which solves a lot of issues. Who knows. I could care less about 3D at this point. Maybe in the future...

If a $90 lasts 1/3 of the Epson, you might as well purchase a genuine Epson

Be careful. I also read reports that the 'compatible' bulbs might not be as bright. But let us know your findings!

New bulb installed. So far so good. Same exact housing, same part number. Same bright colors as a new bulb. Will see how long it lasts!

I'm not sure if I could go backwards when it comes to black level. After enjoying the 1080ub for over 2 years , if I was to upgrade it would be to something with even better level of black. (JVC or newer Epson ub models. That being said a brighter best mode would be nice too. Enjoy your 3020 my friend.
Edited by caperguy33 - 1/19/13 at 2:54pm

Thanks for the report. Mine's still good too - very good. Finally received my copy of "Lawrence of Arabia" BD - I really appreciate having a new light source behind it - it needs every bit. I guess scanning the OCNs at 8K really brought out all the luster of the image. At this point - I'm really glad I took the chance on this bulb too.


I'm torn between upgrading to a 3D capable unit or waiting for 4K too. If there was a projector with a Shift / Zoom Lens [like the Epson 1080's] but did 3D with passive glasses [not electronic ones] I'd probably go for it. Since I don't see that, 4K will likely be the next one on my ceiling. [a couple years though ]

You can purchase the 5020 if you want similar black levels and lens shift. It's just easier to justify to upgrade to the 3020 at this point for me...

I am having the same problem on the same projector. Purple line appeared at bottom and continues to grow darker and wider with time. Projector is ceiling mounted. Seen on all inputs. Using component inputs not HDMI and see same problem. I think this is a manufacturer's defect.

That sounds like the a bunch of pixels at the top/bottom of the Green LCD panel are stuck off or blocked by dust or something. The absence of Green would mean purple would show. If you have a test calibration disk, try displaying just a Red field and a Blue field then Green field. I would guess the first two would look okay but the Green field would look dark or black where you normally see the purple.
If it caused by dust you may be able to clean it, but if the Green panel has stuck pixels, you are hosed. Remember, the 1080 UB came out in 2008 so it is 5 years old, and it is probably way out of warranty. It might not be worth replacing the panel.

I've ordered and installed an even cheaper one without lamp housing for less than $70 including shipping from seller "power-item". I now even see seller "projectoraccessory2010" selling them for less than $52!!! It's very easy to install the bulb in the old lamp housing and I actually find it a waste to replace the old lamp housing together with the lamp.
I can't see any difference in picture quality compared to the old lamp (except that it's brighter because it's fresh). And even if it will break down after only 1 year it's still way cheaper than an original.

I made a post about a problem with my 1080UB, and thought I'd drop a link in here in case any of you fellow owners know what this could be.

I don't want to retype everything it's all here.

Thanks!

Well, there is a difference. The lamp Module contains other optical / and airflow elements. If you replace the lamp module 3 times - you kept new clean optics 3x more often than with a single Epson module. How often do you clean your air filter? This would help mitigate keeping a module for longer periods.


Based on my previous comment, one might see a counterpoint to this practice of changing only the Bulb. However, with reasonable care and cleaning I think it should be ok. Please keep us posted on how you make out. I expect that eventually, we'll all "be in your boat".

My 2 cents:

It could indeed be the bulb aging abnormally, but I haven't experienced what you're seeing. It causes me to ask about the condition of your optics - could they have been cleaned with something that harmed them, or if not cleaned at all are they exposed to cigarette smoke? Have you kept up with cleaning or changing the unit's air filters? How does the Test Pattern look to you? [Maybe post a photo] Is the unit open and in good airflow, or could it have overheated?

The easiest / cheapest thing to do is buy a replacement lamp module, clean your filters, and see if it goes away. If it does, it was your old module. You can consider cleaning it [it will be out and easy to see at that point] and hold it as a spare. If it's not the Module, then proceed to more risky / expensive solutions - but at least you have a spare Lamp Module now.

I can't imagine the problem is your viewing surface. While some types tend to reflect more in the center of the viewing field - and less towards the edges, they should never alter color characteristics across the field.

My old bulb also had this in the left upper and lower corners. Like I posted a few posts above I've replaced the old bulb and kept the same lamp housing (which was surprisingly clean after so many hours of use) and the problem is gone now. So my guess is you need to replace the lamp. My original Epson bulb had only 1200 hours on the counter when this problem started and one time it was worse than the other.