Official AX-200 Owners Thread - Page 95

I would take a novice guess that it is something wrong with your optical block or perhaps some alignment. That was from poking around... looks like it may be optical block for me too, but who knows I have no experience with this....

OK, this morning after doing some more surfing on the Flicker issue I found some one suggested switching to Game mode to reduce the Flicker. So this morning I fired the 200 up and noticed right away the Flicker was there and doing it's thing so in Normal Lamp mode I switched to Game mode and it did lessen the Flicker. I even tried Vivid and found that to be the best but the Flicker was there just not as much. Do these modes actually increase the brightness of the Bulb it's self?
Another suggestion I found was the run the projector for a couple days strait to wear the bulb in. My Projector is usually ran 2-6 hrs at a time as I'm sure most owners are. So I returned the settings to Normal lamp mode and Normal Picture setting (Flickering as usual) then left it running for 12 (precious) hours. When I went back down there was no Flickering at all. Now I'm not saying I have fixed it but this was simply a test to see if this might help find a solution.
I called the repair center in California and spoke to them about the flicker and if they had a fix. He was very aware of it but to my surprise he did not say "Oh ya I know exactly what is causing it and It's definitely repairable." Don't ya wish you could find such a repair guy! He rattled off several things it could be, but seriously if so many people have this issue should it not be a "Oh ya we do this and problem solved" type thing!
In the days to come I will report back with my 12 hr run fix to see if it has made a difference! I'm not holding my breath!

Anyone have a clue what Panasonic's plans are for the AX200? I mean it's out well over 2 years now and it's still selling for nearly the same price since its debut.

Also, is this a legit AX200 lamp replacement? I'm just about due for a new one.

ET-LAX100

That's not an OEM lamp. For a few bucks more, get OEM. I PM'd you.

Did you leave an image on screen (screensaver, etc.) or did you just let the projector run for 12 hours?

I installed a new blue out polarizer (the one sandwiched between the LCD and prism on the "optical block"). I would write up instructions, but the task is difficult and my results were disappointing.

I had severe yellowing in the center and had developed some blue blobs on the top edge of the screen. Before repairing my ax200u, I practiced on an old ae700u. The ae700u had developed the blue blobs due to a bad blue LCD so I've seen this before. I hoped that the blue blobs on the ax200u were something other than the LCD, but they weren't. In fact the blobs are much worse now, extending across the top and through the center of the screen. It seems that the bad polarizer was helping to correct the degraded blue LCD. I'm probably going to replace the good polarizer with the burnt one because I can tolerate the yellowing much better than blue blobs.

I examined and adjusted the blue incindence "in" polarizer (the one mounted with a screw between the "optical block and the lamp). It doesn't rotate enough to really make a difference in the image so the adjustment here isn't crucial. All it does is reduce the amount of light that passes through the blue LCD. When I examined it under a strong light I could see an outline of where the light hit burned into the polarizer, but it was not burned so bad it changed color like the out polarizer. If you do remove this, scribe a line so you can put it back in the same position.

My ax200u has 4572 hours total and is on its second bulb. Most of the time I ran it in high altitude mode (faster fan) but I don't think this helped.

My opinion after owning two Panasonic projectors is that sometime after the warranty expires, the blue LCD will fail. I was pretty bummed about it, but a friend who is also in to projectors set me straight. I was lucky to get as many hours as I have, and it was glorious while it lasted. I think the real reason I'm upset is that there isn't a new 720p model available and I don't think I'm ready to make the jump to 1080p.

For those of you that still want to replace your polarizer, here are links to manuals that I found on the net:

The method is the same as the ax200u, the polarizer part numbers aren't. To get the correct part numbers, use the ae900 numbers, but change the number after G from 10 to 20 (66G20 where the manual lists 66G10). Where the manual calls them Combination 1 & 2, the parts site lists A & B. I have a L3D07H-66G20 blue LCD so I ordered the TKGP5329 Polarizing plate/out(B) B.

AE900u manual:
http://home.orange.nl/rdls/AE900_servicemanual.pdf
AE700 polarizer replacement:
http://www.dvdplaza.fi/forums/attach...2&d=1173395643

Order your parts from here:
http://www.pasc.panasonic.com/ePartr/

My polarizer was $114 shipped.

Good luck!

It's probably your bulb. Changing from normal to eco mode and changing the fan speed can help to minimize it, but it'll probably come back.

Here is a post that discusses it in depth:
http://archive2.avsforum.com/avs-vb/...&&#post5820302

Skip to post 14205

Phineous do your blue blobs look like the ones in my picture on page 94 of this thread Link below?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...6#post17975956

It sounds like I may be having a similar set of issues as you (polarizer, lcd, etc...) Just trying to weigh my options of repair vs upgrading...

Is an OEM lamp worth 50% more? At $300 that's nearly half what I paid for my AX200.

I bought this lamp (not knowing it was not an OEM from Panasonic). 275 hours in and it's been fine.

Yes, but mine are much brighter and they now move across the screen as the panel heats up. I think my blue blob problem was made worse after I gently wiped a little dust build up off the LCD panels when I was replacing the polarizer. The red and green LCDs weren't harmed by the cleaning, but the blue is just disintegrating before my eyes.

The part cost for the blue LCD is $330, a polarizer will run $95, plus shipping, sales tax, and a difficult installation process (panel alignment is required). Add in the cost of a new bulb and you're getting close to a new projector. I am now firmly convinced that an extended warranty is a must on these. The interesting thing is Panasonic only sells the blue LCD. They know they don't last.

On my ae700U I could adjust out some of the blue by adjusting flicker. This trick doesn't work as well on my ax200u. You might want to give it a try though. The manual links in my previous message show how to get in to the service mode with flicker adjustment.

That's the same with almost all LCD PJ's, it's not only a panasonic thing.

Thank you phineous!

Hi,

I read some post in this thread on the subject but no one, to my knowledge, has explicitly gave opinion on the safety of running a bulb until if burns out. My Lamp Indicator came on the other night at just past 2000hrs. My thought is that I reset the counter, buy a back up bulb, and just run the current bulb until it burns out then replace it. (I've read of people with 4000hrs on their bulbs.) Is my plan safe/wise?

Thanks,
Jon

My AX200u had died. I am going on to a 1080 projector.
I have the conector to control the projector via serial (as in Home Automation) which doesn't do me any good now. I think they are about $45 new. If anyone is interested in this I would be willing to sell it for $25 shipped.

PM me if interested.

George M

I have a SPARE AX-200 in an UNOPENED box it is 100% BRAND NEW

PM sent

Yep. As long as you're happy with the light output. Your choice, some freak out about the possibility that the lamp could break and cause damage to the PJ, most think that is a very rare occasion.

Myself, reset and let er go until I wasn't happy with the brightness.

I need to rent/borow/steal an ax-200 for a week or two while mine is in the shop. Any ideas/leads/help ?
Vince

Anyone have a lightly used AX200 lamp they don't need? Mine is getting up there and I'm not quite ready to upgrade to a new projector...but at the same time I'm not sure I want to drop $225 on a new lamp at this point with affordable 1080p available.

Hey gang... I'm starting to see some weird effects from the AX200U. On really bright scenes, especially white, I see what looks like heat waves moving up the screen. I'm guessing this might be from the bulb? It's at about 1800 hours or so. Is this something to be concerned about? I have a spare bulb. Should I go ahead and change it out?

that's what I am doing - I am at 2900 hours, use it everyday and have a new spare on the shelf. Brightness seems fine and I am projecting 150 inches. I did move from normal to dynamic. Hope to hear from others as time goes by.

Sounds more like a ground loop issue to me. However, I'm sure someone with more experience will confirm.

JoeTiVo - I've seen what you're describing several times (all were small DLP's though), and that's exactly what it was - heat waves. Has anything recently changed in your setup? Maybe some hot air from your furnace is crossing the projection path or the exhaust from the unit is being blown in front of the lens?

Sensing Deja Vu here...but do you have any heat vents anywhere nearby that could be affecting the image? Is projector vented well?

anyone upgrade from ax200u to one of the new 1080p FP. Did you notice an improvement in PQ with Blu-ray movies.

Thanks guys... Nothing has changed, but you both could be onto something. There is a furnace vent in the ceiling just above the light path from the projector. I've never noticed the effect on screen though until the last couple of weeks.

I also checked the filter and found it was probably the dirtiest it's ever been. I cleanrf it this morning and will check the results tonight. I'm guess it might have and a lot to do with the problem.

I get this too.

I have a ventless fireplace in the home theater, and I get wavey things on the screen from time to time... It is kinda like what you see at a distance on the road in front of me during the hottest times of summer. So, I just assumed this was the same case with the home theater. Just makes me remember that Summer is coming soon (but not soon enough).

-Dave

Amen on the summer not coming soon enough. Here in Wisconsin it's always a LONG wait.

It's just funny that I've never noticed the heat waves until now. The theater is over 2 years old. Dunno... It'll be interesting to see if cleaning the filter helped any.