What is the proper way to shut down the Sony Pearl?

I'm assuming your question was serious.

1. Press the power button on your remote contral. Confirm you want to turn off the projector. The fans will run for a few minutes to cool down the lamp and projector.

2. No, you should not leave the projector on for 6 hours if you are not using it.

I think a good lamp saving rule is if you turn it on it should be on for at least 45 minutes to an hour. Turning it on then off right away like a TV will cut the life of the lamp dramatically. Same for if you turn it off to. Once it is off I always let mine cool down for at least 45 minutes but usually an hour or so before restarting...

Greetings,

I have to agree with the first response in that I found your question hard to take seriously initially.

I own the Pearl and have owned 3 other projectors. There is no need to have the projector running for hours if it is not in use. These units are designed for home entertainment purposes which would not lend itself to the type of use your question suggests.

If you read the owner's manual it explains how to use the projector. The power saving mode is explained as well and is not designed to cool the lamp down.

After turning the projector off as described in the manual and the fans running for the short period afterward, the unit is cool to the touch within 20 minutes or so. Waiting another 25 to 30 minutes will ensure that the lamps elements are cooled down completely.

I seriously doubt that the lamp will be "searingly hot" for hours after shut down.

I think that you are over thinking this a bit.


Regards,

I own one.

Put your hand near the exhaust vent right after shut down. Warm exhaust air.

Put your hand there just before the fans go off a couple of minutes later. Cool air.

Incidentally, the cooling is primarily to prepare the lamp for the next start. "Hot strikes" are hard on arc lamps. The system has a temp sensor and knows what the threshold is and knows when to shut the fan off (or conversely when to crank it up higher during operation).

Those Sony engineers were pretty clever!

These kinds of bulbs cool down quite quickly as they have very little mass to hold heat.

hit it with a baseball bat

I just have my projector on a switched outlet. Nothing easier than just flipping the switch to turn it off. Power buttons are overrated.

Good one Rob...!

Regards,

Greetings,

I hope we didn't scare Randy (OP) away. Seriously though Randy, don't worry about trying to figure out a way to ensure that your lamp cools after you shut the projector down. That has already been thought of.

Use common sense and you should be fine. There are going to be times that lamps fail prematurely. This usually a crap shoot and not related to responsible use of your projector.

Enjoy!


Regards,

Sometimes I'll blindfold the kids and let them whack it line a piñata. It works everytime and the kids really enjoy it.

Being serious now. I've always questioned the proper "use" of projectors due to so much variation in lamp life. I think my Optoma H79 was an eye opener. H79's owners, for the most part, have not been blessed with long lamp lifes.

Randy, I doubt that your powering procedure would have caused it. Do you have a VW50 or VW60? You might want to try a search in the "AVS archives 2". I believe there were a few or more AVSers who reported early lamp failures on the VW50. Did they replace it free of charge or did you have to pay for it?

This thread has been very entertaining...

You mean you didn't get one of those new laser projectors? No bulb to worry about.

Sony lamp has 90 days warranty from the date of purchase.

Lamps tends to decrease life the more they are struck (when they are started up). So, if you are using it for a movie, and then leaving for dinner for 30 minutes, and then going back to it, you probably should keep it on. But there is no point in keeping it on for a long period of time if you are not using it (or coming back to it). As far as cooling...the fan cycle will cool it so that the lamp is ready to restrike. But that is NOT at the point of being able to touch. If you are changing the lamp, waiting a couple hours after shut down is best.

I found this thread helpful:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=946446