[jeanyes]

Do you guys think that bulb prices will come down as the market becomes more saturated with front projectors? At least with the very common ones such as the x1, z2, hs20, etc. etc.


I'll bet there is a really high profit margin on these things. Assuming that is the case, it should only be a matter of time before a company with the manufacturing ability decides to start making lower cost "oem" versions for popular projectors. Any thoughts?


I started wondering about all this when I decided to order a spare bulb for my incoming Z2... geez they are expensive. Does the Z2 use the same bulb as the Z1? What's the best price you guys have seen this bulb selling for?


Jeanyes

 

[markam]

It is highly unlikely that any lighting manufacturer will make any knockoff lights. Some of the reasons are.


1. There are likely patent protection issues on most of the designs

2. Even with the increase in popularity of projectors, the market is too fragmented to have any specific bulb design have the potential to sell more than a few thousand units.

3. Most of the companies with the resources to build these bulbs probably already make OEM bulbs for projectors, and the last thing they would want would be to drive prices down.

4. Using a knockoff bulb would probably void your warrenty, so many people would not buy one just to save a hundred bucks.

 

[Kamus]

markam, hopefully you're wrong, i think projectors have hit the mainstream thanks to HDTV for the most part, but i think you're right about the patents, i personally think that the warranty thing is a non issue since i don't think they can prove you used another bulb if somehting went wrong with your PJ.

 

[scoby]

I doubt bulbs are the high profit items people seem to think they are. They're expensive to develop, relatively expensive to produce, and very low volume. If manufacturers standardized on a few bulb designs to get the volumes up, then we might see some price reductions.

 

[Marissadad]

Best price I found for a Z2 bulb was $301, they ranged all the way up to $399.

 

[jeanyes]

$301 isn't too bad. Does the Z2 use the same bulb as the Z1? Several of the sites I have searched at only list the Z1...

 

[Ericbres]

Although I have always stood by the belief that lamps are a nuisance to produce and have little profit margin ...


I believe Jeanyes does have a good point. As FP begins to saturate the home theaters of America and the world, we should see some improvements in lamps.

I would suspect that the more projectors people buy ... the more lamps that are needed ... the more lamps that are needed ... the more the lamp manufacturers can spit off in 1 running of the assembly line ... the more they can spit out, the cheaper they cost to manufacture ... the cheaper they cost to manufacture ... the cheaper they are for you and I.


Take a look at the Hitachi Home-1 lamp ... $150-$175.

Not too shabby. Sounds like someone at Hitachi has a head on their shoulders when they were preparing for the release of this lower-cost Home Theater projector.

 

[leadfoot]

Don't forget the shift in rear projection toward LCD and DLP, both of which utilize a bulb in the same way as a front projector. This is my one concern looking ahead at the cost of ownership on an LCD front projector.

 

[Jeff T]

I don't have a projector yet, but I just had an idea. I think I'll throw a quarter in a piggy bank every time I watch a movie. That should just about cover the bulb whenever it needs replacing... 1000 movies x .25 = $250 for about 1500-2000 hours of use.

 

[Marissadad]

Jeff T, I posted this exact thing here

 

[Jeff T]

Great minds think alike