Infocus X1 Extended Warranty and Bulb Life Questions

Last night my wife and I were watching TV and jumped out of seats in the couch when my Infocus X1's bulb died. There was a very loud "pop" that sounded like a gunshot.


My use/maintenance/observations:


Bulb lasted a little more than 2000 hours. The projector is 2 years old.

I am not sure of the projector firmware.

Average use: 3-4 continuous use per day, turned on 2-3 times per day (i.e. 1.5 hours at 5PM, then 2 hours at 8PM, off from 6:30-8:00PM)

Power-down method: remote power-down during weekdays, manual power switch while away from home

Before the bulb failed, there were a few occurences in the last week in which the bulb took longer than normal to light and sometimes failed to strike on

I cleaned the filter every 6 months, and there was not much dust found each time

There seems to be a lot of fine dust particles on the lens of the projector. I have not cleaned this because I am afraid of damaging the lens.



I plan on removing the projector from the ceiling and ordering a replacement bulb but I have a few questions:


1. The bulb had just over 2000 hours on it. I have read in the X1 Faq that the expected bulb life is 3000 - 4000 hours. Why could the bulb have died so early?

2. Does a dusty lens reduce bulb life?

3. I read that a "power-on strike" is equivalent to 0.1% of the bulb life, is this correct?

4. My google results have brought up the SPLAMP-009 as the cheapest replacement lens. What things should a consumer beware of when ordering a bulb, and what companies provide an extended warranty?


After doing some research, it seems that I should have purchased the unit from Circuit City. They offer an extended warranty plan for $150 that covers up to 4 bulb replacements over 4 years.


Please let me know if posting pictures of the projector, bulb, or mount if it would help answer any questions.