I bought two bulbs Amazon bulbs for my HD66 - the first one was a complete joke and my original bulb with ~4K hrs on it was still brighter. The 2nd bulb was brighter than the worn out original and had good colour balance - it seemed comparable to the original with about a thousand hours on it.
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New Benq HT3550 lamp not as bright as the one it replaced
This is more of a PSA for folks wanting to save some money when replacing their projector lamp.
I have a Benq HT3550, about 2 years old now with moderately heavy use. Having about 2400 hours on it, it was starting to show signs of diminished brightness. I decided to take a chance on a lamp from eBay/China. At $65 shipped it was about half the cost of the lamp on Benq’s site. (TLDR I just ordered that one today)
After a quick replacement swap and mounting back up on the ceiling, the picture warmed up and seemed a bit washed out compared to what I was hoping to see. I proceeded to dial in some changes to gamma, brightness and contrast and let it continue to warm up. I then watched a John Wick film to put it through its paces.
This was where I determined that I wasn’t going to see any improvement over what I had just replaced. Things just didn’t look good and contrast wasn’t what I was used to seeing. It was actually worse than the lamp I had replaced. There was also a definite smell of burning / heating electronics and I’d almost bet this lamp runs hotter than the previous one.
I decided to just go order one from Benq - I usually don’t worry much about saving a few dollars so here’s where I again have to say the marginal cost difference probably isn’t worth the effort.
We’ll see what my results are with the next lamp are in a few days and I’ll post here with my results. (I’ll take some pics as well to see if that helps tell a story as well)
Anyone else have similar results?
I have a Benq HT3550, about 2 years old now with moderately heavy use. Having about 2400 hours on it, it was starting to show signs of diminished brightness. I decided to take a chance on a lamp from eBay/China. At $65 shipped it was about half the cost of the lamp on Benq’s site. (TLDR I just ordered that one today)
After a quick replacement swap and mounting back up on the ceiling, the picture warmed up and seemed a bit washed out compared to what I was hoping to see. I proceeded to dial in some changes to gamma, brightness and contrast and let it continue to warm up. I then watched a John Wick film to put it through its paces.
This was where I determined that I wasn’t going to see any improvement over what I had just replaced. Things just didn’t look good and contrast wasn’t what I was used to seeing. It was actually worse than the lamp I had replaced. There was also a definite smell of burning / heating electronics and I’d almost bet this lamp runs hotter than the previous one.
I decided to just go order one from Benq - I usually don’t worry much about saving a few dollars so here’s where I again have to say the marginal cost difference probably isn’t worth the effort.
We’ll see what my results are with the next lamp are in a few days and I’ll post here with my results. (I’ll take some pics as well to see if that helps tell a story as well)
Anyone else have similar results?
1 - 7 of 7 Posts
Good to knowThis is more of a PSA for folks wanting to save some money when replacing their projector lamp.
Thanks for the input. Not good idea to buy chinese crappy copy in this matter.
Yeah, those Chinese knock off bulbs are dangerous. If they don't explode on power up they could melt your lamp bay. I usually google my lamp p/n and see what turns up. In this case, B&H Photo had a good price on a confirmed OEM Benq 3550 lamp for $149. If Google doesn't show anything, I'll check over at ProjectorCentral for their qualified vendor list. That's where I found this one for $188. My dad worked for GE's lamp division, he would always laugh when I showed him a $12 bulb assembly being sold for $230.
I found on the Benq site for $119. Honestly if I had checked there earlier I may have bought it instead. Lamp for W2700 / HT3550Yeah, those Chinese knock off bulbs are dangerous. If they don't explode on power up they could melt your lamp bay. I usually google my lamp p/n and see what turns up. In this case, B&H Photo had a good price on a confirmed OEM Benq 3550 lamp for $149. If Google doesn't show anything, I'll check over at ProjectorCentral for their qualified vendor list. That's where I found this one for $188. My dad worked for GE's lamp division, he would always laugh when I showed him a $12 bulb assembly being sold for $230.
Yeah, best to stick with the OEM replacement lamp. There have been too many horror stories here concerning aftermarket lamps. Thanks for sharing.
Update: The new Benq lamp was delivered in 5 business days. The replacement takes minutes and the result is awesome. Good as new. The lamp makes all the difference. Great contrast and brightness on my 150” 16x9 screen.
So, as has been said - just get the official lamp!
So, as has been said - just get the official lamp!
1 - 7 of 7 Posts
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