[sasngang]

Optoma HD70, 582 hours lamp life! what did I do wrong?Noticed just before Christmas 08, the lamp output was terrible, then during a movie the lamp exploded (loup POP) and the lamp was done. Called Optoma, but the lamp is only warranteed for 3 months regardless of actual hours used. Needless to say, I am very disappointed due to the near $300 replacement cost of a new lamp assembly.


We have a totally light controlled envirornment and never ran the projector on bright mode. Used only to watch DVD movies a couple times per week.


What did I do wrong? Does anyone have suggestions on how to increase the lamp life? I cannot afford to replace the lamp every 600 hours.

 

[Timpanogos]

What you did wrong was to buy an Optoma projector. I also had an early lamp failure on my HD72... as have many others. I recommended the HD70 for my son to buy before these rash of Optoma bulb failures became obvious and we are keeping our fingers crossed for his sake. He can't afford a $300 hit right now with the economy and his job situation being what it is. Actually, I couldn't handle the $$$ bulb hit way back when, either. Do a web search for class action litigation being initiated by a law firm. You fill out a form on their web site with projector company, model number, etc. They are going to take these problems to court.

 

[jarrod1937]

You can buy non-eom lamps for a lot cheaper than the $300. And i cannot say i've had any trouble with lamp life with my hd70. The previous lamp, the original, ran until 2,600 or so. My current lamp has already passed the 1,500 mark and still going strong and bright... and i abuse the sucker (heavy bass that shakes the projector, sometimes frequent turnoff's and on's...etc).

There are projectors that have bad lamp life. But sometimes its just luck of the draw... why do you think everyone is so excited about the led projectors? Lamp life is the problem of the projector world.

 

[jay]

Seems like running the projector longer than 2 hours each time you turn it on extends the life. I have over 1600 hours on my acer and have been doing that.. did you turn your projector on and off a lot?

 

[gwlaw99]

You did nothing wrong. Sometimes lamps just go. Happens to every single projector made and there is always one bitter person it has happened to who will tell you that every projector from that manufacturer is junk.

 

[rickster904]

While the HD72 does have a history of early lamp failure, the HD70 does not. So I'd say it's a case of bad luck.

 

[reconlabtech]

PJ lamps are curious things that operate under extreme conditions. The plasma arc in the bulb burns at thousands of degrees and the pressure inside the quartz bulb chamber reaches 200 psi or more. Some bulbs will develop micro-fractures during its life and will eventually fail by exploding. Since most lamps are still handmade, you never know when you might get a bad one.


Some people have had a bad experience with an Optoma and therefore will badmouth the brand. Others have had a bad experience with another brand and will badmouth them instead.


Lamps fail. You should be dropping a buck or two in a jar everytime you use your PJ so you are ready to replace the lamp.

 

[sasngang]

I appreciate all of the replies and thoughts. I did contact Optoma today and they take NO responsibility. 100% of this PJ use is movies and few were under 2 hours long. I did an extensive search for a less expensive alternative for lamp replacement and the best I found was Amazon.com at $257 + S/H. It seems to me these PJ are just like inkjet printers... the mfgrs sell the unit with low margins, knowing they'll make big margins on the consumables (in this case the lamp assembly).


Can anyone direct me to a better source for just the lamp? I could easily install it into the existing carrier. And if you have any suggestions on how to extend the lamp life... I am all ears.


Thanks again, Steve

 

[sasngang]

I appreciate all of the replies and thoughts. I did contact Optoma today and they take NO responsibility. 100% of this PJ use is movies and few were under 2 hours long. I did an extensive search for a less expensive alternative for lamp replacement and the best I found was Amazon.com at $257 + S/H. It seems to me these PJ are just like inkjet printers... the mfgrs sell the unit with low margins, knowing they'll make big margins on the consumables (in this case the lamp assembly).


Can anyone direct me to a better source for just the lamp? I could easily install it into the existing carrier. And if you have any suggestions on how to extend the lamp life... I am all ears.


Thanks again, Steve

 

[Fragster]

I'm not a electronic pro but my bulb went out around 950 hours or so but what I changed recently prior to the bulb going out, was to put the bulb in 'normal' mode from 'eco'. I'm not really sure if that the cause as I did not have any issues till I made that change (to get more brightness in normal mode) and the bulb went out in less than a week.


Good thing I had the Mack's warranty so the bulb cost was covered. On my new bulb now, I'm sticking to the 'economy' mode for the first 1500 hours.

 

[quantumstate]

I don't know about the HD70, but the part number on the lamp reflector of my H78DC3 was "TOP 222, 250W, 1.35". After replacing mine 3 times and having it fail again, I searched for this and found one on eBay.

 

[skyofavalon]

i've got over 3000 hrs on my HD70.

 

[willise]

I've got close to 1500 hours on mine, but I always run it in econo mode. My problem, self induced really, is overheating. I moved it into a dedicated room with a recessed area for the projector (to accomodate the huge offset) and it overheats now. I had to put a small fan next to it to keep it from shutting off.


Other than that, mine has been great!

 

[brinnington]

The following is from a White Paper on Projector Lamps. It helps explain what is meant by lamp life.


If I get the time, I will provide a download link for the White Paper.


Meanwhile, here is the extract on lamp life:


There is a lot of confusion about lamp life - the number of hours that a projector lamp is expected to last. Generally, the more hours the better. However, things are not what they seem.


Maybe you have experienced an early lamp failure, or you may know of someone who has. The lamp had dimmed to an unacceptable level or died well before the 2000 hours usually quoted.


So does the expected lamp life (such as 2000 hours) have any actual meaning? Or is it just marketing hype?


Well, your idea of what lamp life means and what the lamp manufacturers’ consider it means are, I am sure, quite different.


This is what it means to the lamp manufacturers:


The quoted lifetime of a lamp means:

(i) that half of the lamps sold will exceed that lifetime in hours; and

(ii) that half will have a brightness of more than 50 per cent of their starting brightness.


Let’s look at what that means.


First, let’s start with what it does not mean. It does not mean:

(i) that all lamps sold will meet that quoted lifetime in hours; and

(ii) that all lamps will end their lifetime with a brightness of more than 50 per cent of their starting brightness.


To illustrate what it does mean I am going to apply the meaning of lamp life to cars. Four new cars are advertised with a two year warranty and a top speed of 100 mph. By lamp life measurements, these cars will be considered successful if, in two years time, two are still running and can achieve a top speed of 51 mph.


Although lamp life is a somewhat misleading method of measurement and the industry recognises that a new standard of measurement is required (especially for the consumer market), such a standard has yet to arrive.


Best,


Bob

 

[brinnington]

Hi,


A couple of points I would like to make.


1) Sometimes, having a good relationship with the vendor can help. We had a customer who had an Optoma projector and his lamp blew outside the lamp warranty period but within the projector warranty period. As we were the reseller, we contacted Optoma and they arranged to have the projector picked up and checked out. This was several months ago. As we didn't hear anything back from our customer, I assume that things went well for him.


2) We have a White Paper on Projector Lamps. It covers such contentious issues as lamp life, the economics behind the pricing of lamps, compatible lamps, as well as information on the technology of lamps. Being a white paper, it is a bit dry, but there is possibly some information in it that you will find helpful. If you would like to check it out, here is the link: Projector Lamps .


3) We also have information on how to extend the life of a projector lamp on our website.


Good luck.


Best,


Bob

 

[2lee240]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Norcal_Power /forum/post/17158847


I would stay away from all Optoma Projectors. Their specified bulb life is bogus and the company is very unethical.


I have two bulbs that both went out with less than 600 hours.


They say

"There are NO known issues with the lamp driver. The changing of a lamp driver is standard procedure when a customers unit is sent in under warranty because of premature lamp failure."


They also say

If you are going to have the unit come in as a out of warranty repair then yes the $160 is non-refundable diagnostic fee. The actual cost is not known until the unit is looked at by a tech.


On paper their specifications look good, but you better include $300 per year for a new lamp in you calculations.


Do some research this is not a unique problem.

well this blows...


looks like optoma and benq both might have crappy QC and CS...bummer

 

[Rew452]



Quote:
Originally Posted by brinnington /forum/post/15646451


Hi,


A couple of points I would like to make.


1) Sometimes, having a good relationship with the vendor can help. We had a customer who had an Optoma projector and his lamp blew outside the lamp warranty period but within the projector warranty period. As we were the reseller, we contacted Optoma and they arranged to have the projector picked up and checked out. This was several months ago. As we didn't hear anything back from our customer, I assume that things went well for him.


2) We have a White Paper on Projector Lamps. It covers such contentious issues as lamp life, the economics behind the pricing of lamps, compatible lamps, as well as information on the technology of lamps. Being a white paper, it is a bit dry, but there is possibly some information in it that you will find helpful. If you would like to check it out, here is the link: Projector Lamps .


3) We also have information on how to extend the life of a projector lamp on our website.


Good luck.


Best,


Bob

The link is broken!


Rew

 

[reconlabtech]



Quote:
Originally Posted by 2lee240 /forum/post/17159533


well this blows...


looks like optoma and benq both might have crappy QC and CS...bummer

Uh, NO.


This is the same regardless of manufacturer. A UHP lamp is a very high temp, very high pressure device and although quite reliable for the most part it is subject to failure like all other mass produced electronics.

 

[2lee240]



Quote:
Originally Posted by reconlabtech /forum/post/17162057


Uh, NO.


This is the same regardless of manufacturer. A UHP lamp is a very high temp, very high pressure device and although quite reliable for the most part it is subject to failure like all other mass produced electronics.

I do see what you're saying about the quality part, makes sense...but the CS part does kind of blow...


i haven't been around PJ's that long so most of what i'm understanding is from reading some of these posts...it does seem like benq has more CS issues then optoma though...

 

[reconlabtech]



Quote:
Originally Posted by 2lee240 /forum/post/17169230


I do see what you're saying about the quality part, makes sense...but the CS part does kind of blow...


i haven't been around PJ's that long so most of what i'm understanding is from reading some of these posts...it does seem like benq has more CS issues then optoma though...

As long as humans are involved, CS is bound to be bad more often than it will be good. Good happens, but rarely anymore. I try very hard not to rely on CS ever.