At what point should i stop buying bulbs for my DLP?

[aphex]

Slightly over two years old, I'm on either my 4th or 5th bulb - I don't recall...

My wife and I were talking, with the prices of LCD's lowering all the time, is it worth ~ $200 a pop to pump more bulbs into this thing?

 

[sdifox]

err, that's a lot of bulbs. did you get the tv checked out?

 

[cpals]

I'd be pissed if I just bought a new tv and had to put $800-$1000 more in parts to keep it going... something doesn't sound right.

 

[Auric]

Don't the warranties on those beasts usually cover the bulb for at least two years? Also, it is usually recommended to opt for the extendo warranty for 'em as they are one of the few CE devices for which it can actually make sense.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: aphex
Slightly over two years old, I'm on either my 4th or 5th bulb - I don't recall...

My wife and I were talking, with the prices of LCD's lowering all the time, is it worth ~ $200 a pop to pump more bulbs into this thing?

Thats way too many bulbs. They shouldnt need one more than every 2- 3 years. Do you have it on 24/7 on full brightness or something?

 

[Muadib]

Something has got to be wrong with it, aphex. I'm fast approaching 2 years on my Samsung, and I haven't changed the bulb once. I need to find out how many hours I have on it.

 

[SolMiester]

Approaching 3000 hrs on my DLP projector......is your fan working?

 

[aphex]

yep, fan works... its a to-shit-ba

 

[Shawn]

The set is obviously defective. I don't understand why you never got it repaired under warranty.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Damn, I've had my Sammy DLP for about 4 years now, and it's still running the original bulb. No telling how many hours, either...my wife stays home with my kids...that thing loops movies all day long.

 

[Excelsior]

Like the others said...something is definitely wrong with your TV. OUr Sammy DLP has been going strong for 1.5yrs, no bulb problem.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: Shawn
The set is obviously defective. I don't understand why you never got it repaired under warranty.

I've tried, believe me. They paid for the first two lamps (both of which went within the first year), then gave me a hard time when I tried for the third.... When my video board started acting up right around when my warranty was running up, none of the local "toshiba" approved repair stores would call me back and Toshiba kept giving me the run around.

I fought with them for awhile (kept going up the totem pole), but eventually gave up. Toshiba fucking sucks and I'm not ashamed to say it.

 

[Wuzup101]

I would dump it personally. That is way too many bulbs to be going through... and at current prices you can get a nice LCD or Plasma for what you would pay for bulbs over the next 3 years (at your current rate). You could also look for new DLPs (including those with LED lights instead of bulbs). While the idea might be hard to justify given your current experience, what you are experiencing isn't the norm with current gen RP sets. The bulbs should be lasting you quite a while... having to replace 2 in the first year is a HUGE warning sign that you got a lemon :/

 

[Shawn]

Ebay it!

 

[RossMAN]

Our 50" Toshiba DLP is still on the original bulb but we've only had it for 1.5 years.

 

[Tiamat]

thats too many bulbs. Time to get a new TV. You have a lemon and nobody is taking responsibility. Its time to find a new brand.

 

[Genx87]

Toshiba 52 Inch DLP here and I think my bulb is finally starting to go after 2.5 years of use.

 

[kalrith]

Have you messed with your TV settings at all? Most/all TVs are set to dynamic mode by default, which has a crazily high brightness and contrast. Just changing the TV to movie mode would almost double the lifespan of your bulbs. If you've already done that, then it definitely seems to be time to ditch the set.

I just hooked up my 50" plasma to my new Kill-A-Watt. The wattage drops from ~360 down to ~230 by changing it from dynamic mode to the settings I found on avsforum.

 

[LennyZ]

I've got 5500 hours on my 46" Samsung.
Just starting to notice it becoming a little dimmer,Will buy a bulb in the next 2 months.

 

[spacejamz]

my bulb on my Toshiba 62HM116 lasted 17 months (1143 hours on the bulb)...

it is going back to Costco tonight (a $2700 TV should last more than 17 months) and picking up a Mitusubishi 65" set...hopefully it will last longer then 17 months...

apparently the Toshiba DLP sets have a bunch of problems and they are getting of the DLP RPTV business...

 

[SolMiester]

Originally posted by: aphex
yep, fan works... its a to-shit-ba

Same here DLP S20 projector

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: spacejamz
my bulb on my Toshiba 62HM116 lasted 17 months (1143 hours on the bulb)...

it is going back to Costco tonight (a $2700 TV should last more than 17 months) and picking up a Mitusubishi 65" set...hopefully it will last longer then 17 months...

apparently the Toshiba DLP sets have a bunch of problems and they are getting of the DLP RPTV business...

Sony is also getting out of the rear projection business.

 

[cpals]

Originally posted by: spacejamz
my bulb on my Toshiba 62HM116 lasted 17 months (1143 hours on the bulb)...

it is going back to Costco tonight (a $2700 TV should last more than 17 months) and picking up a Mitusubishi 65" set...hopefully it will last longer then 17 months...

apparently the Toshiba DLP sets have a bunch of problems and they are getting of the DLP RPTV business...

Hmm... will Costco actually take it back after that long?

 

[kalrith]

Originally posted by: cpals

Originally posted by: spacejamz
my bulb on my Toshiba 62HM116 lasted 17 months (1143 hours on the bulb)...

it is going back to Costco tonight (a $2700 TV should last more than 17 months) and picking up a Mitusubishi 65" set...hopefully it will last longer then 17 months...

apparently the Toshiba DLP sets have a bunch of problems and they are getting of the DLP RPTV business...

Hmm... will Costco actually take it back after that long?

They used to have a lifetime return policy, but now it's 90 days. I'm not sure how that works with those who bought stuff before the new policy went into effect.

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: kalrith

Originally posted by: cpals

Originally posted by: spacejamz
my bulb on my Toshiba 62HM116 lasted 17 months (1143 hours on the bulb)...

it is going back to Costco tonight (a $2700 TV should last more than 17 months) and picking up a Mitusubishi 65" set...hopefully it will last longer then 17 months...

apparently the Toshiba DLP sets have a bunch of problems and they are getting of the DLP RPTV business...

Hmm... will Costco actually take it back after that long?

They used to have a lifetime return policy, but now it's 90 days. I'm not sure how that works with those who bought stuff before the new policy went into effect.

If you bought before they changed their policy, then you still have the old return policy.