Projectors and bulb life

[Muse]

One of the issues with projectors is bulb life. I have an Epson 8700ub projector bought as refurb from Visual Apex almost 3 years ago, but wasn't one of the fortunate people to have had an included spare bulb.

I've heard it said that turning the bulb on and off impacts its life a lot, and that it's best not to turn your PJ off if you're going to walk away from it for a few minutes.

My throw is exceptionally short, around 9', and I get the room very dark, so I run in Eco Mode exclusively, also I've lately set the PJ to high altitude to get the fan going stronger (I am not impacted by the extra noise because I use ear buds for sound). These measures will help with bulb life, but I know the bulb will burn out eventually even so. I think I'm at around 1800 hours on the original bulb.

My remote has a key that toggles blanking the screen. That turns the screen black, which is useful for inspecting for dust bunnies. It obviously does not turn off the bulb. I don't know what it does, actually, but the screen goes dark. I'm wondering if it's best to blank the screen before taking a 10-30 minute break from viewing a movie or sporting event. Will that contribute to longer bulb life or is it unnecessary?

 

[purbeast0]

not sure about that, but my bulb is around 2k hours i think right now and i've had the pj for about 1.6 years. i am not concerned about doing things to conserve the life of the bulb. it seems like those little things you are talking about will maybe save negligible time of the bulb, not like an extra year or something. having to replace a bulb is just something i knew would have to be done when i got into the pj business.

i don't turn my pj off when i walk away for a few minutes because it takes a while to cooldown before it will allow me to turn it back on. i just leave it on.

when you need one just grab it on ebay, they are like 1/3 of the price of the factory ones.

 

[Muse]

not sure about that, but my bulb is around 2k hours i think right now and i've had the pj for about 1.6 years. i am not concerned about doing things to conserve the life of the bulb. it seems like those little things you are talking about will maybe save negligible time of the bulb, not like an extra year or something. having to replace a bulb is just something i knew would have to be done when i got into the pj business.

i don't turn my pj off when i walk away for a few minutes because it takes a while to cooldown before it will allow me to turn it back on. i just leave it on.

when you need one just grab it on ebay, they are like 1/3 of the price of the factory ones.

Are they as good? What PJ do you have?

 

[purbeast0]

Are they as good? What PJ do you have?

i know someone who's gotten their replacements off of ebay and they have been fine. but his projector is older than mine. i have the panasonic ae8000.

i don't use it in eco mode, normal mode only. but i put it on the dimmest preset setting called rec70 or something like that when i'm watching movies/tv. i put it in game mode when playing games.

EDIT:

my throw is about 14-15 feet.

 

[MongGrel]

I still even want to get a good projector these days.

They wife will see a veto this year I imagine and I'll just get one.

I all ready have things kind of arranged to just stick one into the system and the room

:sneaky:

 

[Muse]

I still even want to get a good projector these days.

They wife will see a veto this year I imagine and I'll just get one.

I all ready have things kind of arranged to just stick one into the system and the room

:sneaky:

IMO, projectors have gotten a lot better. My Epson is light years ahead of my old Sanyo PLV-Z2 and it cost less. The blacks are very very black. With the Sanyo, for a lot of movies with dark scenes it was just horrible. Not so with the Epson. I don't feel like I'm sacrificing anything when I watch a DVD compared with going out to a cinema. Blu-ray is so much the better, but the difference isn't all that much. The difference between DVD and Blu-ray is a small fraction of the difference between VHS (or even SVHS) and DVD. And of course I have my HDTV, which is higher res than DVD, being at 720p, which is kind of 1/2 way between DVD quality and Blu-ray (1080p).

 

[MongGrel]

IMO, projectors have gotten a lot better. My Epson is light years ahead of my old Sanyo PLV-Z2 and it cost less. The blacks are very very black. With the Sanyo, for a lot of movies with dark scenes it was just horrible. Not so with the Epson. I don't feel like I'm sacrificing anything when I watch a DVD compared with going out to a cinema. Blu-ray is so much the better, but the difference isn't all that much. The difference between DVD and Blu-ray is a small fraction of the difference between VHS (or even SVHS) and DVD. And of course I have my HDTV, which is higher res than DVD, being at 720p.

Yeah, I have been eyeballing em a long time and hang out at AVS forums a bit now and then.

I've just never poped the trigger on one yet as we have a pretty nice old Olevia 747i in here that I've been trying to get the wife to let me upgrade, but it still looks good.

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/166-l...icial-olevia-747i-742i-owners-thread-170.html

Shoulda coulda done something awhile back, I all ready told her the next "TV" we get is going to be my decision, I probably would have all ready done a projector by now but she loves her old Olevia 34" in the bedroom so much she wouldn't let me put the 47" in there as she said was too big.

The old ones were great, I'm not condoning the Olevias these days.

The aren't nearly what they used to be, not sure they are even made anymore.

 

[purbeast0]

i'd only recommend a projector if you have space for like 100+ screen size. i've seen people do like 80 or 90 inches, but at that point i personally would probably just get a big dlp tv or something instead of worrying about a projector.

 

[Muse]

i'd only recommend a projector if you have space for like 100+ screen size. i've seen people do like 80 or 90 inches, but at that point i personally would probably just get a big dlp tv or something instead of worrying about a projector.

My screen is somewhat bigger, but I'm just projecting on a rectangle about 84 inches diagonally, from about 9 feet. Plenty bright even at Eco Mode. The projected image is quite large compared to any LCD/LED screen I've ever seen. I have the PJ's brightness turned down considerably and it's still way bright. The screen itself is a piece of Gator Board that I picked up from an art supply store. It was a second, so to speak and cost me something like $60. I have it propped up on the edge of a homemade and mounted shelf and the top angles out from the wall, so the screen actually faces down some by around 3-4 degrees. This has two advantages:

1. The center of the screen is pointing approximately right at the PJ lens, so there's no distortion

2. The fact that the screen angles down slightly means that no dust settles on the surface. I've never cleaned it and it's been up for about 10 years.

The screen is held near the top by brackets tied to adjustable thin nylon cords at both edges.

Gatorboard is quite white. When I had contrast issues with my old Sanyo PJ I investigated and AVS Forums had a great deal of talk about painting your screen with a can of special paint you got at Home Depot. I bought a can but never got around to painting one side of the screen. Instead I got a PJ with phenomenal contrast!

 

[purbeast0]

i bought an elice screens sable screen from amazon as mine. it's 120". i haven't cleaned it ever (or my projector lense, and i keep the cap off) so dust isn't settling on either of them.


yeah 84" is bigger than any led/lcd i've seen too. my buddy has a 72" samsung dlp that is pretty nice. it's old but still nice. go bigger if you can!

 

[Kaido]

i'd only recommend a projector if you have space for like 100+ screen size. i've seen people do like 80 or 90 inches, but at that point i personally would probably just get a big dlp tv or something instead of worrying about a projector.

Still good at smaller sizes, depending on the projector. I'm a huge fan of LED projectors, which are cheap, small, and turn on instantly, although right now the bulk of them are limited to 720p resolution. The benefit is that you can have an enormous screen for $650, vs. thousands of dollars for an 80" or 90". Other downside of course is needing a dark room. But, no bulb to replace!

 

[tential]

i'd only recommend a projector if you have space for like 100+ screen size. i've seen people do like 80 or 90 inches, but at that point i personally would probably just get a big dlp tv or something instead of worrying about a projector.

Far cheaper and far more portable than a Big DLP. I'm doing 80 inches right now and my 70 inch HDTV when I got it was ~$2000. My Projector+Screen was ~$800.

Entry level projector is definitely worth it if the area you're using it in is going to be dark.

 

[Excelsior]

The projectors these days know they need to cool down so they do it themselves when you turn 'em off. I've had great experience with bulbs. Well over 3000 on my Mitsubishi 1500 and I just turned it off.

 

[purbeast0]

alright well yeah i stand corrected about getting pj's for 80 inch or so screens! sounds like they work great for that size!

 

[funboy6942]

I have had my PJ for over 3 years, this one, I have had 2 others before it, and like the others I have treated this one the same as those, when I turn it on it stays on for hours at a time, anywhere from 8-12 hours, on the days I turn it on. I must be doing something right because I have only had to replace one bulb, and it was rated for 3k hors and I got 4k+ out of it, and Im at 3K on the one Im on now but its rated for 4k so cant wait to see how far it will go from there. But in any case I have a spare for it waiting to go in for I never go without one and only $135 a pop there is no reason not to have one on hand.

So I wouldnt turn it off, hell even if im not in the room I keep it going for if I turn it on for that day to watch tv, movie, pc, or game on it, I just leave it on for the rest of the day till I go to bed and it has yet to ever fail me, I get long life out of my bulbs.

 

[13Gigatons]

I have had my PJ for over 3 years, this one, I have had 2 others before it, and like the others I have treated this one the same as those, when I turn it on it stays on for hours at a time, anywhere from 8-12 hours, on the days I turn it on. I must be doing something right because I have only had to replace one bulb, and it was rated for 3k hors and I got 4k+ out of it, and Im at 3K on the one Im on now but its rated for 4k so cant wait to see how far it will go from there. But in any case I have a spare for it waiting to go in for I never go without one and only $135 a pop there is no reason not to have one on hand.

So I wouldnt turn it off, hell even if im not in the room I keep it going for if I turn it on for that day to watch tv, movie, pc, or game on it, I just leave it on for the rest of the day till I go to bed and it has yet to ever fail me, I get long life out of my bulbs.

Sounds like hard drive life span. My hdd always last if they are just left on. The on-off ones are the only ones that gave me trouble.

 

[Aharami]

i have a 8700UB also. I didnt run it in Eco mode most of the time, but wasn't in dynamic or living room mode either. First bulb lasted 837 hrs. Pathetic. Great projector, but really lousy bulb life. I bitched them out and the eventually agreed to send me a new bulb.

 

[Muse]

i have a 8700UB also. I didnt run it in Eco mode most of the time, but wasn't in dynamic or living room mode either. First bulb lasted 837 hrs. Pathetic. Great projector, but really lousy bulb life. I bitched them out and the eventually agreed to send me a new bulb.

Got mine running in Eco mode and high elevation mode to boot (increases fan speed). Inasmuch as I use earbuds and don't hear the increased fan noise, I think it's a good idea. So far so good, I'm somewheres around 2000 hours now, I think.

I do love the PJ, the blacks are killer. I have a dust bunny, had it 6 months ago, anyway, but haven't noticed it lately. I finally cleaned the filter a couple of weeks ago. My Sanyo PJ used to get dust bunnies up the wazoo, I had to blow them out all the time. I must have done that routine a dozen times. Its blacks were pathetic. Cost me more than my 8700U refurb! I still have it in case I can't use my Epson 8700U for any reason. I hauled it to a bed and breakfast that my family was staying at to watch an NFL playoff game a few years ago rather than disconnect the 8700U, worked well enough for that.

Another thing I like about the Epson is the fact that if it loses signal it doesn't automatically shut down in ~5 minutes. I waits until I restore it from my PC, in those cases when my PC locks up when running HDTV (very frequent!). The screen position adjustment system truly sucks, but it's a minor complaint. Once it's set, it's set.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I have an HP3800 from Mitsubishi, I've been running it for around 5 years in eco mode exclusively as I have a light controlled environment. My first bulb died not too long ago, and I spent the money to buy OEM replacement from white market vendor rather than trust the aftermarket. I do not think blanking the screen will do anything, perhaps blanking screen instead of leaving it paused, but, if you are leaving it for 30 minutes, you probably shoud turn it off ...

I usually shut it off for 15 minute or longer breaks as a general rule of thumb.

 

[Muse]

I have an HP3800 from Mitsubishi, I've been running it for around 5 years in eco mode exclusively as I have a light controlled environment. My first bulb died not too long ago, and I spent the money to buy OEM replacement from white market vendor rather than trust the aftermarket. I do not think blanking the screen will do anything, perhaps blanking screen instead of leaving it paused, but, if you are leaving it for 30 minutes, you probably should turn it off ...

I usually shut it off for 15 minute or longer breaks as a general rule of thumb.

I try to moderate my viewing such that I don't step away for more than ~1/2 hour, and I leave it on. So, I don't step away for an hour, I just don't do that. If I'm going to be away from it for 2 hours, yeah, I turn it off. If my bulb went bad today I'd call Epson and hope for a free replacement bulb, people have been having pretty good luck doing that. I didn't get an extra with mine, which most folks did.

Sometimes, esp. for something like news, I'll just watch using my 23" LCD computer monitor. I have things hooked up so I can toggle between that and the PJ.

 

[13Gigatons]

It will be great when LED/Lasers become the norm then the old bulb days will be behind us. The new LG PF1500 looks pretty good: http://www.amazon.com/LG-Electronics-PF1500-Theater-Projector/dp/B00UA8GO3Y

 

[funboy6942]

Well thats going to be my new projector at tax time, I just hope by that time they get 3d added to it or a hack to make it work since the European ones come with 3d ready....