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Should I buy a used DLP?

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Specop 007 said:
As a DLP owner I would steer one towards an LCD rather than going to a DLP. Too much maintenance. Bulbs are expensive and if you use it much you WILL be replacing them. Potential color wheel issues as well.

I like(d) mine but I'm plasma shopping.
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Panasonic. Need I say more?
 
Specop 007 said:
WHEN the bulb burns out you will do maintenance to it. I didnt say it was a alot but fuck, on one I have to change a bulb and on one I dont....

The maintenance work on the DLP is higher. Period. Sure, its 1 hour every 4 years compared to 0 hours and 4 years but none the less it IS higher.

And you'll be proper pissed when you turn it on just before the big game and THATS when you realize the fucking thing burned out. Oh, and it'll be 3 days minimum before you can get one.

Enjoy the game down at the bar.

😉
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Besides the point. I cannot find a 60" LCD or Plasma for 300 dollars. Yes there is maintenance but I cannot fork over 800 for a tv right now :/
 
yeah changing the bulps is hard. you have to move the heavy ass tv, unscrew 2 screws, pull out the caseing. put new one in and screw 2 screws and move the heavy ass tv again. (btw the tv weighs 69 lbs)

OP if you get it do save for a bulb. but also do some looking since you can find them cheap. IF you want to really save money you can buy the bulb and replace it in the casing (pain in the ass)

OILfieldtrash is correct also in the colors are not as sharp or vibrant. i have a 47inch lcd in my office. the picture is so much better. BUT when watching movies/football (i got the dlp for football. its about the only time I watch it) its fine.

i will also admit that my next tv won't be a dlp. if i see 60+lcd on sale i will get one and put the dlp down in the basement and banish the kids playroom down there.
 
Specop 007 said:
WHEN the bulb burns out you will do maintenance to it. I didnt say it was a alot but fuck, on one I have to change a bulb and on one I dont....

The maintenance work on the DLP is higher. Period. Sure, its 1 hour every 4 years compared to 0 hours and 4 years but none the less it IS higher.

And you'll be proper pissed when you turn it on just before the big game and THATS when you realize the fucking thing burned out. Oh, and it'll be 3 days minimum before you can get one.

Enjoy the game down at the bar.

😉
Click to expand...

I never said it wasn't higher. I simply disagree that it is "too much" (I never said you said it was a lot 😎). 1 hour every 4 years is hardly any maintenance at all (FWIW I haven't changed a color wheel before but I did change the bulb on a Mitsu TV and - for that TV - it took less that 10 minutes. I think it was a total of 6 screws.)

As for the game - well the chances that my projector and my DLP going out at the same time is pretty slim so I'm good 😛 (Might not apply to OP)
 
Specop 007 said:
WHEN the bulb burns out you will do maintenance to it. I didnt say it was a alot but fuck, on one I have to change a bulb and on one I dont....

The maintenance work on the DLP is higher. Period. Sure, its 1 hour every 4 years compared to 0 hours and 4 years but none the less it IS higher.

And you'll be proper pissed when you turn it on just before the big game and THATS when you realize the fucking thing burned out. Oh, and it'll be 3 days minimum before you can get one.

Enjoy the game down at the bar.

😉
Click to expand...

Mine went gradually. The picture just got dimmer until I was sitting there wondering why the picture was so dark. You could still see it, it was just darker than usual. That's when I ordered the replacement bulb. Took 2 days to get to my house and I replaced it myself. It's really easy to do it yourself and the TV itself is really lightweight.

Don't plasma TVs have an issue with them too?

Honestly, I think I'd just go LCD next time though.
 
Right now, the only people still making DLP's are Mitsubishi and DLP is the only real game in town if you want to go 70+". I've actually been thinking about getting an 85" DLP, but I'll probably go for that Sharp 70" LCD now that they're offering it in 240Hz.
 
I have two DLPs right now: a 46" Samung DLP and a 65" Mitsubishi DLP.

In about 2 months, I'll have had the Samsung for about 5 years, and I'm still on the original bulb. Hmm, thinking about it... I should probably buy a replacement soon just in case. 😛 I did have an issue with my Samsung's DMD Panel, which is essentially a large array of mirrors, which is used in conjunction with the color wheel and the lamp to produce the picture (essentially, if the wheel is at RED, and that pixel requires red as part of its color composition, the mirror rotates to reflect the light). The fix wasn't terribly hard to do (I had the most trouble with finding a screwdriver with a long neck) and it cost about $200.

I only have two annoyances about my Mitsubishi DLP. The first is that the menus take awhile to come up (~4 seconds). On every other TV that I've owned, the menus are pretty much instantaneous. Another issue with my model is that it doesn't have buttons on the remote to easily turn 3D on or off, which means I have to do it through the (as mentioned earlier... painfully slow) menu.

I would certainly recommend one if you're looking for a large TV at a decent price point. Hell, even buying one brand new, you can get ~73" TV for around $1.2k. Mitsubishi even released a new 90" (I think it's 92) DLP. I saw it the other day in HH Gregg, and let me say... it is massive. The price is also quite massive as well. 😀

I may upgrade again in a year or two. I'd prefer one of their 82" units.

EDIT:

I actually need to take my Samsung apart again to clean the lens. It got dirt on it when I was replacing the panel and there's this gray-ish spec on my screen that's visible during dark scenes. :|
 
a 92 inch? wow..

hmm i was complaining that the 65 seemed small to me now..
 
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for the price, i might take it if i wanted the best looking TV i could get for cheap.

they're not the most reliable, though. bulbs are nothing, you're worried about the 'chip' (whatever the technical name is) and the color wheel.

is mitsu's reliability any better than samsung's? the latter all seem to get stuck mirrors after 2-3 years.

also i think the OEM bulb for my samsung 42" was like 120 bucks. wtf @ some of the above prices.
 
brblx said:
for the price, i might take it if i wanted the best looking TV i could get for cheap.

they're not the most reliable, though. bulbs are nothing, you're worried about the 'chip' (whatever the technical name is) and the color wheel.

is mitsu's reliability any better than samsung's? the latter all seem to get stuck mirrors after 2-3 years.

also i think the OEM bulb for my samsung 42" was like 120 bucks. wtf @ some of the above prices.
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I've had mine for 5 years at least and just replaced the bulb for the first time. Nothing else has been an issue. Also, you cannot hear the fan at all.

My OEM bulb was $147 delivered including CA tax (bought from a local vendor in case I had any issues with the bulb being DOA).
 
Here's the OEM bulb for my Samsung:

http://www.samsungparts.com/Products...model=HLS4676S

$140, which is probably not the cheapest place to find it, but that site is good if you need other things. That's where I bought my replacement DMD Panel.

EDIT:

JulesMaximus said:
My OEM bulb was $147 delivered including CA tax (bought from a local vendor in case I had any issues with the bulb being DOA).
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, what sort of local vendors carry things like DLP bulbs?
 
DLPs are awesome. You get great price/size ratio and all it takes to make look new again every 3 or 4 years is a under $100 bulb.

And i laugh at the people who complain they are not flat panels yet dont hang their flat panel on the wall thus negating any benefit of a flat panel. They end up putting the flat panel on the TV stand and it still comes out from the wall the same amount thus saving them no room really.
 
waggy said:
amazon.com has that from $60 to 109
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It's most likely an OEM equivalent rather than an actual OEM replacement from Phillips. Kind of reminds me of when I go to the store to buy normal light bulbs... do I buy the cheap-o Great Value bulbs or the Phillips/Sylvania bulbs. 😛
 
Specop 007 said:
WHEN the bulb burns out you will do maintenance to it. I didnt say it was a alot but fuck, on one I have to change a bulb and on one I dont....

The maintenance work on the DLP is higher. Period. Sure, its 1 hour every 4 years compared to 0 hours and 4 years but none the less it IS higher.

And you'll be proper pissed when you turn it on just before the big game and THATS when you realize the fucking thing burned out. Oh, and it'll be 3 days minimum before you can get one.

Enjoy the game down at the bar.

😉
Click to expand...

At least DLP has replacable parts unlike Plasma or LCD. If those go out you are SOL. Gotta spend big bucks to buy a new one. Can always store a bulb for future use and then just replace it when it goes out. No need to wait.
 
brblx said:
so was it just the 42-46" samsungs that were poop? no star charts on anybody else's DLP?
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I think they had problems with an entire line of 50"+ as well. The top piece of plastic was too flimsy and would sag in the middle, pushing the screen out so it curved. They fixed it in a later model

That said I am very happy with my current 55" Samsung.
 
Had my 65" mitsubishi for nearly 5 years. replaced the bulb once. Took 2-3 days to get it and ~10 minutes to replace it. loved it the whole time.
 
brblx said:
so was it just the 42-46" samsungs that were poop? no star charts on anybody else's DLP?
Click to expand...

It was a "light tunnel" issue where the glue used melted due to the heat of the lamp causing the "light tunnel" to deform.

There was a recall and you (could/can?) get it fixed.
 
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