spectrum48k

Anyone got any good websites to buy a replacement projector lamp ?

I've had an Optoma HD720X for a couple of years, so it's about time the lamp was changed, as it gets used every day.

Dr Nick

Try Amazon or Ebuyer.

Lamps may me less than you think but still may be better value to buy a new projector

......with HDMI ;-)

Deep Singh

Try asking on www.avforums.com, they have a whole projector forum

G00ner

As Deep says, try avforums or do a google search for your model.

Don't be pushed into buying a complete assembly, you can usually buy the lamp on it's own for a quarter of the price, if you can do the basics with a screwdriver.

spectrum48k

update...

So I bought a new lamp, thinking after 2 years of use, it was the source of the problem. Sadly, I was wrong - new lamp installed but problem repeats.

Tried switching the source from HDMI to Component but makes no difference.

Googled for answers and a lot of people seem to be plagued with dust inside the lens compartment, which gets magnified and causes the green tint problem, but it turns out my problem must be associated with another faulty component.

Being a DLP projector, which is farily new(ish) technology, I can't any local service centres to look at it. Spoke to the manufacturer and they want £80 to look at it.

In the two years I've had the projector, prices seem to have fallen lots so will work out if it's cheaper to repair or buy a complete new one, when the quote arrives.

Added: Deep thanks for the avforums link but I already tried it to no avail

ricardo

When I had an Optoma H56 it had a three-year warranty.

It had to go back a couple of times, all covered. It eventually packed up at about 4 years old when the colour wheel flew to pieces, and I got a Sony HW10 instead.

spectrum48k

This only has a year's warranty apparently.

How's the SONY in comparison (picture, cost, etc...) ?

Dr.No

ALL consumer electronic equipment sold in the EU has a TWO year warranty... period (and actually, in the UK the Sale of Goods act gives you some rights for a "reasonable" period of up to 6 years)

I've just had a full refund for an Internet Radio / Media player thingy that I bought in Feb 08 from Dabs on the "Sale of Goods Act" basis - even though the manuf guarantee was only 12 months and it had only recently gone wrong.

Take it up with the retailer, as it's the retailer that has the liability under the Sale of Goods Act.

EU info is here if you fancy a read: http://ec.europa.eu/publications/boo...move/64/en.pdf

Anyway, talk to the retailer - tell them it's not working and under the Sale of Goods Act they have a liability to ensure that it functions as intended for a reasonable period of time and you would consider that to be considerably longer than 2 years (or however old it is) and therefore you'd like them to provide a repair or replacement under that warranty.

I'm sure our resident consumer law expert, PSL, will pitch in with a TV story at this point...

DN

spectrum48k

interesting - so if it's a minimum of 2 years in the EU how can the seller's website, stipulate only 12 months ? That's surely not legal, based on what you stated ?

ricardo

The Sony is brilliant - I used to think the H56 was pretty good but the Sony is in a completely different league. No rainbow effect 'cos it isn't a DLP, I never saw that but I can understand why people are shy of it. The Sony is SXRD (like a reflective form of LCD, so better blacks).

Much much quieter too. Huuuge compared to the old one. And it was about 2k.

Regarding the green tinge, I'd say it is probably caused by the way the DLP engine is controlled. The colour wheel and the chip have to be precisely synchronized, and any problem in that area will result in the colours being wrong, or colours missing. Maybe you've lost red and blue. If that's the case then the DLP engine is the most expensive part in the whole thing, although it is possible it is some external component that drives that.

I suspect that it isn't worth spending a lot on investigation/repair, although sticking to your guns on a warranty claim is probably worth a try. You could probably sell the bulb again with effectively zero hours on it and get something else that's two years better.

Dr.No

Manufacturers can still offer a Manufacturers Warranty or Guarantee for 12 months - or however long they wish.

The Sale of Goods act is a "warranty" with the RETAILER... in that the retailer, by selling the goods, implictly warrants that they'll be fit for purpose and of merchantable / usable quality for a 'reasonable' period of time. The time period is questionable, as what may be reasonable for one product may be entirely unreasonable for another - but you'd expect ALL consumer electronics equipment to last more than 2 years. Many retailers aren't aware of their statutory obligations and may misleading quote 12 months...

As it's a warranty they can take into account fair wear and tear, and if they give you a refund can take into account the amount of use that you've had out of it to date, etc.

So - if you claimed after 5 years that a TV had broken you may have a small case, but the maximum you could expect to recover would probably be about 10%-20% of the original purchase cost.

Sale of Goods fact sheet here for info: http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/cons...page38311.html

DN

Daryl

Have you tried cleaning the colourwheel? I did it on a NEC HT1000 and the difference was like night and day. Not sure how you do it on an Optoma, but on the NEC it was just a case of removing the lamp assembly, which revealed the colourwheel, and then using a cotton bud dipped in lens cleaning fluid. I was amazed at the amount of dirt that came off. The colourwheel looked black when I started, but a quick rub and the red, green and blue windows reappeared as if by magic.

spectrum48k

[off to research colour wheels and see what they actually look like!]

Daryl, what were the characteristics of the colour wheel fogging up ? How did the unit behave ?

As I said, mine works for 5 mins fine, then image saturates green and stays like that, then 30 secs later, flashing, then the motor audibly shuts down and the projector finally shuts off.

Sosbanite

This sounds like a heat related issue. The projector powers up and runs fine for 5 mins, gets up to temperature, saturates green = the colour wheel stopping on green, then flashing = the DMD losing the plot and then the fan motor cutting out.
Can't say that I know this particular model as I normally play with the heavy duty industrial stuff but they all usually follow a simular format regardless of size or cost so...............
Are there any warning indicators as this happens? I guess that there are no on screen warnings or you would have mentioned them but does the projector have a red temperature warning LED that's illuminated? Does it flash or stay constant when this happens?
Has this just started happening during the recent high ambient temperatures and how is the projector mounted? Ceiling or table top? Is there adequate ventilation and airspace around the projector including underneath if table mounted?
I suspect that the issue is possibly inadequate ventilation and heat soak causing the unit to shut down as it overheats or an internal component fault causing the same.
Finally, if you have changed the lamp, did it "blow" whilst the unit was in use and if it is two years old and used daily how many hours per week is it running for? These things only have a finite lifespan which is running hours related as opposed to physical age.

Time for bed said Zebedee!

spectrum48k

Thanks for the advice...

Red lamp LED and GREEN power LED both constant - displayed when the unit shuts down

Unit is wall mounted, near ceiling in a cool room, with a window permanently open. Problem started BEFORE the recent heatwave.

Unit runs a good 6 hours a day, and I've owned it since Nov 2007.

I suspected the lamp, but when I replaced it with a new OEM, it made no difference.

Optoma arranged collection this morning, so it's off to them for inspection. Will see what they offer to repair it, then decide whether to buy a new projector or not.

Out of the makes of projector, which ones offer best reliability ? I like Ricardo's idea with the SONY, which doesn't use DLP, and probably isn't susceptible to the various things that go wrong with them (colour wheel, etc)

Sosbanite

I just did a quick google and have found the manual on line.
According to "manuel"
An over temp error is indicated by the on/standby LED indicating constant green and the temp LED indicating constant red - that answers that one then!
Let Optoma have a look, see how it runs on their bench and what they come back with.
Based on 6 hours a day for approximately 18 months the unit has done about 3 - 3.5K hours which is not a huge amount but these small projectors tend not to like running continuously for hours on end due to the amount of heat they generate which is the prime factor in killing them off. They primarily (but not exclusively) derive from presentation projectors which are designed to be stuck in the boot of a sales rep's vectra, carried into a meeting room, run powerpoint for an hour or so and then not get used for a few hours.
The Optoma has an option in the menu tree for "high altitude". This should probably be selected as it keeps the fans running at high speed - may get a bit noisy though!
Additionally, from what you describe about where the unit is located, I suspect the problem is a localised heat soak one.
<presumption mode on>
Looking at pictures of the unit it looks as though the main exhaust is on the rear of the projector which if it is only a couple of inches away from the wall is then not clearing the hot air away quickly enough which in conjunction with rising heat being trapped by the ceiling is causing the heat soak. It will further be compounded if the projector sits on a shelf and cold air enters through the underside and there is not enough free airflow. An open window will also have minimal effect on localised heat soak.
As for a replacement (if it needs replacing)?
First thing to do is set a budget and then allow an overspend of 25% as you will probably want to "get the next model up"
Then make decisions on what you are going to use it for and start having a browse around.
I'm not familiar with domestic projectors so cannot really help but there are enough s/netters with them who can help.
If, however, you decide to remortgage and want to look at stuff by digital projection or Christie then I'll be more than happy to advise

HTH

spectrum48k

great info - many thanks!

Sosbanite

No problem, let us know how you get on with Optoma and what their findings are

ricardo

The cooling could be impeded by fluff or dust in the filter (assuming it has some sort of filter) so it might just be that it needs cleaning out.