Hi Guys

My Panasonic projector bulb now has 2500 hours on it. Wow, 2500 hours in almost 5 years. Not bad (I think). Hmmm, that means I have wasted 2500 hours in my HT room over the past 5 years. Sounds awful when I put it that way. Kidding aside, I loved every minute of those 2500 hours.

Anyways, question is, do I wait for the bulb to burn out (blow) or do I be proactive and replace it before that happens. If it burns/blows out, will it damage the projector?

I have a replacement bulb here.

You advise is appreciated.

Thanks

Well, we wait until the 'Replace Lamp' indicator comes on for what it's worth . . . found a place in Calgary that shipped super-fast, too!

Since bulbs are pricey, I think that most people wait until they are completely shot. There is merit though in replacing it sooner. All light bulbs dim and color shift over time. Some will even say that there is a significantly less lumen output after 500 hours of projector use.

If you are still enjoying the display, I wouldn't change it. If you are remembering how the images used to be brighter, or "pop" more, then you may increase your enjoyment by replacing it sooner (or now).

Hi worfzara,

I'd wait until it either blows out, the replace projector-bulb warning comes on, or until you are bothered by the dimming of the image. If you remember those funny old CRT sets, even they would dim to about 50% or less of their original brightness over their typical 15-year life span.

I remember seeing a distinct loss of contrast and brightness after about 12 years viewing a 28-inch CRT set, but it happened so gradually that I didn't notice it until it became really gross.

Cheers,
Alan

I, myself, have been dimming over the years while getting grosser.

Late 50's, early 60's, my dad bought our fist color tv. It was a Philco. The color started dimming early on, and after about 3 months, it was a black and white tv. So much for early color tv's. The technology just wasn't ready yet, but they sold the products anyway.

Laughing at Mark.

Cool story from CatBrat. I had no idea the first color sets faded on people.

I agree with Amie and Alan. For my Panasonic projector, I replaced the bulb after the warning came onscreen. I didn't notice any difference between the old and new bulbs, making me wish there was a way to defeat the warning, but at least I got 2700 hours out of it.

I found the cheapest Panasonic bulb - beware of counterfeits or off-brand bulbs - at B&H Photo in NYC. Great store, great web site.

Ha, ha! Excellent, Mark, although I did supply the setup line. .

My dad bought our first colour set around 1966 (there was about a 10-year delay in colour broadcasting coming to Canada). It was a 27-inch RCA hybrid "console", part solid-state and part vacuum-tube (in addition to the cathode-ray-tube display) and it proved to be pretty reliable for years. I don't recall the colours fading on that set but I was off on my own and not living at home.

Alan

When a projector bulb goes, is the projector or TV pretty unresponsive. Like for example, even if you try to turn it on there is no indicator light or anything (obviously there can't be an picture)? The reason I ask, is my father-in-law has a Hitachi rear projection TV. He said that he didn't have a picture, so the first thought that I had was that the bulb needed to be replaced. He has had the TV for about 7 or 8 years and never replaced the bulb. I tried telling him that there was a bulb but be didn't seem to believe me. Anyways, he also said that there is no indicator light or anything on the front of the TV when you try to turn the power on. I suggested that he look for trouble shooting in the manual and if there isn't anything easy, then try to call Hitachi. He talked with a friend of his who suggested to just get a new TV, so he did.

This thread has just reminded me of this issue, since it was something pretty recent for my father-in-law and I'm still curious as to what the real problem was. Do you think that it was just the bulb? Or maybe a fuse? Or maybe something more difficult to fix?

It is possible that it is a bulb failure. Keep in mind that with rear projection TVs that they are pretty much a projector, reflective surface, and a screen. If the bulb goes out you are done. Most rear projection TVs are made under the same premise as other TVs that they are not user-serviceable. So there would be little or no indication to what the failure is.

Things may have changed more recently, but then again, who is buying (or selling) new rear projection anyway.

If there was no power at all (no sound) then it could have been a simple fuse, or maybe the power supply/transformer.

2500 hours and I can't say that the picture is any different. But years is a long time to remember. I guess I will find out when I put the new bulb in. I just wanted to make sure that if the bulb blow(ed) up that it wouldn't damage the projector.

Thanks

Check the warranty of the replacement lamp. Many are based on days from receipt or shipment of the lamp not hours used. If this is your case then you should at least put it in and test it. Probably bet to actually use it for the length of the warranty so if it does go out you can get it replaced.

What I usually do is put the new lamp in immediately and just start using it while keeping the old lamp as a spare.

I have purchased from Projectorquest before. They do not sell the low quality lamps and they ship to Canada.

Definitely agree that you should check the warranty on the lamp. Can confirm it is based on time since purchase, but sometimes the hours as well.

Reviving a 6 year old thread doesn't happen every day. LOL