Opinions on Projector Lamps

[frogmort]

I've had my Epson 6500UB for 26 months (my first projector - factory refurbished) and after about 1900 hours, my lamp is starting to go. It actually looked really great just a couple of days ago, but almost all at once it got considerably darker.

After looking around a lot over the last few days, my head is spinning about what to do.

I can get an el cheapo Chinese knockoff for about $50, but I've read a lot of horror stories about those arriving broken, damaging the ballast from improper voltage, or exploding and damaging the projector.

I can get the actual certified manufacturer Epson lamp from Visual Apex (where I bought my pj) for $259, but that's an awful lot of money for me right now.

Also, after doing some research I found a site called Pureland Supply. While not technically OEM, they have a genuine Osram replacement lamp mounted inside an Apog lamp module for $185 which is $74 less than the real deal.

I would rather pay full price if I knew I would be getting something much better and more reliable, but if I can get something that's absolutely just as good for $74 less, then that would seem like the way to go.

Have any of you guys had success with any of the el cheapo knockoffs, and if so from what seller, or have any of you had any experience with Pureland Supply or any other non-OEM manufacturer that offers top quality lamps at significant savings?

Right now I'm leaning towards either biting the bullet and getting the OEM or possibly going with the Pureland Supply Osram lamp. This will be my first lamp replacement and I want to make sure that I make the best choice while also getting the best deal.

Any knowledge about and/or prior experience with buying pj lamps would be greatly appreciated.

[Show spoiler]This site is my main hangout, but I'll probably copy-paste this over to avs too just to get the most help and input, so don't give me too much grief over doing that if you go over there please.

[Badas]

^

Don't buy knockoff. Buy original.

A mate played around with a few of them. They produced a nice picture and we noticed a few actually went brighter. However they also produced a lot more heat. After 1000 hours it wrecked a side of his panel. He now has gone back to the original and zooms out the bad damaged side. A lot better and a lot less heat.

The projector engineers design all the airflow for a particular lamp. You change it and you could cook something internal.

[frogmort]

Originally Posted by Badas

^

Don't buy knockoff. Buy original.

A mate played around with a few of them. They produced a nice picture and we noticed a few actually went brighter. However they also produced a lot more heat. After 1000 hours it wrecked a side of his panel. He now has gone back to the original and zooms out the bad damaged side. A lot better and a lot less heat.

The projector engineers design all the airflow for a particular lamp. You change it and you could cook something internal.

Thanks for your response Badas. I am always lurking in the pj threads and I was hoping that you or Flatnate would reply.

I just got some absolutely amazing news. My lamp warranty was just 90 days and my pj warranty was 2 years, and I've had my pj for just over 26 months, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to call them just to see what they said.

My pj came with a PrivateLine technical support card that looks like a credit card and has a PIN number on the back. I called them and told them that I've had my pj for 26 months and have just over 1900 hours on my lamp and that in the last few days it has gotten very dark. They asked me for the serial number and then asked if I clean the unit and the filter regularly (I do this at least once a month) and then asked if it has adequate air flow around the unit (it does). Then he asked me to send them a copy of my receipt. I hung up and called Visual Apex where I bought my pj and they emailed me a copy which I then forwarded to Epson, then I immediately called them back and gave them my reference number.

I was put on hold for about 5 minutes, then the guy apologized for the wait and informed me that although I am over two months out of my pj warranty and almost 25 months out of my lamp warranty, that because I am a valued Epson customer, they are shipping me a new lamp for free. No shipping fee, no lamp fee, just absolutely free!!! I couldn't believe it. I even said "I'm sorry, I'm not sure I heard you correctly" and he laughed and repeated it to me.

I just started a new job and am completely broke right now, so my pj going down was a real bummer at the worst possible time. I can't believe how good their customer service is. I'm getting a $300 lamp direct from the factory for nothing. I am so happy. I should have it in 2 to 7 business days.

[Badas]

^

Far out. That is amazing news. I heard that their customer service was great, but that is another level.

Good score.

Another little trick I know with lamps is putting into high lamp mode for a couple of hours (watch a movie). It re-arcks the lamp. Then stick back into normal mode. I do this every 100 hours. It brightens it up a bit.
You should also remove the lamp and clean the lamp Lens. On mine there is a prism on the projector also (looks like a bike reflector). Carbon (dust) can build up around this area. Then acts like a tint. This brightens mine up a lot. I also do this every 100 hours. Clean with hot water on a micro fiber cloth, then dry with a glass lens cloth. Always get black carbon on the cloth. I suggest you check this out before installing the new lamp.

[rpatt]

Originally Posted by frogmort

Thanks for your response Badas. I am always lurking in the pj threads and I was hoping that you or Flatnate would reply.

I just got some absolutely amazing news. My lamp warranty was just 90 days and my pj warranty was 2 years, and I've had my pj for just over 26 months, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to call them just to see what they said.

My pj came with a PrivateLine technical support card that looks like a credit card and has a PIN number on the back. I called them and told them that I've had my pj for 26 months and have just over 1900 hours on my lamp and that in the last few days it has gotten very dark. They asked me for the serial number and then asked if I clean the unit and the filter regularly (I do this at least once a month) and then asked if it has adequate air flow around the unit (it does). Then he asked me to send them a copy of my receipt. I hung up and called Visual Apex where I bought my pj and they emailed me a copy which I then forwarded to Epson, then I immediately called them back and gave them my reference number.

I was put on hold for about 5 minutes, then the guy apologized for the wait and informed me that although I am over two months out of my pj warranty and almost 25 months out of my lamp warranty, that because I am a valued Epson customer, they are shipping me a new lamp for free. No shipping fee, no lamp fee, just absolutely free!!! I couldn't believe it. I even said "I'm sorry, I'm not sure I heard you correctly" and he laughed and repeated it to me.

I just started a new job and am completely broke right now, so my pj going down was a real bummer at the worst possible time. I can't believe how good their customer service is. I'm getting a $300 lamp direct from the factory for nothing. I am so happy. I should have it in 2 to 7 business days.

Excellent news. I love hearing these stories.

[frogmort]

Originally Posted by Badas

^

Far out. That is amazing news. I heard that their customer service was great, but that is another level.

Good score.

Another little trick I know with lamps is putting into high lamp mode for a couple of hours (watch a movie). It re-arcks the lamp. Then stick back into normal mode. I do this every 100 hours. It brightens it up a bit.
You should also remove the lamp and clean the lamp Lens. On mine there is a prism on the projector also (looks like a bike reflector). Carbon (dust) can build up around this area. Then acts like a tint. This brightens mine up a lot. I also do this every 100 hours. Clean with hot water on a micro fiber cloth, then dry with a glass lens cloth. Always get black carbon on the cloth. I suggest you check this out before installing the new lamp.

Thanks man. I'm still stunned by this great news.

I've checked out your setup a few times. Amazing. Mine isn't even in the same league, but I still love it. Maybe one day I'll have my dream setup.

This is my first pj and when I first got it, I used it in in low lamp mode for a while to try to preserve the lamp, but as I'm projecting a 130" diagonal 16:9 image, although it looked great without anything to compare to, when I switched to high lamp mode, it had so much better contrast and overall brightness that I eventually decided that I didn't buy a projector to have it look pretty decent, I wanted it to look as good as possible, and I was willing to accept that the bulb probably wouldn't last as long. I'm actually not that disappointed that I only got 1900 hours out of the lamp. It's rated at 1600 lumens in high mode, and I would say that's probably not even close to what I'm actually getting. My pj is definitely not a light canon, but in high mode, it's quite respectable, at least to me.

A few days ago after it started getting really dark, I worked up the nerve to open it up and pull out the lamp just to have a look around. I was terrified that by opening it, I would let in dust and create a dust blob, so I immediately covered the opening after removing the lamp, then inspected the lamp. I inspected it, but didn't do any cleaning or anything. The light element inside the lamp looked a little droopy at the tip, but it appeared to be very clean overall.

I guess I should try to do some cleaning while I'm changing it out, but I really don't know what I'm doing when it comes to that. I did look around inside the pj before replacing the old lamp into the pj, and the only thing I saw was a little one inch opening surrounded by a metal plate that the lamp shoots into. I peeked into the hole but could really see much, and I started feeling like if I didn't really know what I was doing, I was better off just leaving it well enough alone.

I almost feel like serious pj maintenance is a bit beyond me, but maybe I'm just being more careful and delicate than I should be. I'd love to get the most out of what I have to work with.

[Badas]

^

Yep. You are right. Don't poke around in there. Leave it alone.

On mine there is a prism right next to the lamp to deflect the light as uniformed light stream. Easy to get to and clean.

You should clean your lamp lens often tho. That can get a little dirty. Heat plus dust = Carbon. Acts like tinted glasses. Can't spot it also. Not until you have it on the cloth.

You were right to prevent dust getting in. Not OCD at all.

[frogmort]

Originally Posted by rpatt

Excellent news. I love hearing these stories.

Thanks rpatt.

I'm by far not a wealthy person, and I've made some huge sacrifices in order to be able put my humble HT room together, and while it's far from top tier reference quality, it's my pride and joy and I get so much pleasure out of it.

It really broke my heart when the lamp started going, especially since it looked amazing just a few days ago, and it's rare that I get news this good, especially now that I've just started a new job and wouldn't be able to afford a real lamp for quite a while.

I thought about buying one of those knock-off crap bulbs for $50, but after reading all of the horror stories, I decided that I couldn't take a chance on blowing my ballast or melting my pj just to save a few bucks.

I'm so excited to get my new lamp. I've read that since a lamp gradually looses it's luminance over time, you really don't notice the difference for the most part, but when replaced with a new one, it can be quite astounding, with a lot of people claiming that it looks better than it ever has, which I'm sure is just because they were gradually conditioned over several years to expect just a bit less and a bit less without really noticing the overall loss of lumens.

[frogmort]

Originally Posted by Badas

^

Yep. You are right. Don't poke around in there. Leave it alone.

On mine there is a prism right next to the lamp to deflect the light as uniformed light stream. Easy to get to and clean.

You should clean your lamp lens often tho. That can get a little dirty. Heat plus dust = Carbon. Acts like tinted glasses. Can't spot it also. Not until you have it on the cloth.

You were right to prevent dust getting in. Not OCD at all.

Are you talking about the front part of the lamp housing inside the pj, or the outer lens on the front of the main unit where the light emanates into the room from the pj? I do clean the outer lens fairly regularly with some little wipes used for glasses or camera lenses.

[Badas]

Originally Posted by frogmort

Are you talking about the front part of the lamp housing inside the pj, or the outer lens on the front of the main unit where the light emanates into the room from the pj? I do clean the outer lens fairly regularly with some little wipes used for glasses or camera lenses.

I'm talking about the glass on the lamp. That is where it gets real hot. Many projectors suffer from it. The thery is that dust gets pulled past the lamps from the fan and the heat from lamp turns dust into carbon. After a while you get a build up.

[frogmort]

Originally Posted by Badas

I'm talking about the glass on the lamp. That is where it gets real hot. Many projectors suffer from it. The thery is that dust gets pulled past the lamps from the fan and the heat from lamp turns dust into carbon. After a while you get a build up.

I swear, if I stand off to the side near the pj and look at the lens, I can see dust being almost drawn to the lens like a magnet. If it's turned off, it's just passively a part of the room, but when it's on, the warmth or something makes it seem to attract dust.

Maybe I'm crazy.

I also sometimes like to sniff the exhaust coming out of it when I turn it off and it's in cooldown mode.

[Badas]

Originally Posted by frogmort

I also sometimes like to sniff the exhaust coming out of it when I turn it off and it's in cooldown mode.

That is OCD.

Don't worry about dust. They aren't that fragile. If you do get a blob then open the projector at the lamp enclosure and give it a blast with compressed air. I've done it a few times on LCD projectors and it works well.

[bhampton]

Hi,

My Pj uses a Phillips bulb and many online sites claim to sell the actual phillips bulb but ship you generic bulbs anyway. (Ok, ... maybe not many but I shopped at one in particular that was recommended by projector people.)

I have found the site PureLandSupply sells real bulbs and discount prices. Sounds like a commercial but it's just my experience. I can get the original bulb from them for $150 shipped. Or, I could go to AVSForum and buy it for $299. I love AVSForum but .. that's buy one get one free type pricing when you go to PureLandSupply.

Anyways,... It's my one stop shop until I stop using projectors which may be never in this lifetime.

[frogmort]

Originally Posted by Badas

[Show spoiler]^

Far out. That is amazing news. I heard that their customer service was great, but that is another level.

Good score.

Another little trick I know with lamps is putting into high lamp mode for a couple of hours (watch a movie). It re-arcks the lamp. Then stick back into normal mode. I do this every 100 hours. It brightens it up a bit.

You should also remove the lamp and clean the lamp Lens. On mine there is a prism on the projector also (looks like a bike reflector). Carbon (dust) can build up around this area. Then acts like a tint. This brightens mine up a lot. I also do this every 100 hours. Clean with hot water on a micro fiber cloth, then dry with a glass lens cloth. Always get black carbon on the cloth. I suggest you check this out before installing the new lamp.

I replaced my lamp tonight and noticed that inside the little window with the metal plate around it, there is a prism that looks like a bike reflector. I didn't mess with it, as I don't have a microfiber or glass lens cloth, but when I have some spare time here soon, I'll definitely give it a cleaning. Thanks for the tip.

Originally Posted by Badas

That is OCD.

Don't worry about dust. They aren't that fragile. If you do get a blob then open the projector at the lamp enclosure and give it a blast with compressed air. I've done it a few times on LCD projectors and it works well.

I'd had a few brews the night I mentioned sniffing the exhaust vent occasionally, but that doesn't mean it's not true. Luckily I haven't had any dust blobs yet.

Originally Posted by bhampton

Hi,

My Pj uses a Phillips bulb and many online sites claim to sell the actual phillips bulb but ship you generic bulbs anyway. (Ok, ... maybe not many but I shopped at one in particular that was recommended by projector people.)

I have found the site PureLandSupply sells real bulbs and discount prices. Sounds like a commercial but it's just my experience. I can get the original bulb from them for $150 shipped. Or, I could go to AVSForum and buy it for $299. I love AVSForum but .. that's buy one get one free type pricing when you go to PureLandSupply.

Anyways,... It's my one stop shop until I stop using projectors which may be never in this lifetime.

Thanks for your input. From what I've read, the main problem with the dirt cheap Chinese knockoffs is that they're generic crappy bulbs not made to any quality standard, but if Pureland Supply uses genuine Phillips and Osram lamps, they should be practically, if not exactly like a manufacturers lamp. I'll probably go through them next time I need a lamp.

[frogmort]

I copied this from my HT gallery thread, but I thought you guys might like to check it out:




I spent about an hour cleaning my pj while I had it opened up changing out the lamp. Also, I have my pj sitting on a shelf with one of my rear surrounds, and although I have my rear surrounds sitting on some supports with foam rubber on them to reduce vibration, tonight I also cut out some foam rubber to go under my pj's feet to help reduce vibration to it even more. When I used to play some really bass heavy music and have a menu popped up on screen, I could visibly notice the letters and numbers on the menu moving around a tiny bit. I'm pretty sure that most of the vibration was from my subs and not my surrounds, but with the new foam supports under my pj's feet, it doesn't show any noticeable vibration at all.

It took me quite a while to get everything lined up and perfectly squared with the screen, but after I did, I turned off the lights and did a calibration with my AVS calibration disc. I really couldn't believe how much better it looks overall. It seems to be much sharper and have more depth and better black levels than I ever remember it having before, which I'm sure is due to the increased contrast of the new lamp. The colors also really popped more than I can remember it looking before. I may even need to back the overall color level down a notch or two.

The only negative thing that I've noticed is that when I'm projecting a completely bright white image onto the entire screen, I can see just a bit of a red shade on the far left side of the screen and just a bit of a green shade on the far right side of the screen. I'm pretty sure it's always been this way, but the new super bright lamp seems to make it a little more obvious. Is this a convergence issue or something? It's really not that big of a deal since other than specifically looking for it with a completely white screen it isn't noticeable at all.

I ran it for a couple of hours in high lamp mode while demoing various blu-rays before shutting it down. I may try using it in low mode just to see if it looks good enough, but as I have my pj about twelve and a half feet from the screen with it zoomed to the maximum size and am projecting a 130" diagonal 16x9 image, I'll probably just blast it in high mode. When I first got my pj, I set up a memory for low mode to try to protect the lamp, and with nothing to compare to it looked great, but when I compared it to my high lamp mode memory, it just couldn't compare. I just don't see the point in getting a pj and not using it in the best possible setting.


Anyway, I'm super stoked to have my pj working like a champ again.

[frogmort]

The white uniformity problem I was having was bothering me so I opened it back up tonight and thoroughly cleaned the prism like Badas suggested and was very extra careful to make sure that the lamp housing was completely seated as perfectly as possible before tightening it back down very firmly without cranking the screws too hard.

I did get quite a bit of black carbon buildup off of the prism, but I'm not sure if it was that or reseating the lamp or maybe a bit of both, but my color uniformity looks much better now. It's still not absolutely perfect on a completely white image, but it is noticeably improved by quite a bit.

I found this thread about cleaning the polarizers and have thought about doing that too, but I've never actually opened up the whole pj like that before. I would hate to get in there and cause more problems, but after getting results from cleaning the prism, I'm wondering if I should try this too. What do you guys think?

[Badas]

^

I would leave it as it is.

LCD never has perfect white uniformity. Actually no tech does. However LCD is known to be not the best.

Could have problems if you go much further.

[LaserKen]

Originally Posted by frogmort

I copied this from my HT gallery thread, but I thought you guys might like to check it out:




I spent about an hour cleaning my pj while I had it opened up changing out the lamp. Also, I have my pj sitting on a shelf with one of my rear surrounds, and although I have my rear surrounds sitting on some supports with foam rubber on them to reduce vibration, tonight I also cut out some foam rubber to go under my pj's feet to help reduce vibration to it even more. When I used to play some really bass heavy music and have a menu popped up on screen, I could visibly notice the letters and numbers on the menu moving around a tiny bit. I'm pretty sure that most of the vibration was from my subs and not my surrounds, but with the new foam supports under my pj's feet, it doesn't show any noticeable vibration at all.

It took me quite a while to get everything lined up and perfectly squared with the screen, but after I did, I turned off the lights and did a calibration with my AVS calibration disc. I really couldn't believe how much better it looks overall. It seems to be much sharper and have more depth and better black levels than I ever remember it having before, which I'm sure is due to the increased contrast of the new lamp. The colors also really popped more than I can remember it looking before. I may even need to back the overall color level down a notch or two.

The only negative thing that I've noticed is that when I'm projecting a completely bright white image onto the entire screen, I can see just a bit of a red shade on the far left side of the screen and just a bit of a green shade on the far right side of the screen. I'm pretty sure it's always been this way, but the new super bright lamp seems to make it a little more obvious. Is this a convergence issue or something? It's really not that big of a deal since other than specifically looking for it with a completely white screen it isn't noticeable at all.

I ran it for a couple of hours in high lamp mode while demoing various blu-rays before shutting it down. I may try using it in low mode just to see if it looks good enough, but as I have my pj about twelve and a half feet from the screen with it zoomed to the maximum size and am projecting a 130" diagonal 16x9 image, I'll probably just blast it in high mode. When I first got my pj, I set up a memory for low mode to try to protect the lamp, and with nothing to compare to it looked great, but when I compared it to my high lamp mode memory, it just couldn't compare. I just don't see the point in getting a pj and not using it in the best possible setting.


Anyway, I'm super stoked to have my pj working like a champ again.

I recently had to replace the bulb in my Epson 8500 after 1600 hours (I'm thrilled you got a new free one; I tried and failed using the same card). I, too, got red and green that I hadn't seen before at the top and bottom of the image. They're masked by the screen. I may need to take a shot at a dust blob. Do they create a "spot" on the screen, only visible at certain times (like when projecting a color like blu on a player's menu screen)?

[frogmort]

Originally Posted by Badas

^

I would leave it as it is.

LCD never has perfect white uniformity. Actually no tech does. However LCD is known to be not the best.

Could have problems if you go much further.

Yeah, I think you're right. It's looking as good as, if not better than ever, so at least for now I'm just going to leave it be. Thanks for all of your help Badas!

[frogmort]

Originally Posted by LaserKen

I recently had to replace the bulb in my Epson 8500 after 1600 hours (I'm thrilled you got a new free one; I tried and failed using the same card). I, too, got red and green that I hadn't seen before at the top and bottom of the image. They're masked by the screen. I may need to take a shot at a dust blob. Do they create a "spot" on the screen, only visible at certain times (like when projecting a color like blu on a player's menu screen)?

Mine just had a hint of red on the far left side of the screen and a hint of green on the far right side of the screen. I'm not sure if cleaning the prism just in front of the lamp, or reseating the lamp better, or even just breaking in the new lamp from general use is what has improved it (maybe all three? ), but it is definitely looking a lot better to me.

I've luckily never had a dust blob, but from what I've read, it will usually show up more with either red, green, or blue depending on where the dust particle is located. I've read that sometimes they show up on the screen as a basketball sized area that is slightly darker in color than everything else around it. I have also read that they usually show up more on darker images. Sorry I can't be of more help, but there are many threads over at AVS about how to try to remedy a dust blob. Check here. Be careful and good luck!