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DLP bulb life

Old 06-10-06, 12:24 AM
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DLP bulb life

If I were to increase the contrast and brightness on a DLP HDTV, would that shorten the bulb life?

Or is it because the bulb burns the same at any contrast/brightness setting?
Old 06-10-06, 12:50 PM
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More brightness will shorten the life.

But bear in mind that bulb life ratings are estimates.
Old 06-11-06, 01:30 PM
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But if you dim the light so the brightness lower from its specifications the life of the bulb will not be prolonged.
Old 06-11-06, 08:12 PM
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Changing Contrast/Brightness does not effect the lamp and has no control over light output as far I know. It simply changes the mirror angles for white and black level. It doesn't change the light output at the source (the lamp) the way CRT does.

Now, changing the lamp from low to high mode would reduce the life.

Last edited by Slayer2005; 06-11-06 at 11:13 PM.
Old 06-16-06, 12:27 AM
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I read that the DLP light engine is really reliable, and a display will give optimal performance for about 100,000 hours. That's over 30 years, so I don't think you have much to worry about. DLP is great. I just got a samsung 56" in time for the world cup.
Old 06-16-06, 05:50 AM
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Originally Posted by rosky
I read that the DLP light engine is really reliable, and a display will give optimal performance for about 100,000 hours. That's over 30 years, so I don't think you have much to worry about. DLP is great. I just got a samsung 56" in time for the world cup.
They are most likely referring to the color wheel and such, not the lamp itself. The lamp won't reach anywhere near 100,000 hours and the lamp does lose brightness and degrade over time. It will lose over half of it's brightness fairly early.

Still, having said that, contrast and brightness have zero effect on the lamp's life. Lamp strikes usually have the biggest effect on its life. It's better to run the set for 8 hours straight than to turn it on for an hour, turn it off and then turn it back on shortly after.
Old 06-16-06, 10:01 AM
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I've read that striking the Infocus 4805 bulb is equivalent to about 2 hours of usage.
Old 06-16-06, 11:10 AM
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Originally Posted by X
I've read that striking the Infocus 4805 bulb is equivalent to about 2 hours of usage.
Yep. I usually try to leave it running for at least 4 or 5 hours whenever it gets turned on. Although it rarely gets used now since I'm planning to sell it to help fund a CRT projector upgrade.
Old 06-16-06, 03:04 PM
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Yeah, I just leave it running for up to a couple hours if I want to take a break rather than turning it off and restriking the bulb. I've calibrated it for best performance when it's all warmed up anyway.
Old 06-16-06, 07:46 PM
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I do the same (leave my X1 on). Heck on the weekend I might leave it on most of the day. Course then when I see it on, I go by and find something to watch and not do whatever project I should be working on.
Old 06-19-06, 05:58 AM
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AH! Just got a RPTV LCD TV and didn't realize all the shutting on and off is really bad for it.... I probably wasted 100 hours and I just got it a couple of days ago :x Oh well, now I know...

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