dvdsteve2000

My lamp blew on my 61" Sammy, which sounded like a shotgun going off. I have a 4 year warranty, but they say they don't cover lamp replacement. Unfortunately I have to buy a new one ($150+), but I'm worried about the installation. Does anyone have any tips on how to do it? It gives step by step in my book, but I would kind of like to hear first hand from someone that changed a bulb before.

Thanks,

~S2

SmackDaddy

While I have not had to replace my bulb (51" Sony LCD) I did remove it once when I was dusting the inside of my set (I had a funky shadow on my screen caused by what ended up being spider web).

It was quite easy (and I imagine very similar across brands). After removing my lower panel, I just removed a couple of screws and out it came.

It's basically a large cartridge type enclosure around the bulb. Took less than 10 minutes.

Just curious, how old is your set? Did you have a lot of hours on the bulb?

dvdsteve2000

Thanks for the help. I've had this set since Dec. 05, and the hours on it are crazy-high. We use the TV in our living room, and alot of times my wife & I sleep downstairs and she usually leaves it on all night. I would say it's on about 18-20 hours a day, average. My kids get up around 7:30 and, if it does get turned off, it's usually around midnight-1:00 a.m.. So I would roughly say about 9,000 hours, lol.

Spiky

Wow. I thought my hours were ridiculous. I really hope you mean this is background noise and your entire family isn't staring at the TV for 20 hours a day.

dvdsteve2000

It's shiftwork, lol. My boys watch it before school, then after they leave, my 2 year old watches his shows throughout the day UNTIL soap opera time for my wife (2-4), at which time I get home from work and either watch Judge Judy or play the 360 until dinnertime. Then we watch/listen to the news during dinner. Seinfeld at 6 & 6:30, Raymond at 7, Seinfeld at 7:30, then either a movie, TV some nights, or 360/Wii. 11:00 is the news, Jay Leno at 11:30, Conan at 12:30. If we go out or shopping, then it gets the daytime rest. With summer coming, it may see some rest time also, but my kids usually stroll in and turn on SpongeBob or something anyhow. It's definitely brutal for the TV, but 5 people pulling shiftwork on it makes it rough. With the Halo 3 Beta hitting now, it may not see rest until June 10th.

Spiky

You need a flat panel. Digital projection is not the correct choice for such a household. Unless you have no qualms about needing a new lamp every year. I can't believe it lasted that long. The manual doesn't say, but usually 5000 hours is around the top for estimated longevity. Many are 2000-3000. Letting it explode is dangerous to the health of other parts, and might even void the warranty, but you'd have to check Samsung's policy.

matome

JUst changed the bulb for the first time in one of my DLP's a few weeks ago. Simple. Get a phillips screwdriver, follow the instructions and you'll be done in 5 minutes. The bulb unit just plugs in.

cultshock

I can't speak for the OP's TV, but mine has a bulb that's encased in a plastic protector. The instruction manual says that there's no problem if the bulb explodes (and apparently that can happen when they reach the end of their lifetime) because the plastic casing will contain all the broken pieces.

Mine has a bulb with a rated lifespan of 8000 hours, so 9000 is pretty good. But that's crazy for a tv owned since Dec 2005. I agree that maybe a flat panel might have been a better option for your household.

dvdsteve2000

When you guys say flatpanel, do you mean a CRT, or LCD/plasma? At the time, I liked the DLP because it was cheaper than an LCD and only a bit 'thicker'. The picture quality was equal to the LCD, so I went for the DLP. At the time, I wasn't expecting it to be used as much as it is. I guess you really don't know how long your TV is on until you start adding it up. I wish I had a gameroom or home theater room for the TV, but it's only place is in our living room.

Patman

They mean LCD or plasma flatscreen (not LCD RP).

Spiky

There have been lamps that have broken through the casing. Although I'm guessing the weaker bulbs in RPTVs have less chance of this.