DLP Lamp flicker and dimming normal before burnout?
12-13-07, 01:58 PM
#1
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DLP Lamp flicker and dimming normal before burnout?
I have a DLP TV (Toshiba 42HM66) thats about a year old, has 5000-6000hrs on the lamp and in the past week does the following:
1.) On initial startup, after five minutes, there's a slight flicker to the image for no more than 5-15 minutes. The TV runs normally for hours afterwards.
2.) Two days ago, after flickering, the image got slightly dimmer. It hasn't gotten any dimmer or brighter since.
I've called three repair places under the assumption its the lamp, because I've heard from a few people that it's not an entirely uncommon signal that the lamp is getting ready to blow.
Two places said, no the lamp should just blow, schedule an in-home repair call because something else could be wrong. If I do this, and its the lamp, I'll have spent nearly $500 because of their overinflated cost of the lamp and service charge. That's 50% of what the TV cost.
The third place said it defiinitely sounds like a lamp getting ready to fail, especially since I have 5000-6000hrs of use and the dimming incident. They said I could have them come out and check it, but it's more cost effective for me to buy a lamp and wait for it to blow, or replace it outright and see if it remedies it.
Has anyone heard of my tvs symptoms as being out of the ordinary for a common lamp failure?
Normally, I would have bought an extended warranty, but the fine print said only one lamp was covered, and for me that was my only reason for interest in it, since the TV itself was only around $1000.
I'm really considering just buying the lamp and replacing it now. If the flicker and dimming still occurs, then I'd probably just dump the TV and go with an LCD, since the repair costs would be too close to the original cost of the TV.
1.) On initial startup, after five minutes, there's a slight flicker to the image for no more than 5-15 minutes. The TV runs normally for hours afterwards.
2.) Two days ago, after flickering, the image got slightly dimmer. It hasn't gotten any dimmer or brighter since.
I've called three repair places under the assumption its the lamp, because I've heard from a few people that it's not an entirely uncommon signal that the lamp is getting ready to blow.
Two places said, no the lamp should just blow, schedule an in-home repair call because something else could be wrong. If I do this, and its the lamp, I'll have spent nearly $500 because of their overinflated cost of the lamp and service charge. That's 50% of what the TV cost.
The third place said it defiinitely sounds like a lamp getting ready to fail, especially since I have 5000-6000hrs of use and the dimming incident. They said I could have them come out and check it, but it's more cost effective for me to buy a lamp and wait for it to blow, or replace it outright and see if it remedies it.
Has anyone heard of my tvs symptoms as being out of the ordinary for a common lamp failure?
Normally, I would have bought an extended warranty, but the fine print said only one lamp was covered, and for me that was my only reason for interest in it, since the TV itself was only around $1000.
I'm really considering just buying the lamp and replacing it now. If the flicker and dimming still occurs, then I'd probably just dump the TV and go with an LCD, since the repair costs would be too close to the original cost of the TV.
12-13-07, 02:32 PM
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i have a DLP and my lamp started to flicker, and dim before it burnt out. hopefully this helps.
i didnt think anything of it at the time, but i had to got a few days without my TV in june/july waiting for someone to come out and change the bulb
i didnt think anything of it at the time, but i had to got a few days without my TV in june/july waiting for someone to come out and change the bulb
12-13-07, 07:50 PM
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Sounds like the lamp. At that amount of hours, it's time to get a lamp anyway. Use the new lamp until its warranty runs out, don't stick it on a shelf til the old one dies. Then, after the new warranty is over, you can decide if you want to go back to the old lamp to use it up.
12-13-07, 09:28 PM
#4
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5000 to 6000 hours in one year??? WOW! At 5500 hours, that works out to 15 hours per day every single day of 365 days!!! That is a lot of TV. My projector is like 13 months old and thought 2000 hours was a lot.
Some would suggest that you buy a new lamp, put it in right away to make sure it works (lamps usually have a 30 day warranty) and put about 50 hours to make sure that there is no problem. Then put the old lamp back in to get the last hours out it.
Some would suggest that you buy a new lamp, put it in right away to make sure it works (lamps usually have a 30 day warranty) and put about 50 hours to make sure that there is no problem. Then put the old lamp back in to get the last hours out it.
12-13-07, 10:27 PM
#5
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Originally Posted by Spiky
Sounds like the lamp. At that amount of hours, it's time to get a lamp anyway. Use the new lamp until its warranty runs out, don't stick it on a shelf til the old one dies. Then, after the new warranty is over, you can decide if you want to go back to the old lamp to use it up.
I'm still not sure, if it hurts the lamp that much to turn it on, watch it for an hour, turn it off, then turn it on 3 hrs later, watch another two hours, turn it off, etc.
12-14-07, 10:53 PM
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You need a different kind of TV. This is not the kind for background noise. My wife does this, too.
Turning it on does strain the lamp. But obviously you have to. I usually figure a one hour gap. If it's going to be more than an hour, I turn it off. If less, I leave it on.
Turning it on does strain the lamp. But obviously you have to. I usually figure a one hour gap. If it's going to be more than an hour, I turn it off. If less, I leave it on.
01-07-08, 04:55 AM
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I've had my Samsung DLP TV now for just about two months. Lamp has five hundred hours. Last night my wife noticed the left side of the screen starting to flicker. If my lamp is going after five hundred hours...me and the samsung folks are going to talk about exchanging for an LCD.
01-09-08, 02:48 PM
#8
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I have a Toshiba 52" DLP that I had to replace the lamp in after 2 years with normal to heavy use. My bulb just blew without warning. I was calling every place in town to see if I could get a bulb quickly. It is sad how addicted I am to home theater! Anyway, I got it same day for about $200. That was winter 2006-7, so the prices may have dropped a bit since then. BTW, it is easy to replace yourself.
