TV Addict withdrawl.....

[HAL9000]

Ugh... I knew the day would come as we run our DLP TV almost constantly... after a very conservative estimate of about 8000 hours on the bulb, it burnt out today... no big screen until Friday ... fortunately, the bulb was cheaper than expected... $200.. I know other people with DLP's where their bulbs are running $400+

[Hi Ho]

It's a good idea to keep a spare on hand for an "emergency".

They are working on better alternatives. Samsung already has LED lit DLP displays available. Mitsubishi is working on a laser system. Panasonic has just released their new LIFI light engine which is supposed to last over 20,000 hours and has a five year bulb warranty. The new bulb has no electrodes to erode.

I wish they would provide a way to retrofit "old" TV's with new longer lasting bulbs but that is very unlikely.

[Brad the best]

that must of been a shock .

im really impressed with the new lcd's the view angle problem hardly exists any more . or atleast thats how it was when i was in future shop yesterday

[HAL9000]

Actually, I knew it was gonna be coming sometime... I have noticed that the bulb took about 20 seconds to hit full brightness... and ya, since I was expecting twice the price, I'm gonna order a spare.

[Litespeed]

I am sure you already know, but you can change (again you might have already done this) how a DLP starts up. A fast start up will lessen the life of your bulb. If you change the settings on the setup menu to a slower start up you can increase the life of the bulb by quite a bit.

[HAL9000]

There's no such setting on my TV for this.

[XenaWP]

Originally Posted by HAL9000 Actually, I knew it was gonna be coming sometime... I have noticed that the bulb took about 20 seconds to hit full brightness... and ya, since I was expecting twice the price, I'm gonna order a spare.

Hmmm. Maybe not such a good idea to get a spare. The warranty on the bulb starts the day you get it. Now, you may think it worth the risk, but with my RP-LCD, I got 2 bad bulbs in a row that blew in less than a year. If I had had them as "spares" sitting around eating up warranty time, I'd be out $400. As I didn't do that, they blew within the warranty period, and so what, I was without tv for a few days. I picked up a 16" tube tv for emergency use for about $120. Net savings.

[Litespeed]

Originally Posted by HAL9000 There's no such setting on my TV for this.

OK. Must be a different model. My father's Samsung DLP had a Dynamic Mode Setting that they changed when they came to replace the bulb. They said the only difference is the amount of time it takes for the tv to turn on. But hey what do I know.

[Lespaul20]

How long have you had your set Hal?
No reason other than curiosity.

[HAL9000]

Almost 2.5 years now.... and like I said.. the thing is on constantly.

Originally Posted by XenaWP Hmmm. Maybe not such a good idea to get a spare. The warranty on the bulb starts the day you get it. Now, you may think it worth the risk, but with my RP-LCD, I got 2 bad bulbs in a row that blew in less than a year. If I had had them as "spares" sitting around eating up warranty time, I'd be out $400. As I didn't do that, they blew within the warranty period, and so what, I was without tv for a few days. I picked up a 16" tube tv for emergency use for about $120. Net savings.

I'm willing to take the chance... I did some searching around and it appears that stock is often a problem.

[MaxRat]

i have that setting on my 54" mitsubishi...it under light heat setting... I leave mine on medium

[HAL9000]

I've been through every setting to see what does what on that TV, no such setting on mine.