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Will Low Lamp Lifetime Spell Trouble for DLP TVs?
Techno-Canuck asks: "Now that the DLP TVs have been
in customers' hands for the last few years, there are problem histories that are begining to unfold. According to Toshiba's DLP TV User Manual: 'The average useful service life for the lamp is approximately 8,000 hours in LOW POWER or 6,000 hours in HI BRIGHT MODE.' However there were problems with certain 2005 Toshiba models that saw
the lamp lifetime at only a few hundred hours or less. Toshiba replaced the lamps in these models at no cost and extended the lamp warranty to 2 years. According to an FAQ on About.com the lamps currently last an average of 1500 hours. Whether or not Toshiba has resolved the problem remains to be seen, as only time will give the real indication. There also seems to be lamp issues with some 2004 models as well, but Toshiba does not seem to be stepping forward to resolve the issues in this case. The customer
ire is starting to rise, however. Will there be similar problems for the 2006 models once enough time has
elapsed?"
Most people probably would use the information provided by Toshiba to make
a decision about what the lamp maintenance costs would be for DLP
ownership. However if lamps only last for 1500 hours, then
that's a 400% increase in costs over what Toshiba is presenting to
customers. The cost of a lamp is $200 or more, and for a family
household that averages 6 to 8 hours of TV viewing per day, this
translates to a new lamp every 187 to 250 days. Strangely enough the
Toshiba warranty on a replacement lamp not covered by the original TV
warranty is 180 days.
It's possible that the death blow has already been struck. It appears that no longer carries DLP TVs in its product line."
It's possible that the death blow has already been struck. It appears that no longer carries DLP TVs in its product line."
Problems like these will kill any technology in the cradle unless it has absolutely no competitors. If the 2006 models turn out to be anywhere near as bad, the game's already over. I mean, the Newton's second version vastly improved on the original and had no credible competitors, yet the horrible handwriting recognition on the first cast a pall over the whole enterprise that never lifted.
I am the one true god. However, as an atheist, I don't believe in myself. I guess I have a self-esteem problem.
The DLPs will be going to LEDs. Samsung already has one for sale.
What the hell is wrong with you people?
I repaired Sharpvision LCD projectors at one time and the metal halide bulbs were very sensitive to ventilation issues. If the filters were the least bit clogged the bulbs would die faster. They did have temperature sensing but it was not enough to stop the shortening of bulb life. They did not have an airflow sensor but did have a tachometer in the fan which did nothing to measure airflow.
:) But I don't have to go in shportsh bars anymore which is much more important.
They did well with the special power supply for them, it was intended to preserve bulb life and uniformity.
In very new, squeeky clean homes they seemed to do almost a year but I don't know how often they were used. In stinking cigarette clogged bars they'd die every other month if not sooner. Because in one model Sharp put the fan on the bottom it was an excellent path for the drunks drink to spray all over the espensive electronics.
Bad desings were money for me.
I'd go on a Vegan diet but the delivery time from Vega is too long. --brownkitty
Do you love TV enough that the $110 TV you get at Target is so completely unbearable to watch? If you love TV more than that, then you'll pay for $200 light bulbs and you'll like it too.
Damned whiners.
Fascism trolls keeping me up every night. When I starts a preachin', he HITS ME WITH HIS REICH!
Because Toshiba as a whole doesn't really care if any of their products are lemons.
Toshiba screwed thousands of people with poor quality laptops and even worse repairs, then screwed many, many people who bought pocket pcs from them when they decided to not release a promised upgrade - those aren't isolated issues either.
Don't get me wrong - all companies have runs of bad products - but when toshiba does, it's not only that they don't care, but they refuse to admit a problem even exists.
Oh and this...
strangely enough the Toshiba warranty on a replacement lamp not covered by the original TV warranty is 180 days.
There is nothing strange about it - it is calculated and predicted, which is why the warranty period isn't standard.
Short of a class action - and even then, because we all know how useless those are - yay 20% off 1 toshiba name brand lamp, people are going to get screwed.
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It means that they are on the way to destruction and have no chance to survive, so they should make their time for great justice.
Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.
A tosh DLP that is. It sees very heavy usage in our household, and the lamp has been going for about 2 years now. It will probably die soon, the bulb that is, but hey, I knew bulbs were going to be consumables when I bought it. Most people that run short bulblives forget to switch on the "quick restart" feature that keeps the bulb on for about 10 minutes after you switch off the telly, and its the frequent on/off cycles that do more damage to the bulb then anything else.
People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.
Waiting for a SED sounds like a dumb idea. Toshiba want to keep them expensive and exclusive.1 225/125850/
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/2006
Strange concept. Perhaps this suggests that they don't think they will be able to get the price down enough to compete.
For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert. - Arthur C. Clarke
In fairness to Orville, it's unlikely that he was filmed or recorded with hi-def equipment back then, so you're likely seeing plain ol' TV "blowed up" to fit the high-def screen.
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
Or more likely, there will be a market for better bulbs in the future. If the bulbs don't last long, why blame the TV? It's a frickin' light bulb. Expensive and really bright, but it seems to me that cooler-running, longer-lasting bulbs are an obvious next step, especially since DLP TVs look absolutely amazing for the price, they're not monstrously heavy like old RPTVs, and they have a user-replaceable backlight (take that, dimming LCD!).
We have a 46' Samsung DLP that we've had for almost two years now. The kids watch Nickelodeon, Disney, and Cartoon Network about 8 hours a day, then I or my wife (mostly my wife) watches maybe 2 hours a day. So far we haven't had an issue. The TV is great. When we bought it, the guy said get the extended (to 3 years) warranty at $150US. He said that the bulb last about 2 years under heavy use and that it cost about $150 to change and was covered under the warranty. That way if something did happen to the TV within three years it would be fix for the price of replacing the first bulb.
The best thing about DLP TVs is that they don't get burn-in video games or other images left on the screen for to long like other types of TVs (tube, plasma, LCD or other types of projection TVs) It's the main reason we choose DLP in the first place.
These bulbs are designed to fail... They could put 2 or 3 lower wattage/heat producing bulbs in these machines. More bulbs with less wattage would last much longer and could be much cheaper. They want the repeat business of selling bulbs, just like HP sells $50 printers that have $35 cartridges. Like printers though, changing bulbs will become an accepted norm, for DLP enthusiest. Hell, I don't mind, If I can afford the TV I should be able to afford the bulbs.. It's like buying a car and complaining that I have to buy tires every few years.. IT is what it is..
Ad eundum quo nemo ante iit!
I have a Benq 6200 FP DLP with about 700 hours on it in two years now (I am not the earliest adopter...that goes to the Infocus X1 crowd). Paid $1150 for it. Best electronics investment I've ever made. Bulb life expectency 2000 hours at a cost of replacement near $400. That works out to twenty cents an hour or FORTY CENTS per average movie. I also use my projector for over the air HD (USDTV OTA tuner - Walmart) and DVD's. Mostly CSI and sports OTA. Bottom line: I was aware of the bulb cost and life expectency when I bought the unit. If you don't understand the technology and it's costs you should avoid. But let's look at the ALTERNATIVE of buying a 'smallish' 60" plasma. They gotta still be getting three grand for those??? I will be cashing out my social security before I buy enough replacement bulbs to get to THAT pricepoint and in the meantime I'm watching tv at a MINIMUM of 80 inches. OTA HD tuner: $200 FP DLP: $1150 (much cheaper now) Having your own home THEATER ----- PRICELESS. Enjoy.
This ain't no upwardly mobile freeway This is the road to hell
HP is stopping production of their DLP sets because they suffered from significant problems that killed HP's reputation in that market, especially when they were just getting into it. DLP as a whole is fine, and pound for pound is one of the best fixed pixel display technologies available. I think the only better one available today is LCOS (Sony SXRD or JVC HD-ILA). But I'm really looking forward to Organic LED (OLED). It's got the contrast ratio of CRT (the ultimate display technology when it comes to visual quality) and vibrant colors, but with a form factor that is thinner than LCD (a horrible display technology) or Plasma (energy inefficient). They just have to work on making the blue elements last longer, but Sony displayed several OLED sets at this year's CES show, and everyone who say them was stunned at how good they looked compared to the other flat screen technologies. It makes LCD and Plasma look like CGA monitors.
Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...
I usually get home from work around 4 or 5 PM, and the TV goes on. I have it on the news for a couple hours, while I make dinner, relax on the computer, etc. I'll watch a couple programs later on National Geographic or Discover or the History Channel, and watch a Simpsons or two from the DVR. When I'm not actually sitting in front of the TV watching, I'll have something interesting on from one of the aforementioned channels (and with the DVR, if I'm surfing the web, but hear something interesting from the TV, I can easily rewind to catch it). I'll often watch a Simpsons or South Park from the DVR as I am falling asleep, or will turn to the Music Choice channels for some music. When listening to music, I want the TV on, so I can see the information about the current song. So, it's pretty easy to end up with the set on all night.
Basically, TV is the new radio. It is often on as background entertainment while doing other things.
Net result: it is easy to get 8 hours a day with the TV on, and if I fall asleep with it on, 16 hours. I've on average gotten about 12-14 months out of my $250 6000 hour DLP bulbs.