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."

Comments

Havin' a funeral

[hypermanng]

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.

Re:Havin' a funeral

[dch24]

I don't know that I agree with you. The Newton failed for other reasons in addition to the handwriting recognition problems.

As another counterexample, the slashdot article says: "It appears that no longer carries DLP TVs". Is that Toshiba? http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/televisions/dlp.asp Is that some big-name store that sells home theater equipment? But does that cast a pall over slashdot to the point that editors read the summaries before posting?

6-8 hours of TV a *day*?

[Rix]

What the hell is wrong with you people?

Re:6-8 hours of TV a *day*?

[kalpaha]

I was thinking the same, but if you consider a large family, where kids would probably watch a little TV before going to school, home mom would check something during the day, then kids would watch more TV before going to bed and parents would watch a movie after the kids are sleeping, I guess you can average 6 hours.

Morning: 0.5h
Daytime: 1.5h
Evening: 2h
Movie: 2h

Eight hours is sick, though. And of course, the argument about "wife" watching is moot with slashdotters, anyway.

That is the same life as the Sharpvision

[mrmeval]

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.

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. :) But I don't have to go in shportsh bars anymore which is much more important.

Not really a surprise...

[loraksus]

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.

I have one

[passthecrackpipe]

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.

Re:The bad viewing angles ALREADY spell trouble

[mr_matticus]

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!).

Actual Ownership Input

[Timtimes]

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.