DLPs and LCDs pricy little bulbs
OK microdisplay owners. Talk to us. DLPs and LCDs are popular types of HDTVs. They offer a great size to
price ratio and the picture on them is great. But they have those little bulbs. MSNBC ran a story way back in the middle of April that is still floating
around and we want to know your take on it. Basically, they are recommending the DLP because the owner will not have to
replace the bulb for a few years to come. We here at HD Beat have heard of multiple bulb replacements per year in some
cases.How long has your bulb lasted in your LCD/DLP? We need to know how long you watch the HDTV each day though in order to fully understand where you are coming from. Talk to us folks.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kelly Teague @ May 5th 2006 10:47AM
I have a 05' Mits 52 inch Wd 52626 (DLP). Bought it in March of 05. The television is on an average of 5 hours a day. I haven't needed to replace the bulb yet, knock on wood.
Aaron @ May 5th 2006 10:58AM
I've got a Samsung HL-P5085w which I've owned for about a year now that has about 1500 hours on the original bulb, no replacements here yet. I use it for TV, console gaming and PC gaming. I love this TV.
That being said, I'm probably going to spring for a SED display when they hit 2nd generation (about 3 years from now).
Rvan @ May 5th 2006 11:01AM
I have a Samsung 50" DLP (HL-P5063W) the model before the floating screen model. I bought it back in Feb of 05 and I haven't had to replace it yet, It is still bright and normal. Its a great TV.
Cosmo @ May 5th 2006 11:08AM
HLN617W - 3 years and counting. At minimum - 4 hours a day.
Andrew @ May 5th 2006 11:10AM
Almost three years with my Samsung DLP, haven't had to replace the bulb yet.
Nivas @ May 5th 2006 11:11AM
I have had my HLM507(50") for more than 3 yrs now(Apr 03). The TV is on for an average of 6hrs everyday. I changed the first bulb last Aug after about 5000hrs on it. The current one has about 1400hrs already! It was definitely a great 3yrs of HD viewing.
Wayne @ May 5th 2006 11:14AM
I've had a Samsung HL-P4663W for a year. The TV is on for an average of 5-6 hours a day. The TV still has the original bulb. It's been somewhere around 1800-2100 hours of use so far.
I think the people who have repeated problems and very short bulb life are those who use the "Dynamic" setting on their TVs. "Dynamic" is intended for use in brightly lit environments, not the average home set-up. If these individuals read the owner's manual and/or calibrated their sets I think that DLPs would have a better reputation. It's always the idiots who shout the loudest and create the negative perceptions.
Vince @ May 5th 2006 11:16AM
Mitstubishi WD6268
I've had if for several months now.. runs about 3 hours nightly .. weekends probably 12 hours over the weekend..
So, close to 30 hours a week * roughly 4 weeks a month * 7 months running = 840 hours, no issues so far?
Brian Spence @ May 5th 2006 11:26AM
I have a Sony 50" DLP, I've had it for about 18 months, and it's probably on about 4-5 hours a day. I've never had to replace a bulb. I'm kind of curious about this too. Does the whole set just not come on, or do you see the picture gradually degrade?
rualanthony @ May 5th 2006 11:31AM
i have a sony 60inch 3lcd since sept of 05 average of 6-7 hours a day. Haven't had any problems yet
Jay @ May 5th 2006 12:08PM
Samsung HLR-6178W
Had it for aboout 8 months now. No problems here. Its on about 4-5 hours on weekdays and up to 8-9 hours on the weekend.
JohnK @ May 5th 2006 12:12PM
I have a Sony 60" WEGA from 11/2003. I needed to replace the bulb in 4/2005. I can say that there isn't a night where the TV isn't on for 5 hours. On the weekends when we're home, it's on all day. So, I think we got a good amount of use out of it.
Daniel Clausen @ May 5th 2006 12:28PM
I have a Samsung HL-P4663W and on average it is for about 8-10 hours per day. I've had it for about 18 months and still have the original bulb.
Joe Maki @ May 5th 2006 12:38PM
Another good question to ask is, with the number of projection units sold, why are these bulbs so freaking expensive!
James @ May 5th 2006 12:51PM
Bulb life is pretty hard to predict. In my dealings I try to keep up with my customers and find that most go through a bulb in 2.5-3.5. I've had a few under a year, a small percentage in the 1-2 year range, and a some over 4 years.
When that bulb goes, the TV's lamp light on the front just blinks. Also, knowing Murphey's Law, this will happen just before your Super Bowl, Survivor or American Idol finale party.
I don't think it's really a big deal to get the bulbs now that they run around 200-250. Though the LEDs will be a nice selling point, Plasma/LCD flat panel is where things are picking up. If Sony wants to throw LED bulbs into the SXRDs, I don't think I or any of my customers would object.
Michael Koch @ May 5th 2006 12:53PM
I have an RCA 62" DLP for almost three years now, and have yet to replace the bulb. I'm usually good for at least 5-6 hours per weekday, and 8-10 per day on weekends.
Alex @ May 5th 2006 1:01PM
I've had my Toshiba 46hm94 for about a 15 months, and I haven't had to replace the bulb yet. On average, the TV is probably on about 15-20 hours a week.
After reading forums, I've been meaning to buy a spare bulb just in case. It would kill me to have to wait two weeks to be able to play Oblivion on the 360. :)
rothgar @ May 5th 2006 1:24PM
I have a Refurbished Samsung 43" DLP. I bought it in July 05. The second day I had the tv the bulb died. I had it under warentee still so someone came out and replaced the bulb for me. Since then I have not had any problems and I have turned off the "Dynamic" mode.
Mike Curtis @ May 5th 2006 1:24PM
I have a Sony Wega 42" LCD. Two years 4-6 hours per day. No bulb replacement.
Sharp M20X projector >2000 hours. ~6 hours per week. Bulb still going Strong.
Andrew @ May 5th 2006 2:05PM
Samsung DLP, 3 years old, 3059 hours on the original lamp.
Bruzer @ May 5th 2006 2:10PM
I have a Mitz 62725, and just replaced my bulb. I've had it since Oct. 04 (when they first came out). My bulb actually had only 4000 hours (you can figure out from that what aver watch time per day is) on it and it's claimed that it will last 8000. The warning came up though that it should be replaced and since my warrenty I bought will pay for 2 bulb replacements for the set, and I only have until Sept of 07 to use them I figured I might as well replace right away. The mirrors inside needed some cleaning anyway (dust)so it was a good all around clean up.
truman gandolph @ May 5th 2006 4:18PM
A sony 60" LCD replaced bulb after 2 years on all day every day
cckrobinson @ May 5th 2006 5:17PM
Panasonic L300U LCD projector. It's on 2-3 hours per day. So far 1500 hours, and the bulb appears to be getting dimmer. I had to switch from using low to high power mode.
Griffon @ May 5th 2006 5:59PM
This is an older post from my blog, Panny never did reinverse me for my Bulb even after repeated calls faxes and their assurance that they would cut a check...
That is IT. I am going to war on Panasonic.
I bought my Pany LC13 on 04-30-2004. Within 6 months the ballast went out. Naturally my in-laws where visiting at the time, just make my life even more miserable. This rendered the TV out of commission for a month, and it would have been a ?lot? longer if I had not called and made a big fuss with Panasonic. The service department was claiming 3 months to get the replacement part. Magnolia would not step up to the plate and give us a loaner even though this turned out to be relatively well know issue and common failure (yet Panasonic kept shipping?).
OK no more business for Magnolia, apparently they would have done something if I had shelled out an extra five hundred bucks for an extended warranty, what a joke, it was like a $3k TV full retail. This was all a total pain in the ass but I wrote it off as water under the bridge.
05-23-2005. The bulb blows. Just poof, gone. No reason. It had less then 2,400 hours on it. This clearly is a serious failing on the design of all rear projection sets be they DLP, LCOS or whatever. A single major point of failure like this is totally unacceptable in design when it is subject to totally random regular failure. The Bulb is supposed be rated to 10,000 hours, not great but a manageable life. Sure some things might cause that to be a bit lower but anything less then 80% is nuts.
Notice the date, this was almost exactly 13 months after purchase and just outside of the Panasonic warranty window. They warrant the replacement bulbs for 90 days. 90 days on a critical system element that apparently is heavily prone to spontaneous and seemingly regular failure with only a small fraction of it?s rated life spent. A part that is expensive and can be time consuming to get. This is absolutely unconscionable. This also demonstrates that Panasonic knows the bulbs won?t come close to living their rated life.
Magnolia service (*sigh*, the only one?s who had the part or I never would have given them more money), charged me $325.16 for a new bulb, on my just over one year old set.
I was pretty mad but stuff does some times happen. I did some research and apparently this has been sever enough of an issue that some Pany Consumer Affairs anger (Michael Marino Jr.) had made an open statement about what they will do for poor folks like me who apparently are just unlucky (because this is not some huge profit maximizing scheme designed to defraud customers out of money? hmmm 90 day warranty, $325.16 part, hmmm). He stated they will warrant the sets for 18 months and that all new bulbs will have a 18 month warranty. Mine said 90 days on the package and that is what Magnolia stated too. He also said in his open letter that Panasonic would reimburse anyone who had premature failure.
Anyway, so I called and tried to get reimbursed for the bulb. Panasonic was amendable enough on the phone and asked me to fax over my recites and what not. I did so. Nothing, not a word, not a hey we can?t read the fax. Not a we looked this over and just going to say no. Nothing, zip, zero zilch. I have a case number though, so I guess on Monday I will start there. Like I have time to chase people *sigh*
Why make this fuss, because tonight 11-05-2005, less then 6 months after I threw good money after bad, because I was just ?unlucky?, with their bulb, the dam POS blew out, again.
Now I?m going to have to endure god only knows how many days of Kaily crying because she can?t watch Sesame street.
Anger does not begin to describe my state of mind.
Do not buy Panasonic rear projection TV?s. They are rigged to fail regularly and cost you hundreds of dollars out of pocket.
Don?t give companies money that act like this, vote with your dollar or they will not learn. That is what I will be doing from now on. Panasonic is dead to me regardless of how they handle this situation, which given past experience I suspect will be poorly. Another $325.16 out of my pocket? This set is not even two years old and I?m going to be into it for over $650 in repairs? I?m coming for you Panasonic and I?m bringing hell and possible (is that implicitly?) lawyers with me.
These bulbs should be warrantied for their full rated life, nothing less should be considered remotely acceptable on such an expensive TV set. The fact that they claimed to have changed their warranty shows this type of failure is clearly either a design flaw or revenue stream mechanism. This should be addressed through offering customers a full refunds or replacement/upgrades to new sets.
I?ll update on Monday I guess when I have had a chance to grind the bones of the customer service person, naturally they are not open for business on weekends.
Andrew @ May 5th 2006 6:11PM
I have a LG RU-52SZ61D 52" DLP. I got it as the floor display model for the price of the 46" in Nov. 04. It was left on 8-10 hours a day for months in the showroom. I talked him down $300 for "bulb wear-and-tear". Good thing, One year later and the "replace bulb" light came on. They're so darn expensive that I'm waiting for it to burn out before replacing it. I have noticed flickering and reduced light output. I'm at 5 months and counting since the warning light came on, so maybe the circuit was a bit premature. I keep hoping that I can last until the prices of replacement bulbs comes down.
Matt Nicklin @ May 5th 2006 6:42PM
well I have a LCD projector and a DLP projector, the bulbs are rated the same amount of hours(2000 hours) and I have not had to replace either one yet.
JP @ May 5th 2006 6:58PM
I have a Toshiba 52" DLP. I have had it for 15 months and it is on for about 5-6 hours a day. I have yet to see any issues with the bulb and hope I don't any time soon.
Wayne @ May 5th 2006 10:51PM
I read how to view the number of hours you have used your current bulb. I know this works for Samsung televisions.
With the TV off, press Mute-1-8-2-Power. You should now see the access menu. If you go to "OPTIONS", you will see the lamp hours on the bottom right. The first option on the "OPTIONS" menu is to reset the counter for the lamp, which should be done when the lamp is replaced.
I'm actually at 2142 hours, just slightly over the high end of my earlier estimate.
hermes @ May 6th 2006 5:20AM
I haven't needed to replace the bulb yet, knock on wood.
Michael @ May 6th 2006 6:21AM
I have a Samsung 50 for last 4 years. Its running great and I dont have any requirment for changing it. Its picture is still clear.
Steve Smith @ May 6th 2006 7:52AM
After reading about shortened bulb life on Sony Grand Wegas (older model) I purchased a spare buld from SonyStyle.com. I've had the TV for 1.5 years and am ready to change the bulb whenever it dies. TV is on for an hour or two each evening. I expect the bulb to last 3-4 years.
K Nakamura @ May 6th 2006 10:01AM
I bought an inFocus 4805 projector last August (2005), it now has 420 hours on it. So I guess that's a bit more than 1 hour/day on average. The bulb life is 3000 hours, so I'm about 1/7 of the way. At this rate, it'll be 5 years? The bulb is around $300 from InFocus.
That's assuming that 3000 hours is accurate. I tend to only watch a single movie on the projector so it gets a lot more power cycles than one that's used continuously. So I may only get 2000 hours, which means that it'll last another 3 years.
Joe @ May 8th 2006 12:37PM
3500 or so hours over just about 19 months on a Samsung HLP5063. Haven't bought the backup bulb yet, but plan to very soon. Sammy's site says they should be good for 5K to 8K hours.
Unfortunately, my color wheel bearings have been a much bigger point-of-failure than the bulb!
W. Virtue @ May 8th 2006 2:55PM
I bought a sony 42" lcd in dec 04. I watch a lot of tv
and have yet to replace it. Actually the bulb in the ceiling light in my kitchen gets replaced more often but then again it's cheaper.
PeteL @ May 9th 2006 5:04PM
Mitsubishi 52725, purchased in Fall 2004, TV is on at least 6 hours a day, more on the weekends. No issues to date.
Zorro @ May 25th 2006 10:26AM
Sony Wega KDF-50WE655 LCD rear projection bought in Nov 2004, and used 3-5 hours daily. Bulb failed in March 2005 and was replaced under warranty. So far, the replacement bulb is still working
Mark Silberman @ Jun 4th 2006 9:38AM
Why is there not a company out there willing to make LED replacement bulbs for are regular DLP sets so we can be done with this nonsence.
steve @ Jun 14th 2006 8:06PM
Bought mine in Jan '05. TV replaced after one week. Since then no problems. Average 4 hours/day. Great picture!
AP @ May 5th 2007 3:36PM
Panasonic 50" LCD, 6 hrs a day, more on the weekends, still going strong after 2+ years. Although we went ahead and bought a new bulb to have on hand in case the old one went out so we went ahead and replaced it and kept the old one as a spare.