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."

6 to 8 hours?

[Anonymous Coward]

for a family household that averages 6 to 8 hours of TV viewing per day

I think the family needs to get a life. The sooner the lamp goes out on this family's TV, the better.

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.

How much do you love TV?

[Profane MuthaFucka]

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.

Re:That is the same life as the Sharpvision

[NeuroManson]

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

Sounds like you still don't mind the occasional visit, IMO.

Re:broken

[ultranova]

"It appears that no longer carries DLP TVs in its product line."

eh?

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.

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

[CmdrPorno]

I think my parents' DLP has an HDMI input, so you've got PC, satellite, cable, DVD, whatever video games you can connect, oh, and it has a Memory Stick slot, so you can view photos on it too... It's sitting in their basement unused during a long, drawn-out DIY basement refinish, so based on current usage patterns, its lamp lifetime approaches infinity.

Re:46' Samsung DLP

[pestie]

46 feet?? Holy crap! Where'd you even find space to mount it?