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Bulb Life: Service/ Warranty/ Replacement/ Experiences (Not Tosh. DLP)

83K views 170 replies 83 participants last post by  gzink 
#1 ·
If you are the owner of a Panasonic LCD tv that uses a ty-la1000 or similar lamp that has blown. Please sign our petition!!

http://www.petitiononline.com/panbulb/petition.html

Panasonic claims the lamp life is approx. 10,000 hours and we are finding they only last about 1500-2000 hours and cost approx $300 to replace!!
 
#132 ·
I knew it. Bulb went out last night. 18 months was all we got out of this one. I called Panasonic Canada and explained how I've gone through 2 bulbs now, far prematurely of the suggested 10,000 hours. I only got 7,000 hours out of the 2. She asked what model the TV was and immediately offered to courier a new bulb to me free of charge. They must know there's a lot of upset customers with these sets. I'm still thinking of putting this set in the bedroom where the bulb should last 4 or 5 years rather than 1.5. Hopefully the bulb will be here tomorrow!
 
#133 ·
The lamp on my JVC 52z575 has been replaced 3 times.

6 month life span !!

Oh I and the wife heeded warnings about turn on & off and I even went and bought a good quality pure sine wave output UPS to protect that much more.(with better picture quality as a bonus. :D )

On the 3rd occasion, the JVC service guy knew that it was big trouble and had the tech replace the ballast as well a bulb from a new supplier.

It has been OK for almost a year now.
 
#134 ·
Bulb prices aren't really likely to go down in the near future, right? Here's why I'm asking . . .

When I bought my 50A2000 two months ago, I registered it on Sony's website. A day or two ago, I got an e-mail from them saying that I have thirty days left to use my 15% off any accessories coupon. (News to me that I even had that coupon!) I figured the best accessory to get would be a replacement bulb. But it might be years before my current bulb goes out; anyone think it's worth it to buy the bulb now? Is it likely that it might go down in price somewhere down the road? (It's at $300 right now.)

cheers,
supervij
 
#135 ·
Bulb prices aren't really likely to go down in the near future, right?
It's always a gamble to buy something that you don't need now, when the price may go down in the future.

However, you should ask yourself: How long do I want to wait to have my TV working again if the bulb were to blow suddenly? How much premium might I have to pay to get a new bulb quickly (e.g. express shipping costs or inflated pricing from a local source)?

It's nice to have a spare bulb on hand to minimise your TV's down time in the event of a bulb failure.
 
#136 ·
I'm not sure about Sony, but you may want to consider the warranty aspect too. If it comes with a 1 year warranty and it sits in your cupbord for a year then blows prematurely 1 month after putting it in, you'd be out of luck. Just another thought.
 
#137 ·
Oh yeah, the warranty! Sigh. That makes things a little bit dicey. But I wonder if the previous point about simply having the bulb handy would make up for that. I don't suppose the warranty would cover the bulb from the day it's installed into the HDTV, would it? Nah, that's expecting too much.

Thanks for your opinions, guys.

cheers,
supervij
 
#138 ·
supervij,
How much longer does the warranty on your current bulb run for? If it's not too long, then buy a new bulb and put it in right away, so it is used and protected during its warranty period. Keep the old working bulb as the spare.

Repeat this process as each bulb blows.
 
#139 ·
Interesting idea. I just might do that when this buld is out of warranty. Actually my new bulb doesn't have any warranty as it was replaced free of charge by Panasonic. Hmmm, got me thinking. Thanks for the idea scotta.
 
#140 ·
That does sound interesting. To tell the truth, I don't even know if the bulb that came in the 50A2000 is covered under the Sony standard one-year warranty I got with the set. I'll try to contact them to find out. Thanks for the suggestion, scotta.

cheers,
supervij
 
#141 ·
In case anyone's interested, I just spoke with someone from SonyStyle. He said that if anything happens to the bulb (the bulb that came inside the TV when it was purchased) within the first two years of ownership, Sony will replace it free of charge. Apparently, there was an issue where some sets had defective bulbs in them to begin with, so Sony considers it an act of goodwill to replace any blown bulbs within the first two years. That is pretty sweet.

But that still makes me wonder if I should buy a replacement bulb anyway. Fifteen percent off is still pretty shiny.

cheers,
supervij
 
#142 ·
LG bulb & purple band

I posted a similar message onto an ancient LG RPTV thread only to realize it is in the wrong forum. Here I go again.

I own an LG RU-44SZ80L LCD RPTV. It has about 4400 hours on the bulb.
Just noticed there is a purple band running horizontally across the bottom of the screen, about 2.5" thick.

A local repair center said it is likely the engine and would cost over $1000 to repair. If it's that expensive, I will try to live with the problem until I replace the TV. Hope the purple band doesn't expand too quickly.

Has anyone had a similar experience? How did you fix it?

Also, wondering how you go about changing the bulb. After removing the dust filter, I cannot access the fan. The bulb must be behind there. Do I have to remove the whole back of the TV?

One last question, any good sources for a cheaper bulb?

Thanks
 
#144 ·
Replaced my bulb (HLP5663W) - Wow !

Just replaced my bulb on my Samsung HLP 5663W and what a difference. Old bulb had over 6600 hours and while still working, noticed lately that images were getting dimmer, Will keep this as an emergency backup. Bulb replacement was a breeze. Can't believe the difference in the image now, and actually had to reduce the brightness and contrast setting. Picture is like the day I brought it home. over 3 years ago. Even the wife noticed !
 
#148 ·
OK...So Sony is no longer making rear projection TVs. Does this mean they are no longer making replacement bulbs for them as well? How long are they required to make them available? 5 yrs? 10 yrs?... What happens when the original bulb burns out... Will I be able to get one then?... Or will we all be SOL...???
 
#149 ·
I'm impressed . ..

I had to change my color wheel the other day (it was making an awful whine for the last few months) on my Samsung HLN4365. It was a bit of a task but it worked out well. While I was at it I thought I'd change my bulb, too, even though the original one was still plugging along nicely.

After it was all done I decided to reset my bulb life counter. I was pleasantly suprised to find my bulb had 12,228 hours on it! Not too shabby at all :)
 
#150 ·
well my lamp in my 07 jvc hd-ila finally gave on the weekend, ( at least that's what I"ve read is the problem), picture kept getting darker and darker over the last couple months, I have a leon's 4yr warranty which is supposed to cover it, I have no idea what the hr's were on the tv and it was a floor model so it could have been running anywhere from 100-2000hr's before I bought it.

I've been thinking about getting a replacement bulb to keep on hand since i'll have to wait for a service tech to replace it,

Anyone hear of this place "discount-merchant.com" ? They sell my bulb for roughly $200 with shipping inc. etc.
 
#151 ·
If you're leary of some of the online retailers, TipTop Electronics in Winnipeg sells DLP bulbs (bare bulbs only) fairly cheaply. Plus this is a real, reputable, bricks and mortar business to deal with.

A quick google will turn them up, and DLP lamp search is listed at the top. I think they sell all of them for about two hundred clams, but if "Know someone in the business" they can probably get a cut off of list price.
 
#152 ·
Changed 1st bulb on Jvc 70FH96 after 46 months was going dim

Could not take it anymore I noticed that the tv was not as bright as before and decided to repalce the bulb with the new backup I had after 46 months.

With the new bulb and ISF calibrated my contrast setting was using -25. since the past year I had to increase it to -20 and then 0.

Found on HD channels the tv was not looking at good as before, after I changed th ebulb wow now I remember why I bought this tv. :)

The image is now bright and colors vibrant as ever.

Redid a quick tv adjustment using dve for color and contrast setting.

Not sure but went into the service manuy and pulled up a first 05 and reading on the net they say multiply the other number by 256 to get hours and add the other digits?

got 5125 hours but the funny thing the example they used on the net I had the same exact numbers. I did a rest and the hex numbers did go back to 0.

I have the tv plugged into a ups and has stressed from day one to the family do not turn on the tv and turn it off. Leave it on if you are not going to watch it for 15 to 20mins etc.
 
#153 ·
My Sony SXRD bulb finally blew. Stupid Sony said it was good for 8000 hours. Only got 7943 on mine! :p

I run mine on a UPS as well. If I need to move the TV out, I make sure to power it down and wait for the fan to stop before moving the unit.

I did notice that my buddies new 72" DLP was AMAZING for picture. And then I bought a new 55" LCD HD for downstairs, and both of those TV's put my Sony to shame. Swapped the bulb, and WOW! BRAND NEW TV! I had to turn the brightness down as it was blinding me with the lights off, and the color depth is pretty amazing now. You just don't notice how much your PQ fails over time as the bulb wears out.

My buddy has the same TV and swapped his bulb at 3500 hours, and he didn't notice any difference. So not sure where the breaking point of where the PQ is failing due to the bulb (obviously greater than 3500 hours), but if I knew that was the deal, I'd have swapped mine out eons ago....
 
#155 ·
I replaced bulb in tv 3 months ago. Great picture until recently when a blue shadow has shown up on left side of screen. It extends from top to bottom, about 1/2 inch wide. Anyone seen this before?
Thanks
How old is your TV? This happened on my 6 year old Sony and the optical block was going, so I bought a new TV.

The bulb on this TV lasted 5 years (approx 10,000 hours)
 
#156 ·
replacement bulb

Some of you reported color problem after replacing lamp. Are these clone lamps or oem stuff??

I search web and seems more people are suggesting Philips lamp is better. Anyone has one of these lamp for JVC RPTV?? and the life is ??

I found a supplier that sells bare Philips lamp P21 (PH669) for JVC RPTV. They are located in Surrey, BC with free shipping within Canada. Anyone has experience with them?
 
#157 ·
bought the bulb from BC

Got the Philips bulb from KP Component. Very good.

However, TV stop working even with I put in my new spare lamp. I think my ballast has blown. ballast is the later version QAL0568-002.. Anyone know how to check whether it is the ballast or the main power board??
 
#158 ·
DLP Bulb Replacement

I own a Samsung HLP 5685 DLP. My Bulb just went the other day. No warning, just went after 6 years 3 months. Ordered a replacement with overnight delivery. WoW!!!! What a difference in the picture. It is definitley 2 different worlds. The colour, brightness etc. is just amazing. It's funny how you don't notice the degredation of the bulb over time. I hope the lamp lasts as long as the first one. It uses a Philips 120w bulb.
 
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