Seth G

Do I need to worry about bulbs disappearing?

I am new to front projectors, so I apologize if this question is ignorant. I recently purchased a Sanyo Z1 and hope to use it for years. Do I need to worry about replacement bulbs disappearing from the market? Will there ever be a time where I can no longer find a replacement bulb for it? Are all replacement bulbs essentially the same, or do each model of projector have a specific bulb it uses?

Massimo N

Most projectors have their own proprietary bulb, but most product families will use the same bulb. For example, in the Panasonic Family, AE100, AE200, AE300 and I think the new AE500 all use the same bulb. Most manufacturers will still support the product after long it's been discontinued.

If you haven't checked the prices for replacement bulbs, you may be in for a shock. Depending on the projector, the price ranges quite a bit for the bulbs. I believe the Sanyo is relatively cheap. Also each projector rates their bulb-life in hours to give you an estimate on how frequently to expect a replacement. The life on the bulbs are just estimates, it all depends on the environment and the useage (the off and on cycles cause the most wear).

Most bulb warrenties are only a months (at best) so it may not be wise to stock up on them now ... unless you test it first to see if it fires up.

I haven't had to replace the bulb yet on my projector, the Panasonic AE300 (relatively new only about 500 hours on it), but if the life is to be anywhere near the 4000 claimed hours, I'll probably be in the market for a new projector by then.

Cheers!
Mass

my DVD collection

My HomeTheater

Michael Pineo

My first projector was manufactured in 1997 and is now discontinued. You can still get bulbs for it easily. I imagine this will be the same for other projectors, so I wouldn't worry about that too much. Like Mass said, if you're anything like the rest of us, you'll probably buy a new projector before you need to replace the bulb in your Z1

MikeP