Is my projector toast? (1 Viewer)

[greggor]

Last night I started my home theater system up and when the projector came online the right half of the screen had evenly spaced black lines going from top to bottom. The lines are evenly spaced and looked like the lines you would see on a note pad. They go from the very top of the screen to the bottom and can even be seen in the black bars while watching a movie. I tried everything to see if I could get them to go away with no luck. The Epson 5030 is 8 years old and I am 2600 hours into my second lamp which was purchased last year directly through Epson. HDMI cable is verified good and I am out of ideas. Does anyone have any advice or similar experience with this projector?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

It’s probably on its way out, unfortunately.

You could try using a different HDMI cable directly to an input device to rule out any issues with the receiver and/or cable. There’s a chance that what you’re describing could be an HDMI handshake issue, though I’d tend to rule that out if you’ve tried connecting and disconnected and still experiencing the same.

If you try that and are still seeing what you’re describing, something in the projector is failing. The 5030 is a fantastic machine but if you bought it eight years ago, and this isn’t a criticism or anything, but eight years ago that still wasn’t Epson’s newest model in that line, so you’re talking about a machine that’s probably a decade or more old, even if it was new in box when you got it. It could just be it’s time.

2600 hours is sort of a little past midway on lamp life expectancy on that model. It could be the lamp failing but I’m hesitant to suggest spending $300 on a new lamp to rule that out.

It could also indicate that some of the internal wiring of the projector has gotten loose and that the tiny little pins that connect the ribbons to the LCD chips could have gotten loose. Or it could be the whole LCD board going.

I had a 5030 that went bad last year after nine years of service. For me, the symptom was a large, thick blue vertical line running down the entire frame. It was initially intermittent but within a week or so was there permanently. I looked at the likely cause of failure and likely cost of repair and unfortunately it just didn’t pay.

However, if you have an Epson authorized service provider that you could take it to, particularly if it’s one that offers either a free or low cost estimate, it might be worth bringing it in just to confirm that it’s not a simple thing that they could fix for cheap.

 

[John Dirk]

I would remove, inspect and then reinstall the lamp. You should also take the opportunity to do some cleaning in the space, perhaps with compressed air. The fact that [presumably] the left side of the screen appears normal suggests the anomaly is occurring after the 3 primary colors have been recombined for final presentation to the screen. Finally, it might be informative to use the projectors image flipping [for ceiling vs shelf mount scenarios] feature and see whether or not the pattern reverses itself as you'd expect.

 

[DaveF]

Sounds like the LCD electronics are dying. You're describing a geometric pattern of rows of pixels being out (on stuck on). That doens't sound like a lamp issue or dirty optics.

Maybe a thorough cleaning could cause it to self fix. If something is overheating from 8 years of dust accumulation, cleaning that out might resolve it? I doubt it, but maybe you want to give that a go.

If you're otherwise replacing it, cracking the case is a no risk proposition at this point.


But I think it's time for a new projector.

 

[greggor]

The quick responses and insight are very much appreciated. I agree that the projector is likely on its way out but will try some of your suggestions. I'll flip the image to see if it transfers to the other side of the screen, and although my viewing area is kept extremely clean and dust free it wouldn't hurt to dismount the projector from the ceiling and ensure it's not full of dust. I should also rule out my receiver which is also near due for an upgrade (Pioneer SC67).

I'll be sad to see this projector go, but I have also been thinking about upgrading for the past 2 years or so to a newer model. If any of you have suggestions in the sub $2500.00 price range it would be appreciated. I'm wondering if I should avoid another Epson, however the 5050 looks pretty amazing.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I got the 5050 as my replacement for the 5030 (the 5050 drops down to $2400 periodically and that’s when I pulled the trigger on it), and I was really surprised at what a big upgrade it was. I expected it to be more or less the same but it’s crisper, brighter, sharper, more colorful and better than I had expected. By all means do your due diligence and see what your options are but if you liked the 5030, the 5050 is well worth considering.

 

[greggor]

I got the 5050 as my replacement for the 5030 (the 5050 drops down to $2400 periodically and that’s when I pulled the trigger on it), and I was really surprised at what a big upgrade it was. I expected it to be more or less the same but it’s crisper, brighter, sharper, more colorful and better than I had expected. By all means do your due diligence and see what your options are but if you liked the 5030, the 5050 is well worth considering.

There would be some advantages to sticking with an Epson. I probably wouldn't even need to update my Harmony Elite. I tend to take a long time to make decisions on electronics so I'll do as much research as I can but it helps to know that you have noticed a significance between the 5030 and 5050. I'm going to take a trip to Best Buy this week to see if I can demo some projectors in my price range. Best Buy will also price match Amazon as I discovered when I was purchasing my LG C3.

One of my pet peeves with the 5030 was how slow it was switching between inputs. The display would always lag behind the audio by several seconds. Is the 5050 quicker?

 

[Mark-P]

One of my pet peeves with the 5030 was how slow it was switching between inputs. The display would always lag behind the audio by several seconds. Is the 5050 quicker?

I think you are talking about when the picture is syncing up to a different frame rate. Even my Epson LS12000 takes time to sync the picture when switching from 60Hz to 24fps. I always hit the pause button until the projector syncs to the new frame rate and then off we go.

 

[John Dirk]

There would be some advantages to sticking with an Epson. I probably wouldn't even need to update my Harmony Elite. I tend to take a long time to make decisions on electronics so I'll do as much research as I can but it helps to know that you have noticed a significance between the 5030 and 5050.

I agree. I owned the 6050 (prosumer version of 5050) up until about 18 months ago and it performed flawlessly. I only upgraded because I wanted better HDR performance and a laser light engine. I would have gladly gone with the LS12000 but, sadly, Epson dropped 3D support with that model. If you're open to used options, I ended up selling my 6050 well within your price range and you could probably do even better now.

I know it's hard to say goodbye to a longtime and central part of your HT but, if it does come to that, this is a great time to buy a new [or gently used] projector.

 

[DaveF]

If you can find a new Epson 5050 or 6050 in your target $2500 price range, I’d do that. I haven’t kept up with Epson pricing outside the LS12000.

If the 5050 / 6050 aren’t in that range, I suggest look at the used market for an NX7. You might find one in that price range.

 

[greggor]

Thanks everyone. I will hopefully be making my decision by the end of the week. Being without a working home theater room is already wearing on me. The price of the 5050 seems to be right around $2,499.00 and the 6050 is just too much to justify the additional cost. I found the 11000 for $2999.00 but it's a refurbished unit and it's hard for me to justify spending that much on a projector. I am really not interested in purchasing a used or refurbished projector. I was really happy with my 5030 and after checking the purchase date it looks like I actually got closer to 9 years out of it. I think that is reasonable considering how much enjoyment it provided. I was always impressed by the picture quality of the 5030 so if the 5050 is noticeably better than I know I'll be thrilled to own it.

 

[greggor]

I think you are talking about when the picture is syncing up to a different frame rate. Even my Epson LS12000 takes time to sync the picture when switching from 60Hz to 24fps. I always hit the pause button until the projector syncs to the new frame rate and then off we go.

That's exactly what I do. I hit the pause button until the image is displayed. It makes sense that the delay is caused by the projector syncing to the new frame rate but I would expect that this would happen quicker as projectors improve?

 

[greggor]

Do any of you know if the Epson 3D glasses that I purchased for use with my 5030 will work with the 5050?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Do any of you know if the Epson 3D glasses that I purchased for use with my 5030 will work with the 5050?

Absolutely, both projectors use the same model of glasses. You’ll just have to press the little button on them to sync them to the new machine.

 

[greggor]

Absolutely, both projectors use the same model of glasses. You’ll just have to press the little button on them to sync them to the new machine.

 

[greggor]

I think that' another good reason to stick with an Epson.....

 

[Josh Steinberg]

It’s entirely possible that things in the home projection market have changed since I last did my research but a year ago when I was shopping to replace my 5030, everything I looked at suggested that for me, the 5050 was going to tick off all the boxes that had satisfied me with the 5030, give a decent performance bump, and allow me to continue using the collection of 3D glasses I already had.

I genuinely believe that at the $2500 price point, the Epson 5050 is the best option, especially if you enjoy 3D. Brands/models below that price point are still very good machines but aren’t as good as the Epson. To get better than that, you have to start looking at $3000-4000 for a budget, but those higher priced machines from other brands don’t all offer 3D and while they might beat the Epson in certain regards, don’t all offer the best all around experience that the Epson can offer.

Ultimately we’ve all got different priorities for what we look for in our home theater and then budget realities we have to balance that against, so there are a lot of options out there and it’s hard to definitively say “this is the one and only thing you should get” - there are a lot of good choices. But if your gut is telling you the Epson 5050 feels like the right fit, I can at least offer my experience that for me, it was too.

 

[greggor]

Well it has been confirmed. My projector is indeed toast. Having tried the above recommendations including connecting a known good LCD display to the HDMI cable running directly to the projector from my HT receiver it has been confirmed. I'll admit that I am excited to upgrade to a new 4k capable model but not so excited to part ways with the money. Again, I appreciate all the suggestions and comments.

Cheers,
Greg

Edit: I just ordered the 5050 from Best buy and it will arrive on Saturday. Best Buy had it listed for $2999.00, however they did price match Amazon which saved me $500.00. I'm excited for it to arrive so I can get it installed. If anyone has settings suggestions I would appreciate it. My room is pitch dark while watching movies, but we do occasionally have some lights dimmed when we have guests as my home theater room also functions as a a bar and entertainment space.

 

[greggor]

Okay gents. My new projector is installed but with issues. I can watch Directv however, my Sony X700 DVD player isn't working well with the new projector. I believe the issue is with the 4K pass through on my Pioneer SC 67 (HDMI 1.4). The DVD player has two HDMI outputs on the back and you can go through the settings menu to select which HDMI outputs the audio. With the 5030 I was running an HDMI cable directly to the projector and the audio output from the DVD player to the DVD HDMI input on the back of the pioneer. Simply setting the audio to HDMI 1 on the back of the DVD player and relying on the receiver HDMI out to the projector would not produce audio. With the two HDMI cables being utilized with my 5030 I was able to watch and hear everything I played. For some reason using this same configuration with the new 5050 isn't working.

With the 5050 using both HDMI cables I get audio but no video,(utilizing the separate HDMI outputs on the back of the DVD player), I have tried multiple HDMI cables with no success. I have also attempted just going from the DVD player to the HDMI input on the back of the pioneer and utilizing the HDMI out on my receiver. In this configuration I get video but no audio.... What is strange is that I can watch a standard definition DVD and I'll get both audio and video when connected the same way I had my 5030 connected, again utilizing both HDMI outputs on the back of the DVD player. I really hope there is a work around for this as the wife approval factor on upgrading my HT receiver after purchasing the new projector is at an all time low. I'm hoping one of the experts here can offer some suggestions or insight as to why everything worked with my 5030 but won't work with the 5050.

My apologies if this post is confusing.

EDIT: Just to ensure all my cables and connections are in working order I connected a Bluray player with a single HDMI output to the back of the receiver and audio and video work great. This is definitely some sort of "handshake" issue with the X700 4K DVD player, projector and the receiver.

 

[greggor]

Anyone?

I Brought my 4k HDR Samsung display upstairs and connected it using the same wiring that's already in place in the exact same configuration as I had the DVD player connected to the projector and everything works flawlessly. I can't figure out why I'm not getting image and audio at the same time on the 5050 projector so I'm returning it. This is extremely frustrating.