Will projector lamps last longer in "low" modes? (1 Viewer)

[David Ruiz]

This question is particularly aimed for information on the Z4 lamp, since that's the projector that I have, but really, any information on lamp life will be welcomed.

I read that the Z4 lamp will last 2,000 hours, which I assumed would be in the full-power mode. Right now, I have it set to "half-lamp" (only using half-power). Does that mean that instead of lasting 2,000 hours, the lamp will now last 4,000 hours?

Does anyone know? Have any of your lamps, from any of your projectors, lasted twice the length they were supposed to, because you set them to "low" power modes?

 

[Jason J G]

No, it doesn't work like that. Sorry.

 

[Leo Kerr]

Generally, yes, in lower power modes, all else being equal, the lamp will last longer than in higher power modes.

In my Panny, it's a nominal 2k hour lamp. In low power, it's rated for 3000 hours. (Actually, I'm pushing 3500 now; I really need to change it soon.. or at least have a spare on-hand.)

As I keep telling people, though, it's not just the run-time, but the "number of starts" you put on the lamp. (Starting the lamp is one of the worst things you can do to it.)

As to how much longer it'll actually last, it also depends upon how different the low-mode is from the high-mode. For a set of lamps we had at work, here was the sort of chart:

12k-lumen - 300-400 hours
10k-lumen - 1000 hours
8k-lumen - 1200 hours

Not what you'd call a linear chart, there...

Leo Kerr

 

[David Ruiz]

3500 hours on a lamp that was only supposed to last 2000 hours. Wow. I guess I'll just stick to the "half" lamp mode that I'm currently using. The picture looks fantastic as is. Of course, it does look even better at full power (way brighter and more colorful) but if I can get an extra 2,000 hours out of the lamp by using "half" lamp mode, then I should do that because everyone (all of my family members) uses my Z4 for TV watching and it's on almost all day and night.

I just got it about two weeks ago and already it's up to 80 hours.


Well since your lamp has lasted you a really long time, how many times (per day) do you start your projector? Right now, I power mine on about 3 times per day with a 2 hour rest in between each start, meaning that after I watch a movie, I will turn it off and won't turn it on for at least 2 full hours. I try to keep all my viewing for one sitdown at a time, that way I don't have to start and stop it all the time, but I'm finding it difficult to do that, as I have stuff to do and know that I will be gone for 2 hours or more, so I just turn it off and turn it back on when I get back, plus my family also uses it as well.

 

[Jason J G]

Consider that lucky.

Half power will not normally equal double the life span, although you may get more hours. Being that said, your degradation of the quality of light produced over a span over 3500 hours, would be almost un-noticed over that time, the picure quality must severly suffer especially at low power.

I won't wait until a lamp burns out to replace it, I'll bury it before it dies, If it's rated at 2000 hours, test it. The 2000 hours is a "guideline" not a guarantee. If you check it at 0 hours, then 1000 hours, then at 2000 hours, you will see a loss in the output of the bulb. Why wait untill 3500 hours?

 

[David Ruiz]

Because not everyone has the money to be buying lamps constantly. Ive talked about before how my family is using my projector constantly and thus, lamp hours will accumulate very, very quickly. I suspect that if the lamp does make it to 2,000 hours, I may have to replace it once every 6 months, or $700-800 a year on lamps. See? In my case, if I could wait until 3500-4000 hours before replacing a lamp, I definitely would, because it would mean having to spend much, much less on lamps over the years.

 

[Leo Kerr]

I have been lucky. The picture brightness has been falling off, of course, and it is taking longer to get up to brightness, though the color is still good. The light level is starting to flicker more, so it's going to be replaced soon - just as soon as I decide if it's worth ~$500 for a lamp or ~$1200 for an upgraded projector (PT-AE900.)

Typically, I do one "start" per day; our use is generally one movie per night, 4-6 movies a week. That's average, and it's only used for movies.

UNofficially, my lamp in econo-mode is supposed to be rated for approximately 3000 hours; your milage may vary.

Also, your situation may change: people may get over the novelty of watching the news or weather channel on the big screen. Then again, they might not.

Is the Z4 DLP or LCD?

Leo

 

[Holadem]

I fire up the PJ on average 3 nights a week. This of course varies wildly with my mood, there were times in the summer when I went for weeks without touching it, whereas right now I am in the middle of a heavy film rotation and it's on pretty much every single night.

I estimate perhaps 15% the lamp life has been consumed during the instances where I passed out on the couch and left the projector running for most of the night, sometimes till morning .

--
H

 

[David Ruiz]

Tell me about it! Just the other night, I was watching a terrible movie on the projector and I fell asleep with the projector running. Of course, I had no idea that the movie was going to be terrible. I saw it at the video store, thought it would be a good movie and obviously was wrong since it put me to sleep. I wish that the projector had some sort of "sleep" mode, like my TV does. ALWAYS when I watch a movie on my HDTV, I put the sleep timer on 90 minutes, that way if I fall asleep by accident, the TV will turn off and I won't get burn-in (I have a CRT display), but the projector doesn't have that option and it just keeps running non-stop, wasting lamp hours. :frowning:

I'm at 90 hours already and I've barely even had it for 2 weeks.

 

[Parker Clack]

Leo:

Get the new Pani AX100. With all of its new features over the AE900 it is the one I would be picking up if I had the room to put it in.