beamer tragedy

A bit more info about our projector issue[s].

I mentioned before that the original (used) bulb finally died after about 5 yrs.

The projector (pj hereafter) was business-style pj that was produced around 2000. I bought it on eBay around 2005-2006 for $300. At the time new pj units were still hovering around $1000. I bought a replacement bulb for $150 at the same time, since bulbs were going for $180-200. That's the bulb I put in.

The bad news: the bulb I just installed died after a couple of months. :-( Either the bulb was damaged or there is a problem with the projector. The cost so far has been about $90/yr for 100" video.

The very cheapest I can find bulbs (actually lamp modules) for it now is about $130, or about $100 if I disassemble the old module and put in a new bulb proper.

The quality of this projector is not HD; it's in the range of what are now called "game" projectors for non-HD game consoles. The native resolution is roughly S-Video although it can scale from component and SVGA inputs. And that's just fine with us. We don't have any HD / Bluray gear to pump into it, anyhow. Well, the MythTV box captures HD but it's in the other room.

New game-quality pj are in the $200 range now, and lamp technology has changed in some cases. Some use LEDs for 20k hours running time, and others use simpler metal halide lamps that cost about $30, and are rated for 6000 hrs. I think we are going the latter route.

Will keep you posted.