Cheap Projector Bulbs - Cheap Bulb, Dead Projector?
If you have a projector for your home theater, one day the bulb will go out. It doesn't mean your projector is a piece of crap (although there have been cases where a firmware problem has caused premature bulb failure), it is just the nature of the beast. Typically projector bulbs last from 2,000 to 4,000 hours.
The thing many people forget about when they buy their projectors is that a replacement bulb is no cheap fix. Projector bulbs cost an average of $300 - $500. If you factor that price along with their propensity to fail the day of your Superbowl party or monthly movie night extravaganza, you can see how many people get a bit up in arms over the whole thing.
It's human nature to try and get the best deal for everything, but shopping for projector bulbs based purely on price can be big no-no. Many of the inexpensive bulbs are cheap, Chinese imports , or only include the bulb, not the entire assembly you need to make an easy replacement.
To make matters worse, trying to save money by sourcing a cheap bulb often results in not only premature bulb failure, but very often damage to your projector. If that happens, the only cure is a trip to the factory for repair often lasting 2 - 6 weeks, and involving considerable expense.
Yes, the correct, factory replace projector lamp assembly can be expensive, but in most cases, it is money well spent. Even if you only spent $1,000 for your projector, and it is tough to spend 40% of that for a new lamp, bite the bullet and do it or you could easily buy buying more than just a new bulb.It's not crying wolf, projector manufacturers are reporting a near epidemic of service issues related to consumers trying to go the cheap bulb replacement route. Once again, think twice, or it could be your projector's warranty that goes out next time.
