Calling all Panasonic PT-AE500 (TH-AE500) Users

[Drew2]

Hi Folks,

Just to let you know that Panasonic are now no longer manufacturing replacement bulbs for this machine! Only 3yrs old and already put on the scrap heap!!

So check out your local retailer for their stock situation hopefully there is a stockpile of them and bulbs will be available for many years to come.

My bulb is nearly unusable in "cinema" mode - constant brightness flickering, still a good picture on full power but fan noise can be annoying in quieter scenes. I run on full power for about an hour then switch back to cinema which sorts out the flicker for a while.

Total Hrs = 3832 On/Off = 1016 '2000Hr' counter = 1658 Used for 22months.

Cost of new bulb 26,775 yen - approx 135 quid = 3.5p an hour!

Will decide to buy some stock when new bulb arrives - want to see the difference in PQ and brightness, if a big leap then will get a few more otherwise will move PJ to bedroom and upgrade to a newer machine sometime next year.