[Cris1]

First time poster, hoping for some help after finding a problem with my projector. I've had a Optoma HD600x since last September (so less than a year), and I use it pretty rarely, maybe 40 hours of use since buying it.

I used it last night through my PS3 for a DVD and some games, and all was well, no problems, and it turned off fine after a total usage of about 4 hours.

Next day (today!) I just turned it on to find the projected image covered with black squares - which I believe are dead pixels? I switched the test pattern on to white and the black squares are all over the image making it took grainy.

Is this a normal thing to happen? I always thought you might get 1 or 2 dead pixels, like with a LCD screen, after a year or so, but not from none to hundreds overnight? I'm a little annoyed that a projector of less than 1 year and minimal use has suffered this - I'm going to phone Optoma tomorrow to see if its covered in their warranty, which as the projector is less than a year old I can't see how they could argue out of it. Does anyone have any advice in addition to this? Would really appreciate any feedback.

[chic]

Originally Posted by Cris1

First time poster, hoping for some help after finding a problem with my projector. I've had a Optoma HD600x since last September (so less than a year), and I use it pretty rarely, maybe 40 hours of use since buying it.

I used it last night through my PS3 for a DVD and some games, and all was well, no problems, and it turned off fine after a total usage of about 4 hours.

Next day (today!) I just turned it on to find the projected image covered with black squares - which I believe are dead pixels? I switched the test pattern on to white and the black squares are all over the image making it took grainy.

Is this a normal thing to happen? I always thought you might get 1 or 2 dead pixels, like with a LCD screen, after a year or so, but not from none to hundreds overnight? I'm a little annoyed that a projector of less than 1 year and minimal use has suffered this - I'm going to phone Optoma tomorrow to see if its covered in their warranty, which as the projector is less than a year old I can't see how they could argue out of it. Does anyone have any advice in addition to this? Would really appreciate any feedback.

is your project a dlp projector, if it is then its not dead pixels, its most likley dust, but i would speak to optoma first. DLP projector are not as prone to dust blobs as lcd, but you can get them.

[Cris1]

Yeah the HD600x is DLP, which made me think that it wasn't dead pixels initially (and even more so now!).

Could dust cause the visible pixels on screen to be shown black though? - the dots on the projected image were square and "pixelly" you see (!). Also, to go from zero black squares to hundreds with no progression visible makes me think its something to do with a image processor malfunction (maybe overheating?). There aren't many posts online complaining about the reliability of the HD600x (quite the opposite) so I'm really intrigued by the problem.

In any case, I'm happy to report that Optoma organised for a courier to pick up my projector this lunchtime, so hopefully they'll return it soon, working!

[pRot3us]

You can test if the problem is dust by adjusting the focus ring (you should be able to bring the blobs into and out of focus).

However they wouldn't be square, it sounds like you may have had some sort of DMD chip failure.

Can you post a picture of this problem?

[Cris1]

Yep, here are is a pic I took - as you can see, the black squares are everywhere, and almost appear to follow horizontal lines or banding? So I did think it was more of a processor/chip issue than anything else.

[pRot3us]

It doesn't look like dust.

It does seem to be an issue with the mirrors on the DMD chip from the looks of it, but I've not seen or heard of anything like this before.

Get in contact with Optoma and they'll arrange to pick it up and get it sorted, their customer service is pretty good from my experience (I had to have the DMD chip replaced on my old HD70 due to dust).

[thebushyone]

Originally Posted by Cris1

First time poster, hoping for some help after finding a problem with my projector. I've had a Optoma HD600x since last September (so less than a year), and I use it pretty rarely, maybe 40 hours of use since buying it.

I used it last night through my PS3 for a DVD and some games, and all was well, no problems, and it turned off fine after a total usage of about 4 hours.

Next day (today!) I just turned it on to find the projected image covered with black squares - which I believe are dead pixels? I switched the test pattern on to white and the black squares are all over the image making it took grainy.

Is this a normal thing to happen? I always thought you might get 1 or 2 dead pixels, like with a LCD screen, after a year or so, but not from none to hundreds overnight? I'm a little annoyed that a projector of less than 1 year and minimal use has suffered this - I'm going to phone Optoma tomorrow to see if its covered in their warranty, which as the projector is less than a year old I can't see how they could argue out of it. Does anyone have any advice in addition to this? Would really appreciate any feedback.

I have got the exact same problem! hundreds of black pixels that appeared overnight that are kind of like lines going across the screen. What did Optoma say?

[Cris1]

Its a bit worrying if other people are getting the same problem... Yep, Optoma were very good, after I contacted them, they organised for a courier to come and collect the projector (it was still in the first year of warranty), and returned the unit, fixed about a week later. I've only used it a few times since then, but all is fine.... for now at least!

[yintong]

I’m a newbie here as well as Cris1 and I also have an Optoma HD600X DLP projector which I am having similar problems with.

It is currently displaying 7 bright white pixels at all times which obviously are most prominent on dark backgrounds and 18+ black pixels on white/light backgrounds.

It seems that every time I have turned the projector on over the past 2 weeks at least 1 new ‘dead’ pixel has appeared.

The projector has been sited in the same static position since I purchased it from Ebuyer.com at the very end of 2010 and has only been used for approximately 500 hours in the time I’ve had it.

I’ve contacted Optoma via their website support form this evening so am now awaiting a response but I just thought I’d see if anyone else had any ideas as to what may be causing this?

I’ll try and post a picture if I can figure out how to do it 

I’d also like to find out if Cris1 had any further issues?

[yintong]

Here is my attempt to upload the pics.

Currently projecting onto a white wardrobe - hence the straight lines running through the image - but the white pixels stand out by a mile!!

The black aren't as prominent but you should be able to see them.

[Cris1]

Oh dear, sorry to see you're having similar problems yintong - although my dead pixels issue went from working fine to looking like a crossword overnight, rather than a handful of pixels at a time, but I hope yours doesn't grow into a major issue. Your hours usage is 500 hours - thats lots more than me but still nothing to heavy so its worrying to see it happening.

I think I only have had 50 hours use out of mine due to the hassle of taking it out and putting away again, and I've only used it twice since it was fixed, so I can't really give a long term report, but it has been fine since then, and the service from Optoma was good. Its hard not to speculate, but since this unit is generally well reviewed, I just wonder if a small batch had a component that wasn't quite up to scratch. Give Optoma a call and they should repair it under warranty.

[betelgeus]

the answer is on this forum somewhere but i dont think its dust.afaik you have half a million mirrors on a chip the size of your thumb nail ,dust dosent get that small,think its something to do the way the light is reflected.