LCD Panel problem - shock!

[Drew2]

Hi All,

My PJ has been away for a service/repair and today we got back the prognosis!

The engineer confirmed that all 3 LCD panels were damaged as they had exceeded 4000hrs of use!
So if you take into account that the bulb should last 5000hrs in eco mode, that means you never need to buy another one - just bin your PJ instead!!

We asked if this was a common issue - and it is exactly what the manufacturer predicted as a natural lifespan for the panels. So we then asked about the new D5 panels and they confirmed that these also will show signs of damage/deterioration at this amount of hours.

Cost of repair is 68,000 yen (350GBP), but they have agreed to give us the panels for free and charge us only for labour and service which amounts to 13,000 yen (68GBP)...

So for the first time a very big " Thank You Panasonic ", but still feel gutted due to the fact that the PJ is only 26months old.

The dilemma is whether DLP chips suffer from the same effects from high usage! Does anybody know?

As yet no LCD PJ should be used to substitute a TV - but it's what I want to do, how do you go back from a 100" screen! The first reasonable sized TV which I find acceptable is a 65V and they ain't cheap!!

this just goes to prove that panasonic isn't all that bad in it's service what seems to be the general feeling around here. hope that in 4000hrs they will give me new panels as well

[fallwood]

Well Ive asked panasonic this question several times and never managed to get a definate answer about the longevity of the lcd panels. Seems to me that theres a bit of misrepresentation going on here, to quote that the bulb will last 5000 hrs and the fact that you can buy replacements would suggest that the pj is good for at least 10,000 hrs.

Why do sanyo supply the Z4 with a free spare bulb, either they are expecting the 1st bulb to blow well before its estimated lifespan or they just do it to make the customer think they are getting a good deal. Very bad news for heavy users but at least we are now getting some actual facts on how long these pj's are gonna last. I think its about time that info such as this was made available to the consumer before purchasing , had I known this 4 years ago It would have definately affected my decision to use a pj as my main display.

Ive been contemplating buying a 42" SD plasma (toshiba £799) for general viewing and this info may just give me that last little push I needed. Just dont know if ill be able to handle watching anything on less than a 5.5ft screen.

Anyone out there qualified to confirm these findings on lcd lifespan.

[artois]

This is really worrying as I have just placed an order for the ae900.

I didnt expect to hear anything like this as I expected that the bulb was the only thing which would cause an issue other than dead pixels.

This site metions lcd panel displays and again the only mention is that of the bulb. Seemingly sharp are the only manucfacturers at the moment that make panels which allow the bulbs to be changed. Shouldnt the same go for the projectors as far as this being the only issue?

http://www.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/lcdt...lifetime.shtml

I will be using mine for xbox360 and movies so expect to be putting in at least a couple of hours a night and maybe upto 6 hours on rainy weekends. No tv whatsoever but thats still a fair amount of usage.

Theres no way I am gonna spend £1300 if its gonna be knackered after a year or two use.

What do you reckon. Should I forget the whole idea?

I was buying this as a treat as its alot of money but I expect it to last at least 3 years.

[fallwood]

Originally Posted by artois

This is really worrying as I have just placed an order for the ae900.

I didnt expect to hear anything like this as I expected that the bulb was the only thing which would cause an issue other than dead pixels.

This site metions lcd panel displays and again the only mention is that of the bulb. Seemingly sharp are the only manucfacturers at the moment that make panels which allow the bulbs to be changed. Shouldnt the same go for the projectors as far as this being the only issue?

http://www.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/lcdt...lifetime.shtml

I will be using mine for xbox360 and movies so expect to be putting in at least a couple of hours a night and maybe upto 6 hours on rainy weekends. No tv whatsoever but thats still a fair amount of usage.

Theres no way I am gonna spend £1300 if its gonna be knackered after a year or two use.

What do you reckon. Should I forget the whole idea?

I was buying this as a treat as its alot of money but I expect it to last at least 3 years.

As a heavy user I've found myself buying a new pj every year as after a year its been knackered, always managed to get them repaired under warranty before selling them but its a pit poor for a product to have such a short lifespan . I would suggest that you try to keep useage to a minumum (defeats the point of having one IMO) so as to prolong its life.

[artois]

That sux beyond beleif. One year usagge. If I was made of money it wouldnt be an issue but I really cant afford a large treat like that every 12 months. Its a lot of money to me so I may have to reconsider. I do have a 3 year warranty though. Will that be covered?

[fallwood]

Originally Posted by artois

That sux beyond beleif. One year usagge. If I was made of money it wouldnt be an issue but I really cant afford a large treat like that every 12 months. Its a lot of money to me so I may have to reconsider. I do have a 3 year warranty though. Will that be covered?

I would check the conditions of the warranty .As I've just found out the sanyo 3 yrs warranty only covers the pj for up to 3000hrs which to me says that they dont expect the pj to last much longer than 3000hrs.

[PJTX100]

Originally Posted by fallwood

Ive been contemplating buying a 42" SD plasma (toshiba £799) for general viewing and this info may just give me that last little push I needed.

To be honest, that makes sense.

I have no doubt that after multiple thousands of hours use (presuming I've still got it ) my PJ won't look as good as the day I switched it on. The only question is how much it will have deteriorated.

For heavy use I'm still not convinced that a PJ is ideal. That said, the way manufacturers are trying to confuse and wangle their way out of their responsibilities still sucks.

[DEANO-B]

With a third of PJ owners using their PJs for over 1000 hours a year this is a major blow to us, the consumer, and the PJ manufacturers. Let me put this a simple as possible - There is NO way of thinking that your PJ should not be used instead of a TV, they (the manufacturers) at no point anywhere state that their PJs have limited usage, and the simple fact is that people are obviously going to use their PJs to watch sports and big budget TV productions as well as playing games and watching DVDs!! The PJ companies sell replacement lamps with the lifespan of a lamp being as much as 5000 hours, and to think your panels are not going to last as long as the lamp is a major mistake by the PJ manufacturers. They have dug themselves a legal hole they cannot get out of and I can imagine that very soon a little asterix (*) will be above every PJ having an extended warranty. Right I'm off to check my extended warranty conditions, at £60 for an extra year it could be the best £60 I've spent

[cyberheater]

I have to agree here. When you see brochures for projectors. You don't see a normal tv being covered up by a pull down screen. You usually see a young afluent couple watching a fixed screen with no other tv in the room.
The implication is clear. These are being marketed as direct replacements for TV's.

Now. If your that worried about the lifespan of LCD then go DLP. They seem to last forever.

[Drew2]

I always thought that the " up to 5000hrs" lamp life was an indication to use the PJ for everyday use. To find out that they really mean Home Theater use is shocking!!

They then presume that you will only use it for a Saturday night blockbuster rental DVD for up to 3hrs making it last you for ever - the replacement bulb is for "old age" rather than heavy use...

Giving you a freebie with purchase is covering themselves for the likely event it goes 'pop' if you clock up quick hours in a short time.

Also interesting to hear that Sanyo have put a limit of 3000hrs on their warranty, just helps to 'highlight' the panels longevity problem!

Cyberheater - Panasonic demo their PJ by covering up one of their TVs with an electric screen - "the penny has dropped!"

[fallwood]

Originally Posted by PJTX100

To be honest, that makes sense.

I have no doubt that after multiple thousands of hours use (presuming I've still got it ) my PJ won't look as good as the day I switched it on. The only question is how much it will have deteriorated.

For heavy use I'm still not convinced that a PJ is ideal. That said, the way manufacturers are trying to confuse and wangle their way out of their responsibilities still sucks.

Considering the panasonic (arggghhhh) TH42PWD7 as its gonig quite cheap at the moment £899 and it will only be used for sky and general background tv (no hidef or dvd). Anyone have any opinions on this set, I'd ask in the plasma forum but you guys will have a better idea of what I'm trying to acomplish.

[Joe Fernand]

Hello all

Panasonic have now moved all of its Installation (read High Usage) Projectors away from LCD and over to DLP.

Panasonic predict the Installation range will only require an actual 'Service' every 40,000 hours and every new lamp (2-4,000 hours depending on the model) will bring the projector back to full factory spec.

LCD panels do deteriorate and even in a clean air environment 'Installed' (high usage) LCD will only last about 3 lamp changes before the panels have discoloured so much that the image is all but un-useable.

Best regards

Joe

[Bert Coules]

Joe,

LCD panels do deteriorate and even in a clean air environment 'Installed' (high usage) LCD will only last about 3 lamp changes before the panels have discoloured so much that the image is all but un-useable.

Thanks for that information. As I reported in another thread, I recently had my Sanyo Z2 (expensively) cleaned because I was getting a marked brownish discolouration on one side and corner of the image. The cleaning fixed the problem, but I'm not pleased to discover that just a couple of months later, the discolouration is starting to return. Is this then a sympom of the failing of the panels, such as you're talking about? Overall lamp life so far has been around 4000 hours, all but one in Economy mode.

I replaced the old (original) lamp at just shy of 3450 hours because the Z2 was switching in to high fan operation at least once a session, and I thought the lamp might be contributing to general overheating (and apparently I was right, for it hasn't happened with the new lamp). Could those instances of overheating have contributed to the renewed browning of the image?

Bert
www.bertcoules.co.uk

[Joe Fernand]

Hello Bert

From what the various manufactures say it does seem to be heat that affects the colour filters on the LCD panels.

I guess the majority of 'Home' Theatre projectors are built with occasional use in mind and its only recently that anyone will have much data on high usage Home LCD.

Best regards

Joe