Monroe green and purple - is this normal?

Hi,

My Philips Monroe has a green blob in the image. I remember seeing this when I bought it but either it has gotten worse or I have grown more sensitive to it. The projector is still under warranty and I'm posting now to hopefully get opinions on wheter this is regarded as in specs or if I should try to get it serviced.

The camera made the tint look a bit worse then what it is when directly viewed but basicly this is visible whenever the projected material is in the dark region. Please note the purple tint along the edges as well.

Time for service or to get a new projector?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Magnus

[theritz]

Hi Magnus,

I've had a quick look at the picture you've posted, and it doesn't look like the visual effect which arises from dust on the LCD panels, whiich is what one normally expects when there is mention of a "green blob" in the image. I' can't make out the purple colour you refer to - but then that's probably my monitor !.

I hesitate to suggest possible causes, but an obvious one could be heat damage to the optics - but its really impossible to say. You indicated that the projector is under warranty - you should contact Philips Customer Service and have them examine the projector. The fault (whatever it is) should be rectified by them (provided the projector is, as you say, under warranty).


Hope you get the problem sorted out,

All the best,


Sean G.

Hi Sean,

Many thanks for your reply.

I'm attaching another image which is taken with no signal fed to the projector (i.e. when it's supposed to display "black"). Perhaps it demostrates the phenomen more clearly.

I find the possible cause of dust to be interesting, the projector has quite a bit of out of focus dust specks and when I peeked on what's inside of the air-filter there was a fine layer of dust there. It has about 900 hours of use and i have vacuumed the filter every 100 hours as the manual suggests.

Again, the camera exagerates the tint but it would be interesting to hear if it helps determine the likely cause.

Thanks again,
Magnus

[theritz]

Hi again Magnus,

The image displayed in your screen shot doesn't look like a dust spot to me, nor does it look like the usual "colour uniformity" problem which one sees with different LCD projectors - this is normally evidenced by having an overall green shade on one side of the image and an overall blue/purple/red shade on the other side. I appreciate your point about the effect being made more apparent by the photography, but it still looks like something more serious to me - it could be a severe uniformity problem, or internal damage of some kind to the optics. The Monroe has a 6000hr bulb life, so 900 hrs shouldn't necessarily bring up problems.

However, I did once see a demo Monroe in a shop which had dreadful colour uniformity, and the salesman indicated that it was due to be serviced to cure the problem - I presumed that it had been left running for extended periods in a rather hot shop and that the optics had suffered from heat distortion as a result.

Do you use it on full power, or is there an "economy"mode with less brightness and less heat from the lamp ? How long have you had it, did you buy it new or was it a demo projector ? How long do you use it for at a time - a couple of hours to watch a movie, or 8 - 10 hours at a time - playing games/surfing/whatever ? What conditions (heating, ventilation) do you run it in ? is it ceiling mounted, is there adequate ventilation to cool the projector ?

With answers to those questions you might get a more informed response to your query from a member here named Chris Frost - he works for Philips UK and is very helpful. You could try sending him a PM (Private Mail) through the forum here, asking him to check out this thread - he may be able to suggest a possible cause.


All the best,


Sean G.

Hi Sean,

Many thanks again. You have convinced me that this should not be considered normal (and since I have been oogling the HS-10 you have saved me a bundle of money, in the short run at least).

I'm going to contact Philips about having the unit serviced. Hopefully they wont tell me that this is within specs or something like that.

I'm providing the information you mentioned and in case Chris Frost would like to chime in that would be excellent.

I bought the projector new/unused 14 months ago. It does not have an economy mode. Typical usage has been 4-6 hrs at a time 2-4 times a week. The projector is ceiling mounted at a distance of 50 cm from the ceiling and 20 cm from a wall behind it. The room tempurature is in the 20:ish C and is well ventilated.

Many thanks again,
Magnus

[tk]

Originally posted by magnust
The projector is ceiling mounted at a distance of 50 cm from the ceiling and 20 cm from a wall behind it. The room tempurature is in the 20:ish C and is well ventilated.

Isn't Monroe exhausting hot air from back of the unit? If so only 20 cm clearance behind unit sounds way too small to me. Unit may have been overheating because of that even room temp is low.

Originally posted by tk
Isn't Monroe exhausting hot air from back of the unit? If so only 20 cm clearance behind unit sounds way too small to me. Unit may have been overheating because of that even room temp is low.

Hi tk,

Thanks for the reply!

It's correct that the Monroe has it's heat exhaust on the rear. I was told by the dealer that it only needed about 15 cm of clearance so I thought it would be safe to put it at 20 cm.

The exhaust is on the opposite side from the air-intake (i.e. exhaust; backside left, and intake; upperside right (when upside-down)). Are you thinking that it can suck hot air back into it anyway?

In Regards,
Magnus

[ninc0]

Looks like it could be a missaligned green lcd panel. I know this can cause this problem with some projectors giving an overall colour hue...

[Chris Frost]

Magnus,
There is definately something wrong with your Monroe. It doesn't look like dust contamination, that usually shows as several smaller blobs; possibly an alignment problem?

You should call the Philips Service Line - the number for Sweden is 020 798 844 - and arrange for the projector to be examined by one of our engineers. I hope we will be able to sort out the problem for you.

Regards

Thanks Chris!

Can you comment on the 20 cm clearance from the wall behind it? I can't find anything about minimal clearance in the manual.

I haven't moved around the projector at all which may indicate that the fault may be heat-related.

Best Regards,
Magnus

[Chris Frost]

Magnus,
The manual just says to keep the air vents clear of obstructions. We can't be more specific than that because every installation is going to be slightly different. What is important with all lamp projectors is how quickly the hot exhaust air can disperse.

How do you have your projector mounted. Are you using a Philips ceiling bracket?

Regards

Originally posted by Chris Frost
[B

How do you have your projector mounted. Are you using a Philips ceiling bracket?
[/B]

Hi again Chris,

I am using a ceiling bracket from http://www.sms.safebrackets.se/ . It does not hinder airflow either out of the projector nor into it as far as I can tell. The distance between ceiling and projector is 50 cm and from the rear of the projector to a wall is 20 cm. Other then that there is nothing nearby. I can feel the wall getting a bit hot at a spot right behind the exhaust (but no burn-marks)

I was actually surprised that the air going out of the projector was not hotter then what it was. I'd say about the same temperature as from the PS of my PC.

I have also vacuumed the filter every 100 hrs.

I just remessured the temperature in the room and it's 23 degres C, and not 20 as i wrote previously.

In Regards,
Magnus