Important for HT1000 owners

gandley

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Just thought id like to make owners who own either the HT1000 0r HT1100 aware of this issue that has been discovered with this PJ.
the thread on avs forums is quite long but is quite important for an issue with the bulb and colourwheel.

The problem seems to surface after 500-800hrs of use and the result is a kinda grime that covers the colour wheel and that the bulb start to craze, resulting in reduced brightness and less saturated colours.
As this happens gradualy owners might think its just the bulb dimming, where as in fact its the colour wheel getting sooted up.

There are some great screen shots and info in the following thread.

hope its of use to u all...


http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=381733
 
i think gary might have looked into this...... maybe he'll give some first hand experience

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it isnt scaremongering Gandley :) its something that ht1000 owners could do to give a big upgrade at no cost

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Has anyone taken their lamps out to have a look yet? My prime concern was where I was gonna get some 5" or longer q-tips. :)

Seriously though, it's simple enough to remove the lamp and shine a torch in there, and you can see from the avsforum pics what it should look like (both lamp and colour wheel), so you know if you have a problem or not.

I've only 300hours on mine so not bothered yet, but might get around to it. Those with higher numbers should have a look in my opinion. You could get a new lamp out of it - the replacement appears to be the HT1100 lamp so you could benefeit from a little more brightness.

Would be interested in hearing from anyone here who's got a problem though.

Gary.
 
Gary

If you need some 5" Q tips just drop me a PM. I have a few bags left over from my BT days (curteousy of BT of course :) )
 
Thanks for the offer, I'll definately let you know. :)

Gary.
 
hi Gary i checked my ht1000 after 780hrs use today and found the bulb crazed and the colour wheel contaminated.i have taken the advice from the avs forum and cleaned the colour wheel. i had noticed my contrast and colour saturation had gone down slightly .after cleaning the wheel things seem to be normal.ihave a couple of questions for you. 1is NEC UK even aware of this problem 2 will they change my bulb as its 1year old.3 the general opinion seems to be that the heat from the bulb is eventually causing the problems. has anyone thought that if this is true if you replace the 1000 bulb with the 1100 bulb and that is a hotter bulb you could make the problem worse! if you think i have a valid point re the bulb gary please feel free to repeat this information on this and also avs forum.[my finger is tired typing] lol.
 
1. Probably not. I spoke with them last year about the scart RGB issue some players had with it, and they were blisfully unaware of it. I can't see this issue being any different but I may phone them to see if they have any info.

2. Possibly. The bulb hasn't blown which I think is the main issue of the warranty, and as it appears to be a manufacturing problem rather than normal lamp life failure, we could be lucky. NEC in the US seems to be changing them.

3. They mention 'outgassing' over at avs which appears to be caused by the heat of the lamp acting on the plasticisers of the plastic components. I see your point re the higher output, but being a new lamp and the fact that (as yet) no HT1100 owners have reported this problem, we could be lucky with the newer lamp. It is early days yet with the HT1100 though.

I may pop over to avs later and see what the others have to say about your point.


How easy did you find cleaning the colour wheel, and what Q-tips did you use? ;) Easy enough job for any of us on here would you say?

Gary.
 
hi Gary thanks for reply. im going to contact NEC and try for new bulb[wont hold my breath] i found it reasonably easy to clean the colour wheel as long as you take your time about it and are carefull. i just used ordinary q tips. i lightly moistened one end to clean the wheel and the other end to dry. if you shine a torch at the wheel while cleaning you can see the stuff coming off. its slightly fiddley.
 
Thanks for the info chezz,

Let us know how you get on OK?

The NEC chap I spoke to seemed very helpfull with the scart issue (he wanted me to bring the pj in to be fixed under warranty), so they may want to do the same here.

Gary.
 
hi GARY, i phoned NEC service and the chap was helpfull. they are aware of the wheel contamination but not the bulb crazing.they are uplifting the bulb to have a look at it .it might take a week to get bulb back[nothing mentioned about replacement at this stage]i think they will get japan to investigate these problems. i will post when i have further news.
 
Thanks for the feedback Chezz, it's very encouraging should anyone else find they have the same problem.

Gary.
 
just reviving this old chestnut

I've been abroad for a while andhave set up my HT1000 with a DRH screen 7ft screen, was a bit disapointed with the brightness and swapped it for the 7ft Hi-power. Much happier and its not too bright either as the PJ is ceiling mounted - I guess looking at the angle and the fabric chart that I about 1.8 gain or so :)

Anyway, noticed that the colours were not as vibrant as before and yep, bulb with 900hrs, the reflective coating is bubling inside the bulb and the colour wheel looks kind of dirty - like slightly frosted coating.

Anyway did anybody hear any more news from NEC. If I get a new bulb and clean the colour wheel will this happen again and can I keep using the old bulb for a while and just clean the colour wheel. Seems a shame to replace the bulb if the life is only 50% or so.

cheers
Ed
 
I think they use a new lamp now - the number is 160 or something and fits the HT1100, so I think new lamps will be fine if you decide to get one.

Gary.
 
hi fastedd, i had the same problem with my bulb. if you phone NEC SERVICE and explain about the bulb they may offer to send you a replacement.they will want your old bulb . they did with me.
 

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