JVC lamps ( USHIO ) how to identify the fake ones.

Hi Chaps

For reference purposes if anyone is in need of reassurance, here is a current brand new official JVC replacement bulb PK-L2615UG, supplied by Allan at Ideal AV and sourced direct from JVC.

Thanks Allan!

Cheers

Sean
Thanks, what hours have you changed your lamp at and could you notice dimming of the original lamp before changing and what was your thoughts on firing the PJ up with the new lamp fitted ?

Had my lamp over a month now (direct from JVC via Allan) but not had time to fit it yet but I’m at 2800 hours (all on low lamp) and def notice dimming now for the last few hundred hours or so.

Def time to get it fitted !
 
Thanks, what hours have you changed your lamp at and could you notice dimming of the original lamp before changing and what was your thoughts on firing the PJ up with the new lamp fitted ?

Had my lamp over a month now (direct from JVC via Allan) but not had time to fit it yet but I’m at 2800 hours (all on low lamp) and def notice dimming now for the last few hundred hours or so.

Def time to get it fitted !
Hi

I'm pretty much in same boat as you mate, got the lamp before it absolutely needed changing.

I'm on about 2400 hours now, on roughly a 50/50 split between low and high lamp modes over that time. To be honest from about 400 hours in, I can't say I've "noticed" any loss of brightness, I'm sure a light meter would tell otherwise though.

If you are at 2800 hours, I'm not sure now whether to keep going a bit longer before swapping it out. 😀. The X7900 throws one amazing pic though...so much so I'm going to wait for one or two more JVC pj generations to hit the market before thinking about changing, and only then if there is a noticeable contrast boost.

Cheers
 
I recently took the plunge on an RS57 that was going for a good price locally. Cheap as its bulb was on a whopping 4900 hours! Still running pretty well and not looking too shabby once you click through the lamp warning. I took a punt on it and promptly ordered a new bulb from Allan at IdealAV for close on £400. Was warned of a long lead time, but in the end, it arrived around a week later, which was great!

I can only guess this was 4900 hours on Eco mode. TBH didn't use it in earnest prior to swapping the bulb, so no firm measurements of comparison as to how much quality may have degraded. Certainly, nothing obvious bad when I demo'd it prior to purchase.

I had initially considered buying a cheaper non-JVC bulb, but after reading all the horror stories etc, I decided against the risk and went for the genuine bulb. Given the bargain price I paid for the projector, I figured I could fork out for the decent bulb.

FWIW I did get a quote from Sontec too (who i understand are the other official JVC UK parts dealers), but they wanted nigh on £500 for the same bulb!
 
I recently took the plunge on an RS57 that was going for a good price locally. Cheap as its bulb was on a whopping 4900 hours! Still running pretty well and not looking too shabby once you click through the lamp warning. I took a punt on it and promptly ordered a new bulb from Allan at IdealAV for close on £400. Was warned of a long lead time, but in the end, it arrived around a week later, which was great!

I can only guess this was 4900 hours on Eco mode. TBH didn't use it in earnest prior to swapping the bulb, so no firm measurements of comparison as to how much quality may have degraded. Certainly, nothing obvious bad when I demo'd it prior to purchase.

I had initially considered buying a cheaper non-JVC bulb, but after reading all the horror stories etc, I decided against the risk and went for the genuine bulb. Given the bargain price I paid for the projector, I figured I could fork out for the decent bulb.

FWIW I did get a quote from Sontec too (who i understand are the other official JVC UK parts dealers), but they wanted nigh on £500 for the same bulb!
So are you saying you did or didn’t notice much difference with the new lamp fitted when the old one had clocked up 4900 hours ? 🥹

If the answer is no, something must be amiss !

Im going to fit my new lamp this weekend, like I mentioned above, I’m at 2800 hours all on low lamp) and I’d say definitely noticing dimming.

I watched Ghostbusters Afterlife (which I think sucked) at the weekend and on some of the darker scenes struggled with the image.

My PJ is professionally calibrated.

I’ll feedback my thoughts once the lamp has been fitted !
 
So are you saying you did or didn’t notice much difference with the new lamp fitted when the old one had clocked up 4900 hours ? 🥹

If the answer is no, something must be amiss !
TBH, I'm no projector expert, this is my first projector, so I certainly don't have a super critical eye. I checked out the old bulb at the seller's setup prior to buying, looked decent enough.
With the new bulb in, factory reset, no proper calibration, in my home with a different screen, setup distance etc and new bulb, again it looks decent to my eye. Granted, there was a good month or so between buying and getting the new bulb and all setup in my room, so not easy to subjectively compare.

As I say, I'm still new to it, still tinkering with settings, currently just settled on a natural mode, with eco bulb settings. My room is still painted in light colours, which isn't ideal, blacking the wall is next on the list. Was thinking I look at proper calibration once that's done.
 
My JVC X7900BE now has just over 2000 hrs on its lamp (mostly on low power). So I am considering my options for a spare lamp. I would prefer to buy an original lamp and housing from a JVC authorised dealer however I have been looking at alternatives.

Has anyone tried an "original lamp without housing" from these guys?


Get the proper complete part from JVC. I just ordered and received one from @Rickyj at Kalibrate , it was less money than I expected, and I think good value for thousands of hours of entertainment. My X7900 had over 2700 hrs on it and was quite flickery by then, like you mostly low lamp; the new genuine lamp restored it to basically just like new. For what it is worth stocks were harder than usual to come by thanks to the current situation, so best order soon if you need.

My housing wasn't in brilliant shape after 2700 hrs; the screws had been done up gorilla-tight in the factory and on undoing them some thin areas of the housing around the screws cracked. The housings are made of a kind of brittle bakelite-type temperature resistant plastic; I'm not really sure re-using them is a brilliant idea, they strike me as something that really should be treated as a consumable part along with the lamp itself.

Hi

I'm pretty much in same boat as you mate, got the lamp before it absolutely needed changing.

I'm on about 2400 hours now, on roughly a 50/50 split between low and high lamp modes over that time. To be honest from about 400 hours in, I can't say I've "noticed" any loss of brightness, I'm sure a light meter would tell otherwise though.

If you are at 2800 hours, I'm not sure now whether to keep going a bit longer before swapping it out. 😀. The X7900 throws one amazing pic though...so much so I'm going to wait for one or two more JVC pj generations to hit the market before thinking about changing, and only then if there is a noticeable contrast boost.

Cheers
Quick look back through this thread seems like 2000/2500 hr (ish) used on low lamp is the Avg/norm. So coincides with me thinking my image has dulled (over the last few hundred hours) so its the right time to change the lamp.

I appreciate some may wring every last hour out of the lamp as at £400.00 its not cheap but as jfinnie says, for the cost of the new lamp & the hours entertainment you get out of it it's worth it and I'd prefer all my viewing with a nice bright image.

Here's what the manual states :- Manual JVC DLA-X7900 (page 60 of 84) (English)
 

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