Optoma Themescene RD65 - new lamp needed?

[Webagents]

Hi all,

I've had my RD65 for a couple of years I guess and put it on tonight and watched TV for a couple of hours. Just as I was getting ready for switching off and going to bed there was a loud 'click' and the picture disappeared - screen totally black. Still had a green led on the front.

I powered off and everytime it tries to startup I get a flashing green led as normal then a steady red power led and a steady red lamp led. The set then resets and tries to startup again and a loop ensues.

I removed the lamp for the first time and it looks like there is a load of glass fragments inside.

I'm taking this as a pretty simple indication that a new lamp is needed (tell me if I'm wrong)

On this basis, where should/could/would I buy a replacement lamp from?

What is the part number for the lamp and who is the cheapest/fastest?

TIA

Bryan

 

[Razor]

I am sorry to say your lamp has definitely gone. I got my 2nd replacement from rlsupplies (first one was free from optoma), but it doesnt look like they stock this item any more. I think you should be able to get a replacement on ebay for the bulb and keep the original housing. This should work out cheaper than buying the whole unit. I havent swapped a bulb into the original unit before (bought the complete unit). But I am sure some one on here has done it with their RD. I paid around £235 for the complete unit.

Changing the bulb is easy to do, dont be frightened to give it a little tug. Also there is a clip which acts as a handle on the unit. Unclick and pull once the screws have been removed.

According to this website this is the part number.

Optoma original part - SP.L4501.001 / SP.L1001.001 / BL-VU100A

http://www.projectorpoint.co.uk/projectorlamps/Optoma_RD65_Projector_Lamp.html

This was the cheapest I could find the complete unit for:

http://buytech.co.uk/product.php?productid=125607

It says out of stock but I do know retailers all order direct from optoma and it takes about 24-48 hours.

Optoma were charging £300 + vat 2 years ago.

 

[Webagents]

Thanks very much for the reply Razor,

I'm a bit confused though as the following website states that the lamp you quote is for the RD50 whilst the RD65 uses BL-VU120A

http://www.projectors.co.uk/scp/Projector_Bulbs/OPTOMA.html

I trust that you know what you are on about though as you have actually changed units a couple of times.

I will go for the whole assembly because if anything goes wrong it can't be my fault (yep, I'm married! )

I'll give that company a call, just a shame I can't get it next day delivered...

We'll be on the portable tonight

Bryan

 

[Webagents]

I've ordered one from the place I bought the TV from (Can't remember the company name but the very helpful lady is called Rhonda).

Price?

£200 + Next day delivery of £10.50 + vat of £36.84 = £247.34 + cc surcharge of 2% makes a grand total of:

£252.29

Ordered before 12:00 today means delivery tomorrow


Now, If I could have replaced the telly with a nice 80"-100" RPTV I may have done that instead

 

[Razor]

Good to hear you got it ordered. Its horrible having not having the RD in action, I have been there twice.

As for the upgrade I went for a 70" SXRD just before xmas. I would upgrade again in a flash if there was an 80"+ display available in the UK.

 

[Webagents]

As nice as your full HD 70" set is, It's not enough of an increase real estate wise for me to change just yet.

The only HD I supply to the RD65 is xbox 360 stuff and that's fine in 720p

If an 80-100" becomes available however...

 

[Razor]

As nice as your full HD 70" set is, It's not enough of an increase real estate wise for me to change just yet.

The only HD I supply to the RD65 is xbox 360 stuff and that's fine in 720p

If an 80-100" becomes available however...

Oh your missing out big time. 1080p looks glorious and is an improvement over 720p material. Also the 360 isnt a great source of HD, have you not considered a HTPC. You will see an improvement over the 360 with a HTPC for games and movies. My main reason for changing from the RD65 was the lack of 1080p. The extra 5" was also welcomed.

I really want a 82" display like the Mitsubishi DLP in the US. Shame it never made it to our shores.

 

[Webagents]

TBH the main consideration for me is screen size. By a mile.


Virtually all of our TV viewing comes from Sky but via a Tivo so the quality is downgraded anyway. And I will NOT lose the functionality of my Tivo until it dies and I cannot replace it

We have a 24' lounge so screen size is very important as TV is on one flat wall, sofa 24' away.

Reg's
Bryan

 

[Razor]

TBH the main consideration for me is screen size. By a mile.


Virtually all of our TV viewing comes from Sky but via a Tivo so the quality is downgraded anyway. And I will NOT lose the functionality of my Tivo until it dies and I cannot replace it

We have a 24' lounge so screen size is very important as TV is on one flat wall, sofa 24' away.

Reg's
Bryan

Size is king and at that distance 1080p would be wasted on you. You would need a far bigger display to notice the difference between 1080 and 720p.

Its a shame that the UK market doesn't share our enthusiasm for large displays. Most think a 42/50" is large when in fact its not at all.

 

[Webagents]

I know what you mean - I saw something on telly last night (shortly before the 'pop') where this lad said it was essential to have a large TV for when his mates came round and the camera panned to a 32" TV

Granted size of room makes a huge difference and another factor is getting the damn behemoths into the room. When my RD65 was delivered the guys said it'd never go around the turn in the hallway. (Please pause for a moment and try and imagine the look on my wifes face as I had said it would)

Of course, it did go and had a couple of inches to spare.

That said, I do live in a bungalow and by all accounts access is very easy as it stands.

Although, I reckon to go bigger (if I ever get the chance) will mean craning it over the house and through the window...

 

[Razor]

I know what you mean - I saw something on telly last night (shortly before the 'pop') where this lad said it was essential to have a large TV for when his mates came round and the camera panned to a 32" TV

Granted size of room makes a huge difference and another factor is getting the damn behemoths into the room. When my RD65 was delivered the guys said it'd never go around the turn in the hallway. (Please pause for a moment and try and imagine the look on my wifes face as I had said it would)

Of course, it did go and had a couple of inches to spare.

That said, I do live in a bungalow and by all accounts access is very easy as it stands.

Although, I reckon to go bigger (if I ever get the chance) will mean craning it over the house and through the window...

LMAO.... I remember going into GAME to buy a 360 game only to be told that I really needed to play it on a large HD screen to get the full impact. The sales guy told me that he was lucky enough to have a 32" HD LG tv and playing games on it was awesome. I had to laugh to myself. The PIP on the RD65 is bigger than 32".

I craned in my old 46" rear pro 3 stories up to my bedroom. It was one of the most nervous times I have had with AV gear. My tv was 30+ foot in the air. Talk about a racing heart. Have you ever considered a front pro? Or would a front pro not suit your layout of your lounge?

 

[Webagents]

I remember you posting that you'd craned your old telly upstairs...

What sort of cost would you say that added upto? (Including any windows out/in etc)


I have a godsend of a wall to use a front pro on, trouble is, the opposite wall has a large window in it which happens to face west...which just happens to be where the sun is every damned evening right about this time of year. And no, we can't close the curtains from about 6pm onwards

Also, we have two light fittings that interfere with optimum layour for an ohp.


I'm REALLY fancying putting a proj in the bedroom and a leccy screen as the bedroom really does not lend itself to a tv of any other form. Window already has blackout vertical blinds AND blackout linings to the curtains...

Just need some advice re: kit 'cos I've already got the go-ahead

 

[Razor]

To crane my set upto my bedroom was £350. Luckly I have a balcony and French doors so no window was needed to be removed. I am going to have to dismantle my rear pro and lower it down in bits to get it out of my bedroom. The set has long served a purpose and is unwatchable by me (missus still likes it).

What kit are you looking for?

 

[jedi-knight]

Changing the lamp looks quite easy and saves a few ££ over a complete lamp with housing, but knowing my luck I'd find a way to screw it up, found a video on changing an XL-5200 (sony sxrd lamp)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARNVqW6qngE

 

[Webagents]

... but knowing my luck I'd find a way to screw it up

My thoughts exactly

That, plus the fact that it needs to be changed NOW means that I need to keep it simple and fast.

I took the old lamp unit out and I reckon to swap the new one will take no more than 5 mins.


Here's a question...I vaguely remember someone once saying that after lamp replacement the set shoulf be on at the wall socket and master switch but left in standby for 30 mins before use. Any truth in that?

 

[Webagents]

To crane my set upto my bedroom was £350. Luckly I have a balcony and French doors so no window was needed to be removed. I am going to have to dismantle my rear pro and lower it down in bits to get it out of my bedroom. The set has long served a purpose and is unwatchable by me (missus still likes it).

IF I ever get a reason to crane a new set in it will mean craning it over the entire house into rear garden and then probably lying on it's back to get through a window with double glazed unit removed

All things considered, it will be MUCH cheaper to get a front PJ and change the lights, redecorate, put electric blackout blinds on the troublesome window etc...

What kit are you looking for?

Well the last time I looked I fancied the Panasonic AX-100 with an electric screen. Looked a good pj but that was a while ago.

Layout is as follows:

Bed against wall A (centrally for all intents and purposes) with row of wall units over bed with 3 ft clearance above.

Wall B (opposite A) has wall to wall wardrobes, front of which is approx. 30inches (guess) from foot of bed.


My idea is to put projector on top of boxes over bed and mount an electric screen on ceiling to drop down in front of wadrobes on wall B.

I want widescreen, of course.

Throw distance is approx. length of bed minus 12" (as proj is further forward thatn headboard) plus approx. 24" from foot of bed too screen.

In total then, throw is about 7'6"

 

[Razor]

Go for it mate. I had considered a front pro for the bedroom last year but as the missus mainly uses this room for watching tv I thought it might be a bit wasted on her.

Are you going to go for 720p or 1080p?

 

[Webagents]

720P will do.

It will be used as the main setup for xbox 360 and for watching telly /dvd in bed as we drop off.

 

[Razor]

720P will do.

It will be used as the main setup for xbox 360 and for watching telly /dvd in bed as we drop off.

Should be very nice.

You can buy 720p DLP front projectors really cheap at the moment. A far cry from the 5k they used to cost. Have a look at the infocus range. My dad has an old 7205 and it gives a lovely picture with a 10 foot screen. Infocus also has an excellent customer care service. His cooling fan was getting a bit loud and they picked the unit up free of charge and sent it to Holland and cleaned the whole unit, upgraded the firmware and swapped the fan out and returned the projector in under 5 days.

 

[Webagents]

Well got me new lamp assembly and fitting it was a doddle. 5 mins tops.

OMG! How did I not notice how dark my picture had become !

It's so bright now I'd better change me settings again

Razor, I remember that when I set it up I initially copied your settings, do you have a note of them still? (Of course I didn't make a note myself, why would I )

Alao, how do I access the service menu - hours meter? I want to checkt aht it's reset.

Cheers

(PS Just ordered Sky+ to complement my Tivo...I needed multiroom and I persuaded them to install sky+ at the same time - Free box and Free install )

 

[Razor]

Thats how i used to know my bulb was on its way out, the picture does dull slightly. It looks brand new with a new bulb in.

Here are my settings for the RD65:

The Settings below are for the Optoma RD65 with a Pace mark II sky plus box connected (sky contrast is set on high), via scart RGB.

Contrast: 8
Brightness: 17
Colour: 15
Tint:15
Sharpness: 16
Intensity: 17
Colour Temp: neutral
Red: 15
Green: 15
Blue: 15
ICC Y: 15
Gamma: 0

These settings are for my pc connected via DVI from ATI X800XT PE.

Contrast: 8
Brightness: 18
Colour: 16
Tint:15
Sharpness: 16
Intensity: 17
Colour Temp: neutral
Red: 15
Green: 15
Blue: 15
ICC Y: 15
Gamma: 0

These settings are for my Sony DVP725 dvd player outputing comp-i

Contrast: 8
Brightness: 17
Colour: 16
Tint:15
Sharpness: 17
Intensity: 17
Colour Temp: neutral
Red: 15
Green: 15
Blue: 15
ICC Y: 15
Gamma: 0

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1534092&postcount=1


As for the service menu this link shows you how.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2248816&postcount=84


Have you not thought about getting SKY HD. I resisted for so long as I didnt think it would be any good. I was very wrong. The HD from SKY HD is spot on and well worth the extra outlay. I also found that non HD channels looked better than on my sky+ box due to the HDMI (digital) connection, rather than the RGB scart.

 

[Webagents]

Thanks for the settings, printed out and I'll be playing tonight

Sky HD? It's the cost tbh... I'm getting the Sky+ box for free with free installation - the Sky HD box was IIRC £199 plus £10 per month. I'm not sure that there is enough GOOD HD content to justify £10pm.

However, as I will be on Sky+ with multiroom it may be that I can do a deal on upgrading to SkyHD in a few weeks as that is a closer upgrade path

 

[Razor]

Thanks for the settings, printed out and I'll be playing tonight

Sky HD? It's the cost tbh... I'm getting the Sky+ box for free with free installation - the Sky HD box was IIRC £199 plus £10 per month. I'm not sure that there is enough GOOD HD content to justify £10pm.

However, as I will be on Sky+ with multiroom it may be that I can do a deal on upgrading to SkyHD in a few weeks as that is a closer upgrade path

I avoided it too due to the tenner a month fee and the price of the HD box. However I must admit it was worth it and I dont use sky that much. If you have the movie package I would say its well worth while. The HD quality is very good. I was shocked at how good it was.

 

[Webagents]

If I had the sky movies package I might have been tempted but as I say, sky+ for free was a no brainer AND it may class as a smaller upgrade the next time I want summat for nowt

Thanks for your help, just gotta sort out a dreambox now

 

[Webagents]

How long should the lamp have lasted in my RD65?

I ask because I have just checked the current lamp life after putting new lamp in - to check it had reset automatically...and it hadn't.

The TV age was approx. 5575 hours as was the lamp life. I reset the lamp life manually and that is now fine (It should have done it automatically, shouldn't it?) but I thought expected lamp life was less that 5575.

How say you?