LCD home projectors are very expensive pieces of hardware. These are most definitely luxury items, and are best reserved for people that have a lot of money to make such a large home theater investment. If you’re planning on purchasing an LCD projector, you can’t find anything of higher quality on the market right now. The only problem is that the projector lamps don’t last in the long run. Usually LCD projector bulbs have a life of around 2,500 hours.
That seems like a lot on paper, but if you’ll be using the projector a lot, you’ll be surprised how fast you burn through that amount. But projector bulbs can be easy to install, and purchasing your own will save you money on professional installation, as well as what it would cost to buy a new projector outright.
Typically, LCD projector bulbs cost anywhere from $300 to as much as $800. These are pretty expensive pieces of hardware, and so you should always try to get the most out of each lamp that you purchase. Most LCD projectors will warn you when a bulb needs to be changed. But, you should keep in mind that this is determined using a timer, not by actually judging whether or not the bulb has almost burned out. So before you change the bulb, there’s a handy trick to getting more life out of your current lamp.
In most cases when a bulb has been determined to be close to going out, an LCD projector will warn you with a message on screen, and then automatically shut off if no action is taken. To go around this, and squeeze more use out of the current LCD projector bulb, simply take the bulb out, place it back in and then reset the timer using your owner’s manual. Typically installation of an LCD projector replacement bulb is very easy, and only requires a little bit of effort on your part, and a few tools.
Usually an LCD projector will have an access panel on the back of the unit, that allows you to access the lamp. Unscrew that panel using a screw driver that’s appropriately sized for the job. Then, usually for safety reasons, the bulb is screwed into place within the projector. Loosen these screws, but don’t unscrew them all the way. Once the LCD projector lamp is loose enough, you should be able to easily remove it. Then, if the LCD projector bulb hasn’t burnt out, simply replace the LCD lamp, or put a new one in its place. From there, refer to your owner’s manual to reset the timer on the projector bulb, so that they will read the old bulb, or the new one, as a new LCD projector lamp.
This is a good way to get extra mileage out of an old LCD projector bulb. In most cases, 2,500 hours is a conservative estimate, and many bulbs can last in excess of 3,500. But don’t forget to have an extra bulb on hand, even if you’re using the old one for as long as possible. Otherwise the movie night will have to be postponed if your lamp burns out, and you don’t have any other LCD projector bulbs on hand.