If you examine the specifications for the majority of projectors we have listed, you’ll see that lamp life is shown in a certain number of hours. It is often believed that this number listed by the manufacturer is how many hours on average it is until the lamp dies. However, this is not the case.

Lamp life listed by manufacturers is actually the average time a lamp has until it reaches 50% of its light output. As an example, the BenQ MP620 is rated at 2500 ANSI Lumens and its lamp has a standard lifetime of 3000 hrs. So, after 3000 hrs, the projector can be expected to put out 1250 ANSI Lumens on average.

Now, the actual point at which a lamp stops working completely and expires can not be quantified. A lamp can die at any time because of regular usage, bad luck, or through environmental factors. Lamps do eventually die, but you can actually minimize the chances of it dying by taking certain measures.

Extending Lamp Life

One of the most common causes of early lamp failure is due to the projector’s dust filters not being cleaned. If air can not properly circulate to cool the projector, then the projector will heat up to above normal operating temperatures. An overheated lamp will be much more short-lived than one that is properly cooled.
Another way to extend a projector lamp’s life is to avoid excessively turning it on and off. Each time a lamp is turned on, known as “striking” a lamp, its life is shortened by an hour or two. If you are only going out of the room for a short while, it may be best to leave the projector on instead of striking the lamp again.

Lastly, one of the easiest ways to extend a lamp’s life is to run the projector in economy mode, or “ECO” mode. ECO mode reduces the amount of power consumed by the projector, and reduces the amount of light that a lamp outputs. This reduction varies between manufacturers, from anywhere between 10% to 50%. By not using the full potential of a lamp, you can extend its life.
Despite several techniques used to conserve lamp life, remember that it is vitally important that you always have a spare lamp nearby in case the one in use dies. Otherwise, you may be unable to complete your presentation.

Epson released two new LCD projectors today in Japan: the EMP-6100 and the longer warranted EMP-6100HS. While nothing is unusual about the XGA (1024 x 768) native resolution, 3500 ANSI lumens brightness, and 500:1 contrast ratio; these projectors are specifically designed for use in smokey environments where normal projectors are prone to operating troubles and shortened lives. Using high-performance air filters, the EMP-6100 and EMP-6100HS prevent damaging contaminants in the air from affecting the performance of the projector. On the front of the projector, a plastic cover keeps the lens protected from the same contaminants in the air. While a little expensive at an estimated $5699 USD for the 1 year warranted EMP-6100, and an estimated $6499 USD for the 3 year warranted EMP-6100HS, considering their purpose and operating environments, they are much cheaper than having to buy a new projector that can’t accommodate the environment every few months.

[via Digital World Tokyo]

Optoma recently released the EP1610 DLP Home Cinema Projector. This projector displays a native (1280 x 768) resolution with easy scaling to a 720p HDTV image. At a brightness of 2500 ANSI lumens and a 2500:1 contrast ratio, both the brightness and contrast ratio are very high for a Home Cinema Projector, making this perfect for well lit and large rooms. Reasonably priced at an estimated MSRP of $2199.00 USD, this projector will be finding its way into many home cinemas. While only available in Taiwan for now, it is expected to be released in North America soon.
[via digitimes]