2300MP lamp lifetime?

Question

I'm suddenly very discouraged about my 2300MP projector. I've been using it since last August, with an estimated usage of 500 hours. Last night while watching a movie, there was a 'pop' sound, and the lamp light on top of the unit came on.

With an advertised lifetime of 2000 hours, I was expecting to change the lamp about every 18 months, but at this rate I'm going to have to fork over $700 a year in lamps! This is something that I CANNOT afford.

I called Dell support, was put on hold, and hung up on. I've been a Dell customer for years: my desktop systems (at home and at work) are Dell, my laptop is a Dell, and so I figured I'd be doing "the smart thing" by purchasing this. Now I'm not so sure.

Anybody actually get anything close to 2000 hours out of their projector?

pumpkinheadgian · Answer

Is this a forum where people can come to for "official" support? Am I not asking my question properly?

I've been recommending Dell technology for 5 years. I've never had a problem before this. Very disappointing.

countryboy03 · Answer

The lamp probably blew as you said... and the lamp is only covered under the 90 day warranty. It is estimated that it will last that long, it is not guarenteed. Dell will tell you 'sorry about your luck' It is a great projector... and it was worth the price, so I would stick with it. Purchase another light bulb, and if you feel that disatisfied, place a call to customer service and they may cut you a deal on the bulb based on the circumstances, sometimes things happen, just as a regular light bulb in your home. Wish this wasnt the truth...   Ryan

DELL-Chris M · Answer

pumpkinheadgiant,This is a User to User forum, not a User to Dell forum. Use the Chat, email, or phone channels to contact Dell representatives.* Technical Support Chat * Technical Support Email * Technical Support phone 1-800-624-9896* Customer Service Chat<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell> * Customer Service Email  * Customer Service phone 1-800-624-9897 * For specific Customer Service issues, use Order Support to check on things like: Returns Missing, Damaged, or Incorrect Orders Packing Slips Pickup / Redelivery Invoices Dell Financial Services Refund Status Change My Billing Address Extend Your Warranty Ownership Transfers Ownership Transfers (International) Report a Stolen System * Expired Warranty Support

Ozonide · Answer

I didn't either. I had 2300MP for 5 months, and had just 350 hrs on it, when my lamp went out.

I also had a Complete Care warranty, but it didn't cover the lamp (so now I am not sure why Dell called it COMPLETE?).

I am very upset, especially considering how much Dell equipment we buy for our company.

countryboy03 · Answer

Take that as a lesson learned.... dont just go by what the indicator lights say, run other diagnostic tests. However you did that and they still came up with the lamp being burned out? That doesnt seem right.......... maybe you should give a call to the PR dept. Also, have you considered sending the lamp back? Just a thought..... good luck glad to hear your up and running agian

Ryan

countryboy03 · Answer

When you were ordering the system it clearly stated that the light bulbs were only covered for 90 days! It is complete care warranty. If you drop your projector down the stairs by accident (god forbid) then they would obviously replace the entire unit as it wouldn't even be repairable at that point(theoretically) These bulbs are very fickle in nature and that is why dell only warrants them for 90 days, it still is something that needs to be worked on.

pumpkinheadgian · Answer

Thanks everyone for the various replies!

Dell-ChrisM: I had seen Dell employees posting in this forum, and figured that I might be able to get somebody's attention. I see now that this is a user-to-user forum, although that isn't explicitely stated anywhere that I could see when I first found this resource. It took you a month to point that fact out to me, so I'm glad my issue was already addressed via official channels.

Update on my situation: I called Dell support and described what happened, and they told me that my lamp had burnt out and that I needed to replace it. Expensive to be sure, and definitely earlier than I had expected, but I didn't really have a choice, so I bit the bullet and ordered a lamp. When it arrived, it also didn't work. I called support again, and they told me that they'd send me a replacement projector, which they did. When it arrived, I put the original lamp in it that they said had burnt out, and it worked fine.

Long story short: I spent $300+ dollars on a replacement (at a time when I couldn't really afford it), only to find out that there was nothing wrong with the lamp. The replacement projector was a refurbished unit, and so far has behaved just fine.

pumpkinheadgian · Answer

What other diagnostic tests would you recommend? The unit was "fried". There wasn't a lot I could do.

I won't be sending the lamp back. I'm tired of dealing with this issue, truth be told. I'll keep it around as a backup for the eventual lamp death that occurs.

It is good to be up and running!

pumpkinheadgian · Answer

To be fair, there wasn't much the tech could do was there? The device relies on being able to project light to give diagnostic info (as far as I know); I don't know how somebody would be able to troubleshoot. He COULD have asked me if there was ever an on-screen warning I suppose. There wasn't, but the Manual says that there should be a warning as the lamp reaches the end of its lifetime. Message Edited by pumpkinheadgiant on 03-29-2006 10:33 PM

countryboy03 · Answer

That wasnt directed at you persay, I am just saying... seems like your tech support agent should have checked more, not just rely on a light, such as the CHECK ENGINE SOON light in your car, we all know that most of the time it is a false alarm, so why didnt the support agent make sure it was not a false alarm, dumb dell again!!!!!

RJ

churchsite · Answer

Dell is not about to cut any deals.  They, obviously know, this machine isn't great quality in that they won't service them and now their new projectors have a 90 day warranty only and a 3 year exchange program.  I'll never buy another Dell.

churchsite · Answer

Nope!  We got less than 200 hours and now the stupid thing won't even power up!  Dell will never get my business again!

fyta · Answer

I have had the 2300mp for over 2 years now. It has 'gone out' several times, but it has always come back to life. Im not sure what happens to the the unit, but various times the lamp indicator has come on, or the power indicator flashes, and typically pulling the power on the unit for a minute or so, then reaplying the power will get the whole thing working again. Also, my lamp is at about 2000 hours used and still going, albeit, I believe it is darker then it was brand new, though it's hard to know how much without testing with a new bulb.

aquinas30 · Answer

I've had my 2300MP since May '05.  I received it as a present from my former boss, so my wife & I sprung for a 92' 16:9 motorized Draper screen.  I callibrated the image using Digital Video Essentials for DVD & the HDNET HDTV test pattern.  It is our main display for FIOS TV & DVD.    We watch about 2-4 hours a weekday & 6-8 hours on a weekend.  I've been on my Original bulb for 3880 hours and counting (on ECO mode).  When I first set this up, I hit several Tech forums and found a post by a guy who worked for a bulb manufacturing company & he said that by using a 20/20 rule (20 minutes on/20 minutes off) you could extend the life of your bulb considerably.  We've stuck to that rule about 90% of the time, exceptions include accidentally turning off the projector.  I had purchased a replacement bulb around 2400 hrs in October '06 , expecting my bulb to pop, but it's still sitting in it's box.   I decided to post this information since I've read all the horror stories about defective bulbs & projectors.

tronpilotforrea · Answer

FYI - Just got to this forum because my bulb went bad after 448 hours. Far less than I expected from the advertised 2000 hours. Though, like this post, I'm sure environment and usage have a great deal to do with bulb life (proper air flow, no dusty environments, not moving projector while on, limiting on time, etc.).

My projector does not remain in the same place, but I've been very careful with it.

When I purchased the projector over 2 years ago, I also purchased a spare bulb - whew! Hopefully this will last a bit longer. Anyone have a good 3rd party reseller for these bulbs?

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2300MP lamp lifetime?

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