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pumpkinheadgian
6 Posts
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66864
February 20th, 2006 20:00
2300MP lamp lifetime?
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?
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?
1585
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Posted March 19th, 2006 21:00
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...Ryan1585
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Posted March 22nd, 2006 13:00
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.
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* For specific Customer Service issues, use Order Support to check on things like:
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DELL-Chris M (old account)
#IWork4Dell
1585
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Posted March 29th, 2006 19:00
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.
1585
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Posted March 29th, 2006 21:00
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
1585
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Posted March 29th, 2006 21:00
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.
1585
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Posted March 29th, 2006 21:00
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.1591
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Posted March 29th, 2006 21:00
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!552
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Posted March 30th, 2006 02:00
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
1591
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Posted March 30th, 2006 02:00
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
pumpkinheadgian
6 Posts
1585
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Posted February 24th, 2006 23:00
I've been recommending Dell technology for 5 years. I've never had a problem before this. Very disappointing.