CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

goofibulator · Joined: 07 Dec 2008 Posts: 2

All,

I've got a cheap Epson PowerLite S3. It's never been much of a track star, to be sure, but lately the image quality is really quite atrocious. The brightness is... well, not so bright, the blacks are green (quite green, actually), and the overall contrast and saturation is lacking.

So, I'm trying to determine whether these are the signs of the bulb reaching end-of-life. If so, I might consider trying to track down another bulb, or it might be time to move on. Like I say, it's a cheap projector, but the kids like to use it to watch movies.

Any suggestions on how to extend the life of the current bulb by playing with the settings (which I have done) would also be appreciated.

Thanks,

alan

Person99 · Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 4899 Location: Flower Mound, TX

ecrabb · Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 3:51 pm Post subject:

The blacks being green also concerns me. I wouldn't think a bulb with low light output would shift the color of just the blacks (or low IRE material). I know the bulbs color temp can shift as it wears, but that would shift everything all one direction, i.e. the entire picture black to white could take on a slightly reddish or greenish hue, etc. I'd actually be a little suspicious that there could be a problem with the LCD panel(s). Aren't some LCD's famous for the color getting whacky as they get older?

I'd probably take a look and see what they're going for used on fleabay. It probably won't be worth it to replace the bulb. For instance, if you could get $300 for it with a brand new bulb, but $150 for it as-is, then unless you could get a bulb for $150 (not gonna happen), it won't be worth it.

SC

Person99 · Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 4899 Location: Flower Mound, TX

goofibulator · Joined: 07 Dec 2008 Posts: 2

Thanks for all your wise councils. Your thoughts echo my own.

The bulb has maybe a thousand hours on it, but I got it used via craigslist and strongly suspect that it was tampered with. The dude had a bit of a dodgy story to tell about how he came into possession of the unit.

Yes, I've thought that perhaps it was the LCD panel(s) that were going... it really is green in the blacks, but colour rendition is (if you can see beyond the green blacks) still fairly OK.

I am leaning towards picking up a new unit, and I think that now might be the path I take.

alan

ecrabb · Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 4:41 pm Post subject:

Sounds like you're on the right track.

Not to highjack the thread, but this is technically related, I suppose...

Dave, speaking of dim digitals... We were at the folks' house for Thanksgiving and watched Polar Express with the kids in my dad's basement... He's got a Sanyo PLV-Z4. In my opinion, it was a pretty good projector for its time, also considering the price. I think he paid just under $2000 for it with a free bulb - when comparable DLP's were over $3000.

Anyway, one of the things I remember about it when he set it up was how bright it was. Now? I don't think it's as bright as my G70! I'm pretty sure it isn't even close. I couldn't measure it because I didn't have my meter along, but it looked pretty dim to me. He's running a 48x85.33 blackout cloth screen. Even if it's only ~1.0 gain, it should be significantly brighter than my G70 on Wilsonart. I'd be amazed if he even has 750 hours on it. It's never used for TV viewing, and when turned on, is used for at least a movie or two. I know it has an iris, too - maybe something's wrong there.

I'll get all the details in 3 weeks, but I'm curious what you think or what to look for.

SC

Person99 · Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 4899 Location: Flower Mound, TX

ecrabb · Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 5:35 pm Post subject:

Thanks, Dave. I'd guess your numbers are probably pretty close. I was getting 12 ftL on a 10% window on my laminate with the G70, but I never measured the full-field. 6 or 7 is probably about right. I doubt he was even getting 6-7 with the Sanyo. It looked REALLY lifeless. Dim. It will be interesting to measure it and put some numbers with my impressions.

I don't like his setup at all. I'm trying to convince him to completely redo his screen wall. I hate it. He's got cheesy power drapes, and his viewing distance is really long - >2x for the front row and probably close to 3x for the back row. I'd like to see him move the screen wall much closer to the seating - he's got plenty of room to do so. Let's say he could sell the Sanyo for some decent money and buy a better projector used to replace it... What would be your top 2 or 3 choices around $1000 - new or used?

SC

Person99 · Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 4899 Location: Flower Mound, TX