Where do you guys buy your lamp at?

dalylaleahthor

For everybody that has replaced a lamp in their projector do you guys go oem? Aftermarket? I need a new lamp for a Panny 8000 but for an oem it looks to be 300 for oem (part # ET-LAA410). Seen a few cheaper sites that contain them but upon further googling I found those to have very bad reviews. So should I just go oem straight from Panasonic?

BlueFox

What is that saying, "Buy cheap, pay twice." That said, $300 does seem steep for a light bulb.

dalylaleahthor

Lol couldn't agree more that's why I'm asking before I take the plunge.

mdaudioguy

I just replaced the lamp in my Panasonic with a cheaper model from Amazon. They had several available and I choose based on ratings and reviews. So far, so good. I could buy 10+ of them for what the OEM cost.

dalylaleahthor

mdaudioguy wrote: »

I just replaced the lamp in my Panasonic with a cheaper model from Amazon. They had several available and I choose based on ratings and reviews. So far, so good. I could buy 10+ of them for what the OEM cost.

Any seller that you'll recommend?

pitdogg2

http://www.bulbsolutions.com/mobile/Category.aspx?id=1886

This place is very legit and one much cheaper than others. I have been down this road. No matter what the reviews said the longevity of none OEM bulbs is just not there. They either die quickly or severly fall off in brightness quickly. Think about how many years you have gotten out of the OEM bulb i never got more than 12-16 month's out of the OEM "equivalents". The OEM tested a ton of bulbs before deciding on the one that came with the projector.

dalylaleahthor

pitdogg2 wrote: »

http://www.bulbsolutions.com/mobile/Category.aspx?id=1886

This place is very legit and one much cheaper than others. I have been down this road. No matter what the reviews said the longevity of none OEM bulbs is just not there. They either die quickly or severly fall off in brightness quickly. Think about how many years you have gotten out of the OEM bulb i never got more than 12-16 month's out of the OEM "equivalents". The OEM tested a ton of bulbs before deciding on the one that came with the projector.

Thanks pittdog2. I think I'm just going to get a cheap one for now. See how that last and maybe I'll try a oem later. Cost is 321.00 at the link you provided but I found a few that has a replacement for 100.

pitdogg2

Good luck been down that road. Better buy 2. If your buying from Amazon be very careful. I bought from a "USA" seller who when the item showed up it was shipped from Quendong China it didn't work from day one. I was then told to ship it back with tracking. The cost to ship back was 126.00 for a 75.00 bulb. It was a circle jerk the USA address was just a p.o. box be very careful. I had to get Amazon involved lots of time spent to get my money back. They did ban the seller but I'm sure they were back within a month.

dalylaleahthor

Ok. Just going to get OEM even though it cost an arm and a leg lol. I'm just gonna pray that it'll last more than the 1939 he that's currently on the old one.

pitdogg2

1939 hours? Was it OEM? How many hours a day is it being used? At 8hrs that's like 250 days. WOW. I understand your concern... My buddies projector he considers it good at 1500hrs but his bulbs run 100$ OEM. He runs it in econ mode unless watching a movie.

dalylaleahthor

I can't really say if it's the original. I just bought the projector 2 days ago for 100. The projector is in great condition but it's very very dim. The lady I bought it from receieved it from the divorce settlement. She said they bought it 2 years ago new so I assume it is the original lamp. Guess I'm going to get an original for 2 to 300 and see how it pans out. Hope it is not the projector itself.

I've already tried going into the setting to set it to dynamic but it was still very very dim.

dalylaleahthor

DSkip wrote: »

I checked my distributors and I don't have access to the Panasonic lamps apparently. I tried. I know I get JVC and Sony and thought I could get Panasonic but I'm assuming they have been dropped.

Thanks Skip.

polrbehr

dalylaleahthor wrote: »

Ok. Just going to get OEM even though it cost an arm and a leg lol. I'm just gonna pray that it'll last more than the 1939 he that's currently on the old one.

For that much $$ vs. life span, I would limit viewing to movies only. JMHO, this is coming from someone who does not own a 4k UHD yet... good luck anyway!

dalylaleahthor

DSkip wrote: »

It won't be much longer until projectors are a thing of the past, expect for the largest of rooms. I prefer my 75" Sony over my 93" projector and to get a new PJ with similar performance, you are talking about major money.

Given the PJ model, I don't think the lamp cost is out of whack, but it is a hard pill to swallow when you picked it up so cheap.

Yea Skip I agree with what you're saying about a projector and the lamp is 3 Times the cost but I just hope the lamp is the cause. Guess I'll figure that out once I buy it and replace it.

I've given up on tv until the price start to come down. My original lcd that cost 2200 took a dump less than 2 years in. Now I have an LG Plasma that does cable duties but every movie is watched on the PJ. Though I wouldn't mind owning a tv like your. I seen one in person and was amazed by the PQ. Now if my plasma would just take a dump the wife may just let me buy one for cable duties but I just don't see it dying anytime soon.

scubalab

I recently had to replace the lamp in our Epson 8350. Here's what I went through.

I, like you, was struggling with laying out $300 for an OEM lamp from Epson. I was fortunate enough to have Epson replace the first two lamps free of charge (they really help you out... even out of warranty), but the third one would have been a stretch. Regardless, I called them to see if they could offer one at even a small discount. Unfortunately they could not, but they did send me a 10% off coupon a couple weeks later.

I debated and weighed my options. I found there were basically three "levels" of replacement lamps as follows:

1. Full OEM Replacement - Full Price. Genuine OEM bulb AND housing.
2. OEM bulb/aftermarket housing - About 1/3 - 1/2 the price of full OEM.
3. OEM 'compatible' (aftermarket bulb and housing) - Anywhere from $19 to $50

I thought I'd go middle of the road and get one for around $98 that had an Osram bulb in an aftermarket housing. I had a little trouble getting it to seat itself right, but got it installed. The picture was bright and colorful... BUT, there was an intolerable flicker to the picture. Tried re-installing it, and gave it about a week to 'burn-in', but the flicker continued. I decided to return for a refund.

Next, I thought, what the heck, try the cheapest and only be out around $20. I got the lamp, installed it and it worked great! ... For a very short time. In about 2-3 weeks, the brightness level dropped to worse than the old lamp it replaced. Luckily, the company had a good warranty, and I sent it back and they sent me a new one for only the price of return shipping (around $7). I thought, what the heck, get it for a backup or an emergency (when the lamp completely fails during a big game...!)

I then decided to buy full OEM. With a LOT of digging, I found the best price on a full OEM lamp from B&H Photo. It was $234.99 as opposed to $299.99 or roughly 22% off. I bought it. Couldn't be happier. It has performed flawlessly for the past two months, and I expect to get 2000+ hours out of it. I do have the CHEAPO one as an emergency backup though.

So, try B&H if you're going FULL OEM.

Another place I found that sells OEM bulbs in aftermarket or recycled housings is Pureland Supply ( http://www.purelandsupply.com/default.aspx ). I talked to them and they are wonderful. Very helpful, great warranty (6 month), and decent prices. They are located in Pennsylvania (near Philadelphia). They were about half price of full OEM ($146.50). However, I was still a little reluctant to try due to the bad experience with the other OEM bulb in aftermarket housing, so I ended up passing and getting the full OEM one from B&H. I have however, heard great things about Pureland Supply on other forums and may give them a try next time I replace the lamp. Or, I may just do as Skip says and scrap the PJ and 92" screen and go with an 85" 4k TV...

Best of luck to you!

dalylaleahthor

Thanks for the input scubalab. I'll look into pureland supply. It's starting to look like Its going to be an original lamp that I'm going to be purchasing. I think that's the best route for me considering the amount of time my pj see. If I did get a tv I'll have to go with Sony.

Thank you everyone for their input.

mdaudioguy

dalylaleahthor wrote: »

Any seller that you'll recommend?

I just looked up my order and found the seller was Amazing Lamps. I checked the same lamp, and it's now available only from four different sellers. You know, wouldn't surprise me if I ordered all 4 and they were each different. I've no doubt it's a roll of the dice buying some of these cheap lamps.

pitdogg2

dalylaleahthor wrote: »

I can't really say if it's the original. I just bought the projector 2 days ago for 100. The projector is in great condition but it's very very dim. The lady I bought it from receieved it from the divorce settlement. She said they bought it 2 years ago new so I assume it is the original lamp. Guess I'm going to get an original for 2 to 300 and see how it pans out. Hope it is not the projector itself.

I've already tried going into the setting to set it to dynamic but it was still very very dim.

In that case i would try OEM equivalents. This is a different from i am original owner, too many things to go south. You have no idea if it was in a smoke filled environment. Or is just has failing components on the board.

dalylaleahthor

pitdogg2 wrote: »

dalylaleahthor wrote: »

I can't really say if it's the original. I just bought the projector 2 days ago for 100. The projector is in great condition but it's very very dim. The lady I bought it from receieved it from the divorce settlement. She said they bought it 2 years ago new so I assume it is the original lamp. Guess I'm going to get an original for 2 to 300 and see how it pans out. Hope it is not the projector itself.

I've already tried going into the setting to set it to dynamic but it was still very very dim.

In that case i would try OEM equivalents. This is a different from i am original owner, too many things to go south. You have no idea if it was in a smoke filled environment. Or is just has failing components on the board.

Yea that might be the better idea for the first lamp purchase. I'll keep that in mind.