• The site migration is complete! Hopefully everything transferred properly from the multiple decades old software we were using before. If you notice any issues please let me know, thanks! Also, I'm still working on things like chatbox, etc so hopefully those will be working in the next week or two.

Ok, so here is the dilemma..

What to do about TV.

  • Replace bulb again.

    Votes: 2 25.0%

  • Plasma

    Votes: 3 37.5%

  • LCD

    Votes: 3 37.5%
  • Total voters
    8
joshua_arndt

joshua_arndt

New member
I have a 50" Toshiba DLP tv as my main tv in my living room. I bought this tv used a while ago, Feb 08 ish, and a little while after buying it (June-ish 08) the bulb went out, i replaced it to the tune of $160ish, and it went out again at the beginning of this year in February-ish, so i replaced it. And yesterday it went out again.

Now here is the dilemma, do I put yet another bulb in the tv, or is it time to upgrade to either plasma or lcd? I hate to keep replacing this bulb, cause at this point it seems like a recurring problem.
 


Make sure your TV is set to "LOW LAMP" mode. It's probably set on "HIGH LAMP" mode. I have a 63" Toshiba DLP and 6 months after i bought it, the lamp busted. It has now been over a year and the lamp is still good. My buddy has a 60" and had the same problem you have. I switched his to low lamp back in april and he has had no problems. The problem is that on high lamp, there's too much heat where the bulb is sealed up in very thick glass. By switching to low lamp, you won't notice a difference in brightness unless you are trying to watch the tv in really bright lighting conditions. The only way it needs to be on high lamp is if you have the brightness turned up all the way on low lamp and it's still not bright enough. On you menu screen, go into video settings, scroll down to "Theater Settings". Go down to "Lamp mode" and change it to "Low Power". You should be set. Hope this helps. I bet the internal bulb is shattered. Not black and burnt out.
 
JoelW98GTP said:
Make sure your TV is set to "LOW LAMP" mode. It's probably set on "HIGH LAMP" mode. I have a 63" Toshiba DLP and 6 months after i bought it, the lamp busted. It has now been over a year and the lamp is still good. My buddy has a 60" and had the same problem you have. I switched his to low lamp back in april and he has had no problems. The problem is that on high lamp, there's too much heat where the bulb is sealed up in very thick glass. By switching to low lamp, you won't notice a difference in brightness unless you are trying to watch the tv in really bright lighting conditions. The only way it needs to be on high lamp is if you have the brightness turned up all the way on low lamp and it's still not bright enough. On you menu screen, go into video settings, scroll down to "Theater Settings". Go down to "Lamp mode" and change it to "Low Power". You should be set. Hope this helps
Click to expand...


It does, and if i remember correctly it is set to high lamp, I figured that by having that i would have better quality and whatnot. You know? Plus that's what the tv was set on when I bought it and i don't like messing with the setting to much. The bulb on the last two times I changed it the bulb was shattered.
 
Hard to pick what T.V.'s is best, DLP's have always had a bit of problems, bulbs being their biggest. They are sort of hard to find nowadays, parts will soon be difficult as well. As far as LCD or Plasma, it all depends on what type of room you are going to using it in. Plasma by far looks the best, black levels cannot be beat, but they do not work well in rooms with a lot of light. Also, they are big pieces of flat glass, so whatever you have in the room, if there is enough light, will be reflected on the glass. If you have a basement with no windows, Plasma is the way to go. But if have a room with lots of windows and ambient light, LCD is best. The screens are an opaque plastic that really do not reflect too much and there contrast ratio is really high, hence why they work well in those types of environments.
Personally, I wouldn't invest anymore money into the DLP set. Prices are really cheap for T.V.'s right now, but be careful, 3-D is just around the corner! It is suggessted that it will be as big as HD when it came out. Soon you will be seeing all kinds of flat screens sitting by the curb for garbage pick-up.
Good luck!
 
joshua_arndt said:
It does, and if i remember correctly it is set to high lamp, I figured that by having that i would have better quality and whatnot. You know? Plus that's what the tv was set on when I bought it and i don't like messing with the setting to much. The bulb on the last two times I changed it the bulb was shattered.
Click to expand...

There is 0 quality difference between high and low lamp settings. Switch the setting to low power on the lamp after you get a new bulb. From what i've read, when set to low power over high power, the bulb will last between 3 and 5 times longer. I last replaced my bulb in october '08 and it's still good. Try changing the setting. All TV types have their positives and negatives just like anything else. Plasmas need "recharged" after long periods of use but have the best color distinguishing capabilities with a middle price range. Large plasmas are VERY pricey. LCD lasts the longest, but can't give the best "black" or "dark" color ranges as well as the others and have the highest price when it comes to larger screens. DLPs have bulbs and can't be mounted on walls like the others. I prefer the DLP since I already have one and have figured out the key to making the bulb last and I'm very satisfied with the picture quality. You already have the DLP and buying a 50" plus plasma or LCD would cost 8x what 1 more bulb would cost. JMO
 


I voted LCD. There is really no sense in throwing money back into your tv if you have to buy new bulbs all the time. If you use it as a basement tv or w/e, it would be fine because you wouldn't be watching it as often. LCD and Plasmas are dropping in prices quite a bit. If you really want to get a good tv and money really isn't an object, get a LED tv. Samsung makes a great set. It is amazing watching tv on one of those. I work in a TV/appliance store so I get to see alot of the new stuff that comes out.

If you decide to go with a LCD/Plasma, but a quality set that you can have serviced if need be. Many people buy Vizio and what have you and if they break, you are pretty much SOL. You will have to send it in to the company and wait for them to fix it, which will most likely take quite a bit of time. Shop around to see what local repair shops will work on and what they recommmened.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top