Digital Projectors Need Love and Maintenance
Alas… This isn't a TV. Maintenance protects the substantial investment you have made, and will prolong the life of your digital projector and its lamp.
Your projector is a piece of electronic equipment – full of circuit boards. The boards and the projector lamp create heat. The projector is cooled by air pulled from outside through a filter. The filter protects the delicate electronics from dirt and dust. When the filter clogs with dust, the projector cannot cool effectively. The consequence of overheating is expensive, resulting in diminished lamp life and cooked circuit boards and panels. While the lamp is replaceable, the damage to boards and panels is irreversible.
What needs to be done?
The Minimum: Every 3 months, remove and clean the air filters on the projector. This procedure is outlined in your Owners Manual, or contact Points West Audio Visual and we will gladly talk you through it.
Service it: If you prefer, we can perform this maintenance for you. Our digital projector maintenance includes:
- Cleaning of panels
- Circuit board check
- Lens cleaning
- Fan lubrication
- Filter Cleaning
- Lamp Life Check *
Lamp? What lamp?
* A bit about lamps... The lamp in your projector is a consumable item. Again, a little different than a TV. (So if you're not using the projector in your computer lab, turn it OFF!) A typical digital projector lamp has a life of around 1000 hours under cool, gentle, and very clean conditions. Really folks, manufacturers' specs remain the stuff of urban legend. 3000 hours! Ha!
NEC's eco-mode option helps prolong lamp life, it's a 'low beam' alternative. What you will notice about digital projector lamps is that rather than blowing, they gradually dim over time. All projectors have lamp meters that indicate the hours of lamp life remaining or used. If you're getting close to the 1000 hour mark, get your replacement ready.
A replacement lamp will cost $400-$500. A chunk of change. But cost it out per hour, at $0.45 it becomes a deal compared to your overhead ($0.83 per hour).
A digital projector is a considerable investment. Make it someone's responsibility to maintain it. Should you have any questions regarding projector maintenance, please call (before you have to ask "Why are those yellow spots dotting our every picture?"
Late Breaking News... Need More Maintenance Motivation?
Industry pundits are speculating a worldwide lamp shortage by 2007. If the laws of supply and demand still apply then, expect unpredictable delivery times and a predictable price increase. Baby that projector.
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