[Bob in St. Louis]

Hey folks.
The time has come for a new lamp (bulb) for my Sanyo PLV-Z2 (part #6103097589).
I estimate the hours at about 1,500 and it's getting a bit dim. I figure I'll install a new one and use the old one as a back up.
Anyway, The best price I've found has been about $265+ shipping through Nextag.
Where do you folks buy lamps at? Any good places.
I realise I won't find "the deal of the century" regarding lamps, but I thought I'd ask.

Thanks in advance,
Bob

[zybar]

I have purchased my lamps on eBay or from Visual Apex.

Whoever had a better deal and availability got my business.

George

[Scott F.]

Bob,

Just to share my experience with my Mits. About a year after getting the TV our lamp started going dim. My wife had about 2500 hours on it. I went the cheap route and picked one up for like $225. I'll just be blunt, that was a mistake. Within 6 months and less than 1000 hours the "cheap" lamp went bad. Needless to say, I bought a replacement OEM lamp this go around for like $275. I'll not make that same mistake twice.

No doubt others have had fair luck buying cheap lamps, I thought you may want to hear from someone who didn't have good luck trying to save a few bucks.

[Bob in St. Louis]

George - if memory serves, Visual Apex is where I bought my PJ a few years ago. Very good customer service there.

Scott - Good advise. I certainly do not want a cheap brand lamp, I'm looking for the best price on an O.E. lamp. There's always the threat of a lamp exploding inside a PJ which of course would spell doom for the machine. In no way, shape, or form am I looking for an off brand crappo unit for fifty bucks. no way.
I think I may have found the lowest price I'm going to find (on an O.E. lamp) as I've done a decent amount of searching. Just curious of everybody else's experience buying lamps.

Thanks guys, good information! 

Bob

[zybar]

Bob,

I saved over $100 on two lamps for my Panny pj when I bought them on eBay.  Both lamps were the official Panny lamps for my model and came in sealed packages.

In general, I have had good luck on eBay buying from people with very positive feedback and recent transactions.

george

[kyrill]

hi Bob

I have a JVC HD1 and the retail price of the original lamp in EU is 295 € (almost 468 US $)  AND 409 $ in USA, while 200 US $ in
http://www.pricejapan.com + very reasonable shipping
they dont show yr model on the webpage but you can contact them by email

Wished  i saw   this post earlier

[Bob in St. Louis]

Ok cool, thanks for the link.

[texasphile]

Hey folks.
The time has come for a new lamp (bulb) for my Sanyo PLV-Z2 (part #6103097589).
I estimate the hours at about 1,500 and it's getting a bit dim. I figure I'll install a new one and use the old one as a back up.
Anyway, The best price I've found has been about $265+ shipping through Nextag.
Where do you folks buy lamps at? Any good places.
I realise I won't find "the deal of the century" regarding lamps, but I thought I'd ask.

Thanks in advance,
Bob

Hello Mr. Bob,

I purchase anywhere from 2 to 4 lamps a year for our various projectors in the building.  I normally use www.projectorlampexperts.com or www.projectorlampcenter.com.  Both offer Government/Educational discounts and I don't know if they actually "check" to see if you are an agency of a state so you may wish to look into that.

Keep in mind I am purchasing "business" based projector bulbs and they tend to run from the mid $400s and up.  One or the other company will usually have decent pricing.  Your bulb should be cheaper than the types that I purchase. 

As stated by others, it is far cheaper (in the long run) to buy the brand name bulb.  Don't buy from some company which only sells the bulb and not the entire assembly including the bulb.  Most assembly housings cannot be taken apart without breaking something (they are designed for a small amount of rough treatment).  Also, make certain that the Bulb Is In Stock!  The backlog on projector bulbs can be very long (most come from Germany or Austria) sometimes taking 2 to 3 months to come onto the USA shores.

There are many different sources for bulbs, you might want to wander over to www.avsforum.com and see what the folks there have in the way of advice.

Investigate the company before you buy.  A nice looking website doesn't mean a viable, trustworthy business.

I don't know anything about this company below, but they are cheaply priced and the fact that their "OEM" bulb is only rated for 2,000 hours instead of the true 3,000 hours of the "Real OEM" bulb is an example of a company from which to steer clear.  One of the companies that I recommend is $306 (rounded up) for a bulb including shipping.  The cheap bulb company is $272 (rounded up) for a bulb.  Factoring in the 1/3 less lamp life (if you are lucky) and the "real cost" would be $354, which is actually more expensive.  Also, the cheap bulbs may last 2,000 hours, but they dim out well before the OEM bulbs, which tend to stay almost fully bright for their entire lifespan.

http://www.pcrush.com/product/Projector-Lamps/102179/Sanyo-Projector-Lamp-for-PLV-Z2?refid=1238&cpid=



I hope this helps and good luck,
Chris

[Bob in St. Louis]

Very good information and excellent advice Chris.
So it sounds like, the best policy is to not go too cheap.
Thanks for the information fellas. You guys are great.

Bob