Change that lamp!

[madmac]

I know most members here have moved on from RPTV's to flat panels but if your hanging on like me, you owe it to yourself to NOT hang onto your RPTV bulb for too long........even if it's working.

Like the plasma phenomenon, rear projection TV bulbs lose their intensity over time, affecting picture quality and clarity.

I have the last Sony SXRD RPTV they made (60") and I just changed the bulb yesterday. OMFG what a difference !! It's like a new TV !! I honestly cannot believe the difference in picture quality, brightness and clarity!! :T All I can say is CHANGE THOSE BULBS !! There's even more reason to do it more often now because the price of the bulbs has gone down dramatically. :W

[Kevin P]

Also, the bulb can explode if it's kept too long past the rated hours, possibly damaging the TV or leaving you with a mess of glass shards to clean up when you do change it.

So far I've avoided the whole bulb thing. I still run a CRT FPTV. Some day when LED tech advances to the point where it's practical for a FPTV I'll upgrade.

[Hdale85]

Also make sure you get an OEM bulb and not some chinese one. Brother in law got a cheap bulb for the Sony SXRD that I gave to him (55") and it looked like crap afterwards. Generally for the first 100-200 hours the bulb will actually be too bright, and your blacks will be more washed out than normal.