With 3550 hours and 3 years on my Mitsubishi DLP, it seemed a good idea to replace the lamp. This probably works for other DLPs, like the Samsung.
After 1.000 hours, there was a gradual, but noticeable drop in picture quality. Another 1,000 hours more, it pushed me to use the “Deep Field Imager” to ‘boost’ contrast/brightness and compensate for the drop in light output.
Lamps Not Bulbs.
The lamp for a DLP is a sophisticated, high pressure, mercury, vapor lamp. These lamps run at high temperatures for extended periods. Osram and Philips are the major OEM manufacturers of lamps. Both brands rate their lamps at 6,000 hours of life.
Lamp Assembly.
Below are pictures showing where the lamp assembly goes. Note the glass lens on the left hand side.
Mitsubishi DLP Lamp Replacement lamp assembly cavity
Mitsubishi DLP Lamp Replacement assembly
Mitsubishi DLP Lamp Replacement light engine
Open Assembly.
Do NOT touch any of the glass of the assembly with your fingers.
Wait for the assembly to cool, first!
Use fine cloth gloves or a couple of tissues folded in half to ‘handle’ the assembly by the threaded stud at the rear of the bell housing. Finger oils shorten lamp life.
Mitsubishi DLP Lamp Replacement assembly open
The assembly is held together by 3 plastic clips. Two on each side (above the screen in the photo) and the 3rd is opposite the handle. See the 4 mounting clips that secure the lamp to the housing.
The nut (tip of the bell housing) and the screw were not tight. The replacement lamp had another screw and nut, but no washer.
Mitsubishi DLP Lamp Replacement assembly mounting clips
New Lamp.
The design changed from the original Osram. For one, the thickness of the bell housing and the front flat piece of glass made securing the clips more difficult since they didn’t fit as before.
Mitsubishi DLP Lamp Replacement
Mitsubishi DLP Lamp Replacement
Mitsubishi DLP Lamp Replacement
I was somewhat surprised at the ‘haze’ that settled on the face of the glass ‘lens’ that covers the opening of the bell housing/reflector of the lamp assembly. Also, the design was changed from a ‘lens’ (with an interior curved surface) to a flat piece of glass.
Old vs. Replacement Lamp
This image shows not a reflection, but a ‘haze’ (right image), which forms on the surface of the outer ‘lens’. Other than a thicker piece of glass, the corners of the bell housing (reflector) were thicker also.
Mitsubishi DLP Lamp Replacement
Remove the Screen.
Some recommend removing the filter screen to the rear of the lamp housing. There was substantial dust buildup in there. The screen is a fine mesh, which traps most of the dust passing across the front glass faceplate. This is the only ‘forced’ air circulating around the lamp assembly. Those two large, screened openings only use convection currents. There is no fan pushing air through those. They were not dusty.
Note with the before shot, the very corner of the screen. It shows the dust buildup that covered the whole screen before it was cleaned.
Mitsubishi DLP Lamp Replacement dust screen
A closer look of the lamp mounted in the housing shows an ‘arch’ to the front of the reflector, on each side of the assembly. Air is forced across this area. It is in front of the actual ‘bulb’ in the assembly. This appears to be a mistake, or “factory design flaw”.
Mitsubishi DLP Lamp Replacement dust screen
General Questions.
Has anyone purchased a lamp from a 3rd party? If so, how was lamp quality?
TV manufacturers do not produce their own lamps. They design the housings for the lamps because the housings go in their TVs. The manufacturers get their lamps from two primary sources: Philips and Osram (A Seimens Co.). These are the lamps manufacturers use in their own TVs, so the quality is identical (assuming your 3rd party provider sells Philips or Osram lamps, because knock-offs are out there).
How difficult is it to swap lamps in the bulb housing?
Typically, changing lamps from the housing takes 10-20 minutes. Use your TV’s user manual to identify where the lamp is. From there, all it takes is a phillips-head screwdriver and some patience.
Once the panel is removed, for the lamp housing, you see the housing and the lamp inside the TV. There are usually 2-4 screws holding the lamp housing in place. After removing those screws, the lamp housing slides out of the TV.
Another 1-3 screws hold the lamp housing together. Remove them and the housing comes apart. This lets you access the lamp.
2-4 screws hold the lamp in place. Remove these and replace the old lamp with the new. Be careful to position the lamp where the old one was placed. Also be careful not to touch the lens of the new lamp with your bare hands. Body oil degrades the quality of the lens and the life of the lamp.
The light engine was fixed once. Does this affect my lamp choice?
No.
Will the use of an OEM lamp affect the 3 year light engine warranty at all?
It should not affect the warranty at all. These are the same OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) lamps that TV manufacturers use on the factory floor.
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My samsung 7288 model was produced first half of 2006. Picture quality was not the best, so got a hlt-6187s (last half of ’07) and the picture quality was far superior!
Just be sure to get the 6187s and not the 6187sa. My family agrees the picture is crisper on the 6187s.