Last week while watching the opening scenes of the new E.T. blu ray the screen suddenly clicked to blue with a "Auto Iris Error" message in the middle. The Epson authorized repair man initially thought he could just replace the iris assembly and the CF motor but after doing so wasn't able to eliminate the error screen. So now the estimate is $1200 for a new optical engine and main board replacement. Or in other words, time for a new projector!
Epson customer service enrolled me in a "loyalty club" which entitles me to a hundred bucks off an 8350 or a 3010 but nothing on their newer or higher end models. They also offered to throw in an extra bulb if I buy a new projector from them. I know it's out of warranty and a new bulb is better than a kick in the head but I was hoping they'd agree that 800 hours isn't an acceptable lifespan for a $2800 projector and do a little more. No traction with Glaiza or Jerrold, the two customer service reps I spoke with.
The 1080ub looked really nice on my 120" 16:9 Centerstage XD screen. If you aren't familiar with this model, it's an earlier version of the 8500ub or 8700ub, sharing it's ability to pulls some pretty high contrast ratios. 75% movies, 15%TV, 10%games. 100% light controlled dedicated theater with black ceiling and carpet. Ceiling mounted projector about 15ft back. I really appreciated the 1080UB's black levels so whatever I buy next I don't want to go backwards on that measurement. Not much need for a motorized lens and I'm not planning to go away from 16:9 anytime soon. I left it set on an adjusted 'theater 1" setting which runs about 500 lumens, so I don't need a light cannon. I think my boys might appreciate 3d but it's not the priority here. Sometimes motion blur was distracting on it but I'm not sure if anything out there can do much better.
So... any suggestions? Would you go back to Epson if you were in my shoes? I'm pondering a refurbed 8700ub but I'm not super excited about giving the same manufacturer another pile of my hard earned cash. This isn't a great time for me to go overboard financially (hence the refurb idea) so I'm looking for bang-for-the-buck here.
Epson customer service enrolled me in a "loyalty club" which entitles me to a hundred bucks off an 8350 or a 3010 but nothing on their newer or higher end models. They also offered to throw in an extra bulb if I buy a new projector from them. I know it's out of warranty and a new bulb is better than a kick in the head but I was hoping they'd agree that 800 hours isn't an acceptable lifespan for a $2800 projector and do a little more. No traction with Glaiza or Jerrold, the two customer service reps I spoke with.
The 1080ub looked really nice on my 120" 16:9 Centerstage XD screen. If you aren't familiar with this model, it's an earlier version of the 8500ub or 8700ub, sharing it's ability to pulls some pretty high contrast ratios. 75% movies, 15%TV, 10%games. 100% light controlled dedicated theater with black ceiling and carpet. Ceiling mounted projector about 15ft back. I really appreciated the 1080UB's black levels so whatever I buy next I don't want to go backwards on that measurement. Not much need for a motorized lens and I'm not planning to go away from 16:9 anytime soon. I left it set on an adjusted 'theater 1" setting which runs about 500 lumens, so I don't need a light cannon. I think my boys might appreciate 3d but it's not the priority here. Sometimes motion blur was distracting on it but I'm not sure if anything out there can do much better.
So... any suggestions? Would you go back to Epson if you were in my shoes? I'm pondering a refurbed 8700ub but I'm not super excited about giving the same manufacturer another pile of my hard earned cash. This isn't a great time for me to go overboard financially (hence the refurb idea) so I'm looking for bang-for-the-buck here.