Help - projector repair urgently needed - Southampton

[greenalien]

HELP! My Hewlett-Packard VP6120 video projector packed up last night and I've got a gig booked for Saturday! :)

 

The problem is, the lamp failure light has come on and the lamp has gone out - but the lamp is supposed to have a 2000 hour life, and has so far only done 700, and was working fine until everything went black.

Discharge lamps rarely fail suddenly, they usually get dim first.

This has to mean that there is a chance that something else has failed, most likely the ballast, but the machine is out of warranty and HP's repair process takes a couple of weeks and isn't cheap.

I'm a bit reluctant to spend £350 on a new lamp as it may not cure the problem, so can anyone recommend a video projector repair specialist within reach of Southampton who might be able to take a quick look?

 

TIA...John

[Andrew C]

I'm a bit reluctant to spend £350 on a new lamp as it may not cure the problem, so can anyone recommend a video projector repair specialist within reach of Southampton who might be able to take a quick look?

I can't do that I'm afraid, and my news isn't good... We have a lot of these at work, and we have had many similar problems. Two have been back to Holland, and were returned no better than when they left and one is still playing up. I'll ask the IT dept if they ever got to a solution, but don't hold your breath! :)

[Matt Riley]

Hi John,

 

I guess that its always a difficult call with projectors like this whether to replace or repair - a new benq 2200 lumens native xga costs about £550 inc vat from ebuyer. I think that with all projectors and lamps, if they get transported often, then the lamps can and will fail early and unexpectedly, especially with projectors that aren't designed for the road! My recommendation would be to find a hire co who can supply you with a projector for the gig on Saturday though while you sort out the problem with this one. Sfl group in Reading could probably help you out, as could Reflex (also Reading) although you probably know somewhere closer to home (I'm new to Soton, and due to being a noise boy don't know of any video companies who could hire out!)

 

Hope it isn't too expensive

 

Matt

[greenalien]

As Matt says, it's a hard call - even if I buy a new lamp for £330, there's no guarantee it'll fix the problem; nobody sells projector lamps on a trial basis, so if fitting a new lamp doesn't fix the fault, I could end up out of pocket and the projector would still be u/s.

 

Ideally what I need is someone who has a spare lamp that I could try in my projector - if it works then I'll buy a new lamp and the problem is solved - thanks to Andrew for attempting to help in this way, great idea, unfortunately his lamp wasn't quite for the same model.

 

In the mean time, I've ordered a cheap-ish BENQ 2000 lumen SVGA model that has a 3-year warranty, includes a spare lamp and is supposed to be smoke-proof - and only cost a third of the price I paid for my HP 3 years ago - just hope it arrives in time for Saturday's gig!

 

It'll be interesting to see if the resolution is as good for video as the HP was; I'm told that there shouldn't be much to choose between resolutions unless you are using the projector for computer data - should soon find out!

[lukemh]

Being a Soton lad I know there is a hire company a small one on the protswood road just on towards st marys from the Safeway in Portswood. Sorry I cant remember the name they are only a small outfit. hope this helps.

 

excess quotage removed

[Andrew C]

Sorry I can,t remember the name they are only a small outfit. hope this helps.

Ark Electronics? But I suspect Green Alien knows all about them...

[misterbassman]

I think luke is referring to Moxhams, well worth a try if you wanted to hire something. As far as I know they don't do repairs. More infomation at http://www.moxhams.co.uk/

[Stuart91]

We had terrible problems with HP and BenQ projectors when they first came out. We managed a spectacular 150% failure rate - nearly all the projectors failed, some were swapped out and the new replacements failed too. With some customers we had to eventually replace their BenQ machines with a different brand, taking a financial hit in the process, because it seemed impossible to supply a BenQ projector that would work for more than a couple of weeks.

 

I remember reading that HP have now stopped offering projectors. I still avoid BenQ like the plague, although there's a possibility they may have improved recently.

[greenalien]

Well, my new BENQ MP610 has just arrived, so Saturday's gig (Grey Matter @ the Joiners) should be OK - the show must go on etc etc.... ;)

 

Despite being SVGA instead of XGA, the resolution for video on the BENQ seems just as good as the HP was before it went wrong, and it is at least as bright despite being 200 watt instead of 250. So far, seems like a better decision to spend just over £500 on the new beamer with a 3 year warranty and a spare lamp, rather than £330 on a replacement lamp for a 3-year old warranty-expired device that might be damaged in some other way.

 

I know Simon & Shelly at Ark Electronics, cool people, last time I was there they didn't do projector repairs. Haven't tried Moxhams yet but no rush now.

 

Still on the lookout for someone with a HP VP6120 to try a lamp swap though...