View Full Version : Would anyone be interested in a cheap projector?
Matblack
17-01-2007, 15:02
My AE700 is on the fritz :(
Its a good projector with a brand new bulb (100hr) but its developed a fault which may cost up to £300 to repair.
The company are going to collect it and look at it, they will then quote me and if its financially viable I might get it done. But I am also keen to upgrade to a DLP projector (AE700 is LCD).
Once I know the cost I may sell it at the price it cost to fix and then buy the DLP anyway (no advantage to me apart from someone gets a cheap newly serviced projector).
If anyone would be in the market then let me know
MB
I'd love to say yes.....but I think Sinead will put her foot down ;D
I'd love to say yes.....but I think Sinead will put her foot down ;D
Mic would also love to say yes but I think I would put my foot down ;D
I'd also love to say yes, but I have no room for it. :(
I'd love to say yes.....but I think Sinead will put her foot down ;D
She wants to stand on it for a few extra inches? ;)
*thinks of room arrangement*
I may well be very tempted by this MB. I will need to head home at the weekend with a tapemeasure to see if it will work. Also buying it from you at the price it costs to fix is harsh! I wouldn't mind throwing a few more quid your way :)
Keep me in mind
Will they give a diagnosis of what the problem is before fix? A lot of electronic faults can be fixed without a PCB change which is the usual (and expensive) method.
Matblack
19-01-2007, 13:23
WOW that was quick, I just got a call from the company (they collected it yesterday) to say that they have had a look and done a reset and can't find any thing wrong.
This is not really the answer I wanted, I would prefer it if they found something because now I worry if they ship it back I will still have the issue and they just haven't managed to reproduce it, hence I will pay for a service and not get the unit fixed. :/
I have asked him to do further tests and fingers crossed they will come back and say that the issue is not reappearing even after prolonged display of a static image. If this is the case I am delighted but I am not holding out a lot of hope :(
MB
Davey_Pitch
19-01-2007, 13:41
It's not unknown for the shipping of an item to fix it's niggly faults. I remember once carrying a PC about 600 yards down a lot of stairs to the Uni's workshop, and by the time I'd gotten it there, the network problems had fixed themselves. By the time I carried it back, they'd returned. Needless to say, I had them come out and see the problem instead.
My amp when bang once. Proper bang with smell of fried electronics. Out of warranty by 2 weeks :undecided: The radio didn't work and one channel was dead. Sent it off for repair - no fault found. Got it back, fine ever since. Best £30 fee for looking at it I've spent!
Matblack
19-01-2007, 17:48
OK
They have replicated the issue, they aren't sure if its the mainboard (write off) or optical block (£300)
Right now it isn't unuseable and the bloke said if it was him he'd have it back and use it but I'm a perfectionist and although it would be fine with film its less good with games.
They will have an answer for me next week, I suspect it will be the block and it will be £300, I've asked that if it is will they offer me a deal on a new projector and sell me an Optoma HD70 at a few quid off, the other option is to pay to get it back and sell it broken or get it fixed and sell it at slightly more than the cost of the repair. These are still good projectors and for films it will be fine but not much use for games as I say.
Will get a repost next week and make a judgement call, I will post as soon as I know and if any one wants it then its theirs :)
MB
What's the net result of this fault dude? Cant be an interested party unfortunately with my current financial demands, but I'm curious as to what makes the projector a bif naff for gaming if it works for film :)
Matblack
19-01-2007, 18:00
What's the net result of this fault dude? Cant be an interested party unfortunately with my current financial demands, but I'm curious as to what makes the projector a bif naff for gaming if it works for film :)
OK
The fault manifests when an image is left on the screen for more than 30 seconds or so, its only in areas where there is a high contrast, for example the player lozenges in Texas Hold 'em on the 360 or the health bar block in Dead Rising.
The fault is only obvious in the blue part of the spectrum (the no signal channels come up as a blue so you can switch to that and see the 'virtual burn in' in all its glory, its a kind of watermark effect, when the picture changes the problem shows up as a colour change in that area, usually some extra blue in the picture. This fades with time and once the PJ is off or on a moving picture it subsides reasonably fast (3-4 minutes).
The bloke is right its perfectly useable really and if you were just watching film the picture would be moving and the problem would never become obvious :)
MB
Understood :)
You're as much a videophile as an audiophile it seems :D
I've been measuring up and schemeing for our new computer room and i'm tempted if it becomes available.
What are the spec's of the AE700 mat & how much?
Matblack
19-01-2007, 22:29
http://www.projectorcentral.com/panasonic_ae700.htm
I don't know how much tbh, I need to find out from them the cost to fix it and ship it back, if its worth it then I just want a few quid on top to put towards a new unit. It has a brand new bulb in it which itself cost £200.
I did ask if they would knock a few quid off a new unit if I just gave them the ae700 and he's looking into it. I have a real issue with selling a unit which I know to be faulty so its something I'd strongly consider. I don't want to sell the unit to a mate or anyone for that matter and then have it fail on them.
MB
I have a real issue with selling a unit which I know to be faulty so its something I'd strongly consider. I don't want to sell the unit to a mate or anyone for that matter and then have it fail on them.
Assuming the fault turns out to be with the £300 part rather than a the "write it off" part I think I'd be more interested in just paying whatever they charge for the testing/inspection plus the "few quid on top" and taking it off your hands as is rather having it repaired. If whatever is causing the problem then fails completely a few months down the line I can pay for the repair then at no net loss but if it carries on working fine then it's a bonus.
Matblack
19-01-2007, 22:59
Hmmmmm
OK, well see what happens next week
MB
Where do you recommend to get moderately priced projectors from?
Matblack
20-01-2007, 17:27
Where do you recommend to get moderately priced projectors from?
Whats your budget?
MB
Dunno really I'd just say under £1000.
Just need somewhere reputable to look really :)
Matblack
21-01-2007, 10:40
Have a look on AVForums.com for good places, 99% are internet based but have a good reputation, not many stock all the varients so you may have to shop around when you decide which model you want.
MB
Matblack
23-01-2007, 18:19
Serviceing company have confirmed that the pj needs a new blue LCD and are trying to get a decent price out of Panasonic for a replacement :(
Will post here when I know how much it will cost and people can let me know if they want to do a deal on it. If not I'll have to weigh up whether to just leave it with them cut my losses :/
MB
Matblack
26-01-2007, 14:35
OK I now have a very very silly price for repair!
963.50 + VAT!
Takes the urine or what?
Considering Panasonics new model is less than that its pretty ridiculus.
Anyway I said I'd post the price and there you go. I can get a new Sanyo Z5 with a 3 year warrenty for £963 inc VAT so that will be what I do. Its a lot of money but the 3 year warrenty swings it for me.
To get the PJ back from AV Partmaster will cost £90 for the service plus £20 shipping. if anyone wants it then I will call them and you can pay them for it and they can ship it to you directly I won't get involved.
As I said before its probably useable for movies but the problem is just going to get worse, although it does have a bulb which has only 110 hours out of about 2000 and cost £200 I still wouldn't take the gamble myself.
MB
Such is the problem with modern electronics - cost more to repair than to replace so they get thrown away. :(
Does sound like a bloody rip-off though, especially given the value of the parts they get to keep if you don't pay for it to be returned.
Flibster
27-01-2007, 00:21
£1100 for a repair?! They have got to be taking the piss!
Just goes to show how much they really want to repair them. They just want to sell their latest model.
Did you get the price over the phone? I've found that often engineers sound extremely embarassed giving you numbers like that for what is really quite a simple job.
Simon/~Flibster
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