# Break in time for projectors?



## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

I just set up my PT-AE4000U in the almost-completed home theater room. I wanted to play around with the screen size before I painted the screen wall (I'm going to try painting on BW or one of the mixes found in this forum after I've had time to evaluate my taste on plain white primer wall, as has been suggested here). But I digress...

Once we finish the room, which will be in a couple weeks or so, I am going to start tweaking the projector to death. Then after I decide what screen paint to use for the final screen, and paint it of course, I want to consider professional calibration. Is there a recommended break-in time for projectors in general (or my projector specifically), or should I go for the pro calibration as soon as the final screen is done?

Thanks!
sga2

PS - The image is pretty awesome on cheap white drywall primer surrounded by the dark brown wall. I'm thoroughly impressed. Blu Ray material is stunning. It's tough to get any more work done now that I can just flip on the PJ and watch a movie.


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## fitzwaddle (Aug 25, 2010)

I've never heard of any break in time - though the bulb will dim sum in the first couple hundred hours. I think you can safely have it calibrated at any time.


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## engtaz (Jul 9, 2010)

Same hear. I have not heard of a break in time either.


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## TypeA (Aug 14, 2010)

Allow the projector to get up to full operating temperature before you begin to calibrate, 10 to 15 minutes. Since brightness does fade as the bulb ages make sure you write all calibrated settings down for future reference in case you want to compensate for this loss of brightness by changing your settings. However, I initially calibrate using a new bulb in economy mode to get the most hours out of my bulbs. After a couple thousand hours I will then increase the bulb to normal output rather than mess with my brightness calibration. I do this with both my mits hc3000 and sanyo plv z2000, works great and allows good performance even from a bulb that has thousands of hours on it.


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

I recommend 50-100 hours of use before calibrating. Like phosphors in CRTs and PDPs the first hours of running see a drop in output and a shift in color of perhaps a few percent. This can vary greatly with brands and models, but to some degree happens with most. Most are pretty stable in color after initial breakin until the lamp is significantly aged until it starts to drop off in output rapidly.


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## Alan Brown (Jun 7, 2006)

lcaillo said:


> I recommend 50-100 hours of use before calibrating. Like phosphors in CRTs and PDPs the first hours of running see a drop in output and a shift in color of perhaps a few percent. This can vary greatly with brands and models, but to some degree happens with most. Most are pretty stable in color after initial breakin until the lamp is significantly aged until it starts to drop off in output rapidly.


Ditto. It's an issue with the lamps. Whether LED projectors prove to be more stable from the start remains to be clear to me. Most likely they will be. It's also a good idea to run a new projector for an initial period just to see if anything fails. Often, a recalibration would need to be done after a warranty repair, depending on the nature of the repair.

Best regards and beautiful pictures,
Alan Brown, President
CinemaQuest, Inc.
A Lion AV Consultants Affiliate

"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

It took 150hrs. before my lamp stabilized..
During that time I was constantly changing settings just about every time I turned it on!!


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## angelod307 (Oct 18, 2007)

i would say the same with around 50 or so hours. with both of my toshiba's i start them in eco mode, as the new bulbs have a real vivid color on the screen at first, almost cartoonish then towards the the end i go to standard setting. after a while(100 or so hours) they tend to have a more natural look to them. then around 2000 hours or so, they are dim and ready for the replacement to be on hand when it finally dies. matter of fact here, i use an american express to buy my bulbs as they double the manufacture's warranty from the 3 month's to six month's and they cover the replacement for yet another one under their extended warranty plan. so in the end, it is two for one, if you play your projector as your main tv and put 6-15 hours on it daily. food for though on the last part anyway.


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

Thanks, all. I have about 30 hours on it already. By the time I'm ready to call a pro, I'll probably already be around the 150 hour mark. That sounds like a good time.

Regards,
sga2


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