# Image problem : Epson 8700UB



## travi_74 (Dec 10, 2013)

Wondering if any of you folks have encountered this issue, and if so, how it was resolved…

Nearly six year old Epson 8700UB, absolutely flawless pictures… till last night.

The PJ had been running for about 30-35 minutes when suddenly these sparkling lines started showing up towards top of the screen.

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=129545&thumb=1

I thought there might be an issue with the input source and/or the cabling/connections, so I turned the PJ to show its own (internally stored) display pattern. YIKES..!!!
This is supposed to be a completely blue background with a thin white rectangle, and a couple of concentric circles in the middle (used for aligning the image). This is how it showed up. 
CloseUps 1, 2 & 3 show how bad it truly was.

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=129553&thumb=1

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=129561&thumb=1

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=129569&thumb=1

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=129577&thumb=1



Switched to the projector’s “Blank” image, which is supposed to be just white “EPSON” in bold letters in center, on top of completely black background, and this is what was displayed.
(the picture has a slightly greenish hue, which is due to the camera. In real life, the EPSON text was properly white. Color reproduction seems to be fine at the moment). CloseUps 4 & 5 give a more detailed view. 

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=129585&thumb=1

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=129593&thumb=1

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=129601&thumb=1



Any of you seen something like this before, any idea what it could be?
It’s certainly not a lamp issue, since picture is still bright and colors are still good.. and not all parts of the image are affected in the same way.
It’s not cabling or input source, since the PJ’s internally stored pattern image and blank image are also affected
It’s likely not the LCD panel(s) either, since the probability of the exact pixels to have the exact defect on three separate LCD panels (RGB) is pretty much zero. (The pictures don’t show this, but if you get really close to the screen… close enough to see individual RGB components of each pixel, you can see that each component within a pixel is affected in exactly the same way.)

I suspect then, that the problem might be the main circuit board. Something messed up or shot, which is messing up the signals being output to the LCD panels…(either during, or after image processing) 
Of course, that’s mere speculation on my part, I’m no expert… which is why I’m picking the brains of the folks here… 


If it’s indeed the circuit board, any ideas how much it might cost to get the board replaced? I expect it would be a significant expense, since that’s the brains of the PJ… 

Do I sense a new 5040UB in the near future....? 

Thanks,
Ravi


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## travi_74 (Dec 10, 2013)

So... went ahead and got the 5040UB... 

Man, this sucker is HUGE... :blink:


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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

Nice, did you ever chat with Epson customer support? I bet they would know exactly what it is & how much to fix it.


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## travi_74 (Dec 10, 2013)

I contacted the Epson authorized repair center, its a bit of drive from where I live, so I sent them the pictures after speaking to them.
The response I got from them was that the whole light-engine and processor assembly would need to be changed, and would cost around $1400 (including labor).

That's only half the cost of a new 5040UB, but you have to keep in mind that the 8700UB is a 6 year old model, so its very unlikely that 8700UB-specific parts are still being manufactured today. Any repairs I get done today would likely involve replacement parts that have either been just sitting in inventory for a long-long time, or have been garnered from units returned for some other type of defects. I just didn't feel comfortable spending $14-1500 to get replacement parts which I don't know how long they will last.

Besides.. 5040 just makes more sense, because, it's so... umm... shiny... ;-D


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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

That's what I would have done.:smile:


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