Return of the Projector
Well, I finally got the projector back last week, and am incredibly glad to have it back (I can't believe I used to watch that tiny 19" screen...). I have built the screen for my wall (3.25m x 1.9m) and the projecter looks really cool on it:
This is Terminator 3 on the projector - you can see my 19" monitor below the screen. I can't believe how small it seems now.
However, I now intend to have a rant about Panasonic, so please stop reading if you don't want to hear it.
When I bought the projector (an AE700) I was very impressed with it. It has incredible clarity and colour, is bright enough for the amount of ambient light I have (which is not much) and the contrast is amazing. I had just bought an HDMI cable so that the connection from my computer was entirely digital, and my amazement went even higher at the increase in quality. Then 1 hour later the bulb blew (800 hours of viewing, 98 days post purchace - 8 days post bulb warranty).
As you can guess I was mightily unimpressed at this (from a bulb whose expected life is quoted as 3000 hours). I took the projector in to the service department (all the way out in Nunawading I should say) where they told me I'd have to leave it for a couple of days for testing to see if it was the projector's fault that the lamp blew (in which case it would be covered by warranty) or the lamp's (in which case it wouldn't).
2.5 weeks later, I find out that no, I'd have to pay for the lamp "pro rata" (generally taken to be price = (number of hours used) / (expected number of hours of use) x cost. However in this case Panasonic has taken the expected number of hours of use to be 2000, rather than the 3000 quoted in the manual. On questioning the panasonic's customer "service" line, they tell me that they agree with me, it does say 3000 in the manual, and no I can't talk to anyone who can do anything about it.
So in summary, Panasonic has crap customer service, and although their projecter is a very impressive machine, it has been let down by this crap customer service, and if i was buying a projecter again, I would strongly consider another brand.
Rant over.
This is Terminator 3 on the projector - you can see my 19" monitor below the screen. I can't believe how small it seems now.However, I now intend to have a rant about Panasonic, so please stop reading if you don't want to hear it.
When I bought the projector (an AE700) I was very impressed with it. It has incredible clarity and colour, is bright enough for the amount of ambient light I have (which is not much) and the contrast is amazing. I had just bought an HDMI cable so that the connection from my computer was entirely digital, and my amazement went even higher at the increase in quality. Then 1 hour later the bulb blew (800 hours of viewing, 98 days post purchace - 8 days post bulb warranty).
As you can guess I was mightily unimpressed at this (from a bulb whose expected life is quoted as 3000 hours). I took the projector in to the service department (all the way out in Nunawading I should say) where they told me I'd have to leave it for a couple of days for testing to see if it was the projector's fault that the lamp blew (in which case it would be covered by warranty) or the lamp's (in which case it wouldn't).
2.5 weeks later, I find out that no, I'd have to pay for the lamp "pro rata" (generally taken to be price = (number of hours used) / (expected number of hours of use) x cost. However in this case Panasonic has taken the expected number of hours of use to be 2000, rather than the 3000 quoted in the manual. On questioning the panasonic's customer "service" line, they tell me that they agree with me, it does say 3000 in the manual, and no I can't talk to anyone who can do anything about it.
So in summary, Panasonic has crap customer service, and although their projecter is a very impressive machine, it has been let down by this crap customer service, and if i was buying a projecter again, I would strongly consider another brand.
Rant over.
posted by Ug at 5:53 pm
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