Bulbs usually have 90 days and would not be covered under an extended plan.
Bulbs go for $400 typically. If it is an XGA or WVGA DLP then it is approaching the cost of a new unit.

1900 HRS so far on my 23 month old Z5...still looks awesome.

I am now at over 3500 hours on my original bulb in my BenQ. I am happy and sad as I want a justification to get a new higher resolution unit.

the bulb to my kds-60a2000 died 09/01/08. I bought it back in april 07, but it was a 2006 model so potentially it had about a years worth of use on it beforehand.

However even though it was out of warranty by that point, Sony replaced my bulb for free. The install was absolutely painless, took like 2 minutes. Not only that, but they ended up sending me a 2nd bulb, so im covered for atleast the next 4 years.

2900hrs on my Z5 bulb since Feb 07, I have a spare bulb that came with the projector. I do not know if at 3000hrs I should change it or not. This projector still amazes me everytime I turn it on, it is great.

Just an FYI...it was the bulb on my DLP, and it was covered under warranty

Bulb just went on my Optoma HD6800/HD72 which I purchased from Costco August 2006. Counter reads 705, but with what I have been reading on various threads, it should be double. Even at 1400 hours, the life expectancy of "these" bulbs is ridiculous at 50-60%. I have read so many problems with the Optoma projectors. I will have to buy a new bulb and hope it lasts another 2 years. After that, I'll buy a different projector that is not an Optoma. Hopefully LED projectors will become affordable by then.

Hard to make any concrete conclusion but if you look at the under 1000 hrs about 1/4 to 1/3 are dead. Of course the number of people reporting problems will always be larger than those that are not.

Dude, if it still looks good, let her go, I have heard of folks getting 4500 hrs from Sanyo PJ's. There is an advantage to not being a light cannon.

The bulb is original at about 2500 hrs, still looks good on DVD. I do not use as much as when I got the unit but once my son is into watching movies then it will get more use.

Cheers!

Sad to here that STP88. My 6800 is still going strong at 1300 hours but I already feel like it's working on borrowed time.

bought aug 2008 on my fourth bulb. three previous have only lasted between 500 and 800 hours. Thinking of switching to an epson.

Just had a look at the hours on my z5 last night, 4100 and counting, on the original bulb since feb 07. If and when this thing goes, it does not break and cause a mess does it?

Still more cost effective to replace the bulb (Optoma 6800) at this point until I save enough for a new 1080p projector. It definitely will not be an Optoma, probably an Epson or a Sanyo.

Just had a look at the hours on my z5 last night, 4100 and counting, on the original bulb since feb 07. If and when this thing goes, it does not break and cause a mess does it?
If the glass on the inside does break, there is little chance for the glass to enter the projector. There are holes in the side of the lamp, but a fine screen mesh covers the holes to let hot air out, and keep the broken glass in. The lamp in my Z4 popped (the glass inside broke partially) at 7300 hours, and no glass entered the projector.

My BenQ W500 just displayed the "2950 hours now, and will turn off in 50 hours pending lamp replacement" message. I can't tell any difference in brightness from it's early days. It is in a basement that is significantly cooler than anywhere else int he house, esp. during the fall/winter seasons, plus there's way less dust in it vs. the disconcertingly greater amount upstairs (furnace proximity?). The PJ still wows me with 720p or better signals. It's been on average once a day, running 3-7 hours for about 2 years. I'm planning on resetting the counter shortly, as I feel it's been running in optimum conditions.

That is remarkable osijek1289! Maybe I should consider a BenQ W5000 as my next 1080p projector. Anybody else out there have lamp longevity with the BenQ models?

Though I would return and update the record & community that I'd reset the bulb timer when it reached 3K hours, and am currently at 4205 hours. It'd been on economy mode it's whole life, except for maybe 30 min in "high." I'm pretty picky, and can't tell any difference in picture quality. I really should probably get a bulb to have for when (if?!) it blows; I feel a bit like that Seinfeld episode where Kramer takes a used car & salesman out for the test drive, and they experience the thrill of living on the edge, with the gas tank reading zero, wanting to see how far they can go.

I have a Epson HC720 that's been in service for 10 months..... Has 770hrs on it so far.... no problems yet..... Just was looking today, and apparently expected lifespan of that bulb is around 3000hrs.....

Only 29 months to go Petee! ;)