MT700 Projector woes
Well, I am without my Toshiba MT700 front projector this week. I just Fed Ex'd my unit to Topps (Toshiba's Repair Vendor) last friday due to a bad HDMI connection. I had this problem a month ago but just trying a different HDMI cable and then going back to my old one seemed to have made the problem go away. A month later, with no change or movement to the projector, the picture went out and I would see a lime colored bar / stripe projected onto my screen every few seconds. I tried another HDMI cable just to be sure it was not my original cable. A little wiggle on the HDMI connection with the new cable would only mometarily bring the picture back.
Also from the forums, there is also a good number of bulbs burning out prematurely on the MT700 as well as it's twin, BenQ PE7700. BenQ has indicated that they had a initial batch of bad bulbs from it's OEM. Some speculate the ballast system (the component that powers the bulb) could be at fault. With bulbs only having a 90 day warranty and at $400 a pop to replace, it's defnitely nothing to sneeze at. However I have read that due to the known bulb issue, BenQ is replacing original bulbs that have past the 90 day warranty at no charge. I don't know yet if Toshiba will do the same. What is more troubling is that Toshiba has exited the home theater projector business but will still honor the two year warranty.
With all the troubles above I did experience buyer's remorse for a few days. After all I did spend a lot of time researching the MT700. It was not new technology but it was one of the first production unit that rolled off the line. And of course it is not uncommon for early production units to have bugs.
If I had to do it all over again today I would likely pick the reputable Optoma H77 or the H78DC3 but at the time I bought my Toshiba MT700, the Optoma H77 was $1500 more. Today the H77 is ~$500 more and the newer model H78DC3 is ~$1500 more.
The upside is that Toshiba has covered all the overnight shipping expenses to and fro. I have also read a number of MT700 owners experiencing quick Service...with total repair time including air shipping being one week. I hope to have that kind of luck!
Also from the forums, there is also a good number of bulbs burning out prematurely on the MT700 as well as it's twin, BenQ PE7700. BenQ has indicated that they had a initial batch of bad bulbs from it's OEM. Some speculate the ballast system (the component that powers the bulb) could be at fault. With bulbs only having a 90 day warranty and at $400 a pop to replace, it's defnitely nothing to sneeze at. However I have read that due to the known bulb issue, BenQ is replacing original bulbs that have past the 90 day warranty at no charge. I don't know yet if Toshiba will do the same. What is more troubling is that Toshiba has exited the home theater projector business but will still honor the two year warranty.
With all the troubles above I did experience buyer's remorse for a few days. After all I did spend a lot of time researching the MT700. It was not new technology but it was one of the first production unit that rolled off the line. And of course it is not uncommon for early production units to have bugs.
If I had to do it all over again today I would likely pick the reputable Optoma H77 or the H78DC3 but at the time I bought my Toshiba MT700, the Optoma H77 was $1500 more. Today the H77 is ~$500 more and the newer model H78DC3 is ~$1500 more.
The upside is that Toshiba has covered all the overnight shipping expenses to and fro. I have also read a number of MT700 owners experiencing quick Service...with total repair time including air shipping being one week. I hope to have that kind of luck!
posted by baconandeggs at 8:12 PM
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