Osram Warranty vs Service Warranty

[Frank Cox]

I just got a new lamp for my projector and the card that came in the box says:

Warranty: 3000h
Service Warranty: 3500h

The card that came with the lamp that's currently in the projector just says:

Warranty: 3000h

So what's the difference between Warranty and Service Warranty? Does that mean I could/can/should be able to run this one to 3500 hours?

[Dave Macaulay]

Yes. The pro-rated lamp warraty ends at 3000h. The 3500h service life expiry is the end of the damage warranty if it explodes... Osram pays for the mirrors until then. So you can wait a bit longer if the image is still tolerably steady and bright.
Close to 3000h the replacement warranty will be worth, well, pocket change.

[Frank Cox]

Thanks!

I feel ever so much better informed!

[Jim Cassedy]

So if a bulb under warranty explodes and breaks a mirror that's still under warranty,
can you collect on both & pocket the difference? (just a semi-sarcastic thought)

[Marcel Birgelen]

Dave already gave the answer, but it's always wise to check the fine print. This is from OSRAM's own documentation. Please notice that there might be a slight difference for your specific warranty contract:

In the event of a lamp rupture that occurs after expiration of the Warranty Lifetime but within the Service Warranty Lifetime specified on Schedule 1 (the “Service Warranty Lifetime”) that is caused solely due to a defect in the lamp’s materials or workmanship, OSRAM will credit the Purchaser the replacement invoice amount for any projector filter and/or mirror that is damaged as a result of the ruptured lamp (labor included), but shall not provide a replacement lamp for the ruptured lamp.

So, if the lamp goes south within the Warranty period, you get a new lamp and OSRAM will pay for any repairs inflicted by an eventual ruptue of the lamp.
If the lamp goes south outside the Warranty period but still within the Service Warranty, you will NOT get a new lamp, but OSRAM will still pay for damages caused by a lamp rupture.

I'm not sure why they extended the Service Warranty, but I guess it's due to the recent supply problems they had, which forced quite a few operators to run their lamps past the warranty period...

[Dave Macaulay]

Marcel: maybe it's different in NL, but we don't simply get a new lamp. So a failed $1000.00 lamp with 1000h warranty (made up example to simplify math) gets a credit of $1.00 for each unused hour of the 1000h warranty, taken off the price of a replacement. There's some flexibility though, maybe a new lamp is free within the first small percentage of warranty life.
And I don't know why projectors' internal lamp data files have "expiry" at warranty hours. One of our customers convinced Barco to make them a special lamp data file with service hours, but otherwise one has to watch the hours. Obvious conspiracy theory... collusion with the lamp suppliers!

[Jill Mobley]

Dave, how does the data file work? Is it in Communicator?

[Marcel Birgelen]

Marcel: maybe it's different in NL, but we don't simply get a new lamp. So a failed $1000.00 lamp with 1000h warranty (made up example to simplify math) gets a credit of $1.00 for each unused hour of the 1000h warranty, taken off the price of a replacement. There's some flexibility though, maybe a new lamp is free within the first small percentage of warranty life.
And I don't know why projectors' internal lamp data files have "expiry" at warranty hours. One of our customers convinced Barco to make them a special lamp data file with service hours, but otherwise one has to watch the hours. Obvious conspiracy theory... collusion with the lamp suppliers!

Maybe it's also different between supplier. The last premature lamp failure was about three years ago and Ushio provided us a new lamp. This lamp failed after about 25% of its service time though. The lamp was problematic from the get go and failed to strike far more often than usual.