Stranded in Bermuda with a bunk Infocus X1....

April 11, 2005 5:19 PM

My good friend Chris and I purchased an Infocus X1 in September, 2003, and guess-timately think we used around 3000 minutes of DirectTV/XBox fun. After a few whiz-bang sounds out of the unit and an eventual 'black-out', the bulb never turned back on and we continually receive a double blinking red led light. We have installed a new bulb and found the situation unchanged. On power up, a solid green led fires for 3 seconds, followed by a persistent double red led flash. Infocus tech support informed us that I should ship it to my nearest service provider. The fact that my roomate and I live in Bermuda doesn't much help our cause for your Mefi Sympathy or our exhorbinant domestic import duties.. Shipping the unit back to the States is economically redonkulous. Please help! Free room, beer, and board provided.
posted by jasondigitized to computers & internet (6 comments total)

The LED flash indicates a bad bulb. It may be you need to upgrade the firmware:

InFocus X1 FAQ

If I were you I'd update the firmware as there looks to be a change from the lamp time being 3,000 hours to 4,000 hours. It sounds to me like the unit is reading the bulb as being expired. Did you reset the bulb correctly?

User Manual

I know it's basic, I would hope customer service would have tried to at least walk you through it before they make you take it back.

I'll go ahead and fly down sometime in mid-May.
posted by geoff. at 5:57 PM on April 11, 2005

You need to reset your lamp counter after changing the bulb. Usually you'd want to do this from the menu system (Settings->Service->Lamp Reset) , but it's obviously now too late.
The backup method is to press and hold BOTH volume buttons for 10 seconds.

You really do want to upgrade your firmware as geoff. says, the extra 1000 hours are most appreciated.

yes, I'm another happy X1 owner
posted by quiet at 6:21 PM on April 11, 2005

the extra 1000 hours are most appreciated.

Wait. The machine won't show video after 3000 minutes, even with a still-working bulb (!?) - or does the new firmware update make the machine more bulb efficient, therefore gaining you another 1000 minutes?

Also, do you need a room that is completely dark for these to be usable or is that a thing of the past?

Sorry to piggyback on this question...hope you don't mind!
posted by jikel_morten at 6:28 PM on April 11, 2005

quiet,

You have just won a fully paid tour and drink-o-rama in Bermuda for any of our beautiful seasons that you so choose!

Cheers!

Chris & Jason
posted by jasondigitized at 6:30 PM on April 11, 2005

Jikel: After the projector came out they decided the bulb is good for at least 4000 hours, so they changed when the projector decides to give up on it (it has to give up before the bulb actually dies, because they sometimes explode). The bulb and the way it's powered hasn't changed, so you could just reset the counter without changing the bulb and get another 1000 hours, even with the old firmware.

Yes, you do still need a blackout to get a great picture, though they are perfectly watchable in artificial light, or during the day with the curtains drawn and a bit of daylight coming in.
posted by cillit bang at 6:46 PM on April 11, 2005

it has to give up before the bulb actually dies, because they sometimes explode

Ahh, cool. That explains it. Thanks cillit bang!
posted by jikel_morten at 7:03 PM on April 11, 2005