DLP TVs - do they all blow bulbs like they grow on trees?

[admin_exported]

My wife and stepkids in Houston have been using my JVC DLP-TV for the past three years or so while I've been exiled back to the UK. The darned thing keeps blowing it's "bulb", with a kosher JVC unit, including housing, costing, US$200 a time. I think the root cause is the kids leaving the TV on 24/7 and overheating the bulb as a result.

My questions are:

1, Do all DLP-TVs do this?

2, Is this one of the reasons (apart from the relative "thickness" of the sets) that DLPs have gone the way of the dodo, Betamax and HD-DVD?

 

[matthewpiano]

It shouldn't be blowing bulbs regularly, but every 2-3 years is about the normal cycle from my experience.

The main reason why rear projection sets have gone out of fashion is the size/bulk of the unit. Also, they are hopeless in any kind of light and viewing angles are more restricted than other technologies. Personally I hated them and was glad when we stopped selling them. I also think the bulbs are daylight robbery. A replacement bulb for a Sony is about £250 retail - for 3x that you can buy a 40" LCD with far better performance.

 

[Anonymous]

Now I'm soon to be in gainful (very gainful thankfully) employment again, I'm going to replace the damned thing with a nice big 58-inch Panasonic Vierra full HD plasma. Right now these are going at Bestbuy (American version of Comet) for about US$1700 (About GBP1150?) including sales tax and delivery.