I agree, it sounds like a cheap miracle cleaning agent pitched by some hyperactive sales guy on your local TV shopping channel. Then again, our "Western" conception of "cheap sounding" is hard to compare to what Asians think of it. For example, LG, a somewhat respectable electronics manufacturer from South Korea is the shorthand for "Lucky Goldstar". (You may remember Goldstar TV sets, VHS tapes and other media.)
Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 11-06-2014, 06:17 AM:
It can only work the way that dcinex buys these lamps for very little money, without any warranty, or only per-lamp-exchange policy at best. Then sell them to their customers for 'somewhat' less than USHIO, OSRAM, PHILIPS so the deal becomes attractive.
Their considerable earnings then have to cover all further warranty issues that may arise, and of course they need to offer the same warranty services as USHIO, OSRAM, PHILIPS. After all, these companies do the same. A considerable amount from their higher prices goes into securing occurring warranty claims. Just that their failure score is probably better.
- Carsten
Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 11-07-2014, 02:52 AM:
Also, wondering if these PlusRite bulbs are rebranded bulbs that didn't meet QA standards of the major manufacturers, thus they bought the rejected items.
Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 11-07-2014, 06:38 AM:
I don't think so. China has a booming cinema industry. Bad enough for them that they have to buy expensive DCI gear - but quite a few manufacturers like Barco and Christie already have factories in china. When it comes to consumables, they certainly want to produce these bulbs themselves.
There are also a couple of unusual cinema audio processors available from chinese manufacturers. It's really a huge market, and they try to avoid buying products on the international price level and pay in US$ or €.
- Carsten
Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 11-07-2014, 08:18 AM:
I remember taking a tour of the former ORC factory in California where they had employees salvaging parts on bulbs that did not meet factory spec……machined parts and xenon gas where the major expense items.
Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 11-09-2014, 03:31 PM:
Machining the solid tungsten is expensive. Takes diamond tipped cutters to be able to do it. You have to factor in the expense of the cutters into the cost of making the lamps.
Mark
Posted by System Notices (Member # 2357) on 05-05-2016, 05:43 PM:
It has been 543 days since the last post.
Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 05-05-2016, 05:43 PM:
Wonder if anyone here has real-life, experienced opinion about these bulbs since this thread started. Reading through the posts, I see nothing but opinions, cautions and doubt, based on nothing I can see as being based in reality.
I get that Ushio is popular here and, for reasons I can support from personal experience, Osrams are not so much so. I've used the Plusrite bulbs for the past 2 years, totaling 4 sets, and though I haven't put any kind of scientific measurement on them, they appear to work at least as well as the more-expensive Ushios I previously used. Matter of fact, where my 6.5kW Ushios almost never made warranty in my 32B, the Plusrite bulbs I've used to date have easily done so, and without the flicker and multiple striking issues I had with the Ushios at their end-of-life cycles.
In comparing 4k Ushio vs Plusrite, anecdotally, I don't notice any difference, other than cost. Both have easily made warranty and light dropoff appears to be comparable.
I really do get the fact that, once people become sold on a brand, it's nearly impossible to shake them away. I'm not necessarily a fan of Plusrite... yet... but I don't find the near-universal cautionary posts here to be rooted in any kind of practical experience... at least not that anyone has said to this point.
So... my experience has been pretty good, and I've saved quite a bit of money. The company ships quickly and has stated their warranty and damage resolution policies in writing. I've got a set of Ushios in the booth, but don't yet see any particular reason to put them in, as opposed to the Plusrites.
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 05-05-2016, 06:40 PM:
No idea on the Plusrite lamps, but I will say that Osrams have always given me good service in film projectors (as has Ushio) in the 2-3k sizes. I don't really have an opinion on D-cinema lamps, since almost everyone I know seems to buy Christie lamps (which seem to work fine and hit warranty hours without flickering or significant dimming).
LTI lamps were always a disaster for me with 35mm, but I don't know anyone who is still buying those.
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 05-05-2016, 11:29 PM:
The Osram bulbs we were supplied with for use in the Hateful Eight 70mm systems a few months ago were simply awful. I've never seen such a flickerfest, and yes it was all machines (Christie SLC, Strong Highlight II and Cinemeccannica). Every year it's the same thing I hear "oh we've fixed the exploding problems" and "oh we've fixed the flickering issues" and "oh we've fixed the ignition problems". Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah. Anyone running Osrams should try ANY other bulb (probably even including a PlusRite) to see what they are missing. I've not seen a good performing Osram since the 90s and I've never had to outright FIGHT a company so much to get them to honor a warranty either.
Disclaimer, I have Christie SLCs in my screening room and run film regularly with noticeably higher brightness. I am not confusing the statement above with "film flicker vs. digital flicker".
Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 05-05-2016, 11:32 PM:
Interesting. I had uniformly terrible service from Osram. Granted, because of the experience, I tended to avoid them. The few times they landed in my booth, they did not serve well.
Superior Quartz was pretty good. Their 7kW bulbs were built like bulldozers. Not sure why they felt the need to do that.
Christies were good in my Big Sky lamphouses... both 4 & 7kW sizes.
Posted by Brian DeCiancio (Member # 1422) on 05-07-2016, 01:58 PM:
I've been using Plusrite for more than 2 years. Everything from 1.8k to 6.5k among 16 screens.
On the rare occasion I've had an issue (2 that I can recall, only a short time from end of warranty hours), Plusrite immediately sent a new bulb, no hassles whatsoever.
The 6.5k from the other companies never made it anywhere near end of warranty hours before noticeable light drop-off and flicker.
Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 05-10-2016, 07:01 PM:
Bet strong exhaust has to be in play with the endurance from any lamp manufacturer of high discharge xenon lamps...get that heat out of the surroundings.
-Monte