What Is The Estimated Life-Span of a DLP Television?

A DLP-based HDTV set should last indefinitely because the digital micromirror device behind it is very reliable. There is no maintenance or alignment required for DLP based sets as they age. The only consumer replaceable component is the DLP light source (lamp) which will last for 8,000 hours and costs around $250 to replace. The micro-mirrors used in DLP are not subject to degradation due to heat, humidity, vibration or "burn-in".

According to Lars Yoder of Texas Instruments "To test hinge failure, approximately 100 different DMD's (i.e. the DLP chip) were subjected to a simulated 1-year operational period. Some devices have been tested for more than 1 trillion cycles, equivalent to 20 years of operation. Inspection of the devices after these tests showed no broken hinges on any of the devices. Hinge failure is not a factor in DMD reliability".

"The DMD has passed all standard semiconductor qualification tests. It has also passed a barrage of tests meant to simulate actual DMD environmental operating conditions, including thermal shock, temperature cycling, moisture resistance, mechanical shock, vibration, and acceleration testing. Based on thousands of hours of life and environmental testing, the DMD and DLP systems exhibit inherent reliability".

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