The replacement was easy to install, works great and is very bright. I'm very happy with this purchase.

Snce the most important subject here is price, let me help put in a more knowledgable perspective. All you have to do is go on Office Depot website and compare all the other manufactures prices. HP replacement bulb $499, Epson $397, View sonic $379, and so on...
Optoma has created a very nice projector - I bought one and have not gone out to a movie theatre since! I love the portability of it,have taken it to my brothers for outdoor football partys. The picture it throws is the best of any projector in the $2000.00 down price range. As for the new smell it gives off, that burns away after a couple uses, it's no different then any other new projector (I have owned 3).
This is not a TV! It's an upscaled luxary that is very affordable now days.
The life of the bulb is between 2 and 3000 hrs depending on how bright you set your projector. I used mine alot more when I first bought it, now the norm is 8 - 12 hrs a week, (it's for sporting events and movies)that should take me 3 to 5yrs before I need a new bulb, and just like anything else ..who knows by then what will be out there to take its place!

I just wanted to comment about the prior review. While I agree that projector bulbs are overpriced to a degree I wonder if the reviewer has checked prices for "all" projector bulbs. If he or she did they would have discovered that $300ish is about what they all charge. Each and every bulb is made by hand and placed in a special case as the technology used has to prevent damage to the projector if the bulb implodes! These bulbs use the same technology as the street light arc lamps but a side effect of such high light output is a bulb that is both difficult to produce as well as precautions needed as well as strict safeguards.

I have no question that there is a nice markup on these but do not fault "just" one company... they "all" charge the same and only a select few companies make these bulbs.

I just wanted to set the record straight. A few years ago when all projectors cost well over $10,000 few people questioned a $300 bulb. Now that many projectors are under $1000 the bulbs they use are still the same handmade ones the $10,000 units use but while a $10,000 to $300 seems reasonable, $1,000 to $300 does not :)

-JB

Well, the title says it all. It's quite normal for a company to design a projector with a bulb that will need to be replaced every so many hours of operation. Bulbs are considered 'consumables', like ink jet printer ink cartridges. But you have to wonder about the ethics of a company that makes owners of their projector pay $349 for a light bulb that probably cost them a few dollars to make. Optoma has created a very nice projector - I bought one and used it for a week. I returned it due to the foul smell of hot plastic that just never went away. I really liked the projector and considered buying another one, but the idea of being ripped off for a replacement bulb, which, of course, only Optoma makes, kept me away for good. Optoma, your exploitative design philosophy sucks and will eventually backfire.