More Woes For Infocus

Earlier this month (April, 2006) Infocus announced that they will be recalling nearly all of their 1,800 LP120 projectors and the replacement projector lamps for that particular unit. The recall will also affect the popular Ask M1 projector as well. In a statement, Infocus said that the reason for the recall was because the units have inadequate insulation and pose a fire hazard to the habitats in which they are situated.

Although there have been no reported incidents involving the units, Infocus feels that legally they are obliged to return the projectors. The projectors were sold via the web or by over the phone directly from Infocus.

Recalls are particularly rare in the projector industry, especially during the past couple years (2002- 2006) when the technology has really come into its own and become efficient with few systemic breakdowns.

The projector lamp industry is slightly more volatile because of the complexity of the lamps themselves. Oftentimes, projector lamps will have a defect rate of between 3-5%. It is therefore important to make sure you buy a projector lamp from a company that has a warranty or guarantee of some kind. The good news with projector lamps is that most defects will be apparent either the first time the unit is fired up or within a couple days of installation. It is extremely rare, if you are buying high quality projector lamps, for the units to break down a couple months after installation.

And so Infocus’ recall of their SPLAMP013 is extremely strange in this context. To our knowledge, since the technology became widely available in the late 1990’s, a company has never recalled a UHP projector lamp that they produced. This latest move by Infocus only adds to their continuing trouble in the projector industry as of late. Recently there have been rumors that Infocus may be close to bankruptcy or on the verge of packing things in. One fact is undeniable, competing with behemoths such as Sony, Sanyo, Toshiba and Epson will not be easy in an industry that is experiencing unprecedented 19% annual growth.