I'm never shocked when I make a statement about something I've used for years and some LARPing faggot comes along with google search results in an attempt to disprove me.
Case in point:
>>996592
>Not true unless you use projector 24/7.
Typically projectors are being used sparingly or almost 24/7. Most use cases are for presentations where they're rarely used often or they're left on during most of the day in bars/clubs to show sports ball. The home use case is very rare and even then bulbs never last to specifications most of the time.
>Modern lamps survive 5000 hours, so if used 5 hours a day it will survive 1000 days. If you only use projector for movies games then you won't even use it for 5 hours a day but less.
If you believe the packaging. Those 5,000 hour bulbs are typically more expensive than an OEM replacement and there is no warranty or guarantee that they'll last longer. In other words they can print whatever bullshit on the package and you can choose to believe it if you want because it's going to be a year or longer before it dies and they'll give you every reason in the book for why it didn't make it to the 5,000 hours. The best thing you can do if you own a projector is buy OEM bulbs by the pack and keep them around because you're going to be swapping them often enough to need a spare on hand. When you get down to one spare you order two-three more. This is what most people that own these devices do.
Let's take your non-typical use case as an example: If you're viewing one-two films between work and bed/sleep you should expect no more than a year to two years from the bulbs with OEM or "premium" replacements for a variety of reasons. The main one you'll be dealing with is dust and heat both of which are said to reduce the overall life of the bulbs. The manufacturer will always cite dust if you complain about a bulb that didn't make it to the expected number of hours. Most environments people use projectors in are dusty and most people mount them in such a way that they accumulate heat.
We haven't even gotten into the other issues with them. You pretty much have to build a room around the use of a projector to get a decent picture out of the thing. Screen, seating, light level, routing of cables/source all have to be considered when you're using a projector. Don't get me wrong, it's very nice when you have it all set-up correctly. But they're by no means cheap to buy, maintain, nor are they a good idea for most people considering most people live in small houses/apartments. I only have one because I had a large out building to make it worth my time and enough space to have guests over without it becoming a bother. Mine is mounted to the ceiling and after the third or fourth bulb replacement over the years I grew tired of climbing a ladder and just switched up my set-up to a standard LCD. No one has complained about it or misses the projector and the price of a new TV once a decade is far less than the upkeep on the projector set-up over a decade.
As for the discussion on gaming: They aren't optimal by any means even for something as simple as Mario. If you want that kind of performance you should be looking at the high end. The high end projectors suffer from all the same problems as the low-end ones excluding refresh rates.