jf replied: "Give both user manuals a good read through. They will explain how to do it. Its not that complicated and meant to be done by you (no need for having to call a service technician each time it needs to be done). You could ask the store that sold it if they'll demo it for you in store. They ought to at least do that much for you. You should also find out whether or not there is an air filter in it that might need cleaning. I don't think it would need replacing, but may need to be cleaned as often as every month or two months. Again read the manual and talk to the people at the store, they would know. And this too is meant to be easy enough for you to do. The bulb life span depends on the bulb that's in there. You can get a variety of different ones (in terms of life span). Some can go as quickly as a year. Others I've heard stories lasting 6 years (though most people are skeptical about those). The average, on a good bulb, seems to be in the 3-4 year range though. And it'll be $200-250 or higher each time you need to replace it. The rest of the TV should be rock solid though. DLP's are often described as being the last TV you'll ever own. And that's not about the technology being future proof (cause its not), but that's about the expected reliability of the rest of the TV. Other than the bulb, the rest of the TV should hold up impeccably well over time."