FAQ's - Projector Lamps & Bulbs
1. What is the difference between a lamp and a bulb?
2. What is the difference between an genuine lamp, original bulb inside lamp and compatible lamp?
4. How many hours will my projector lamp work?
6. Can I test a projector lamp with a multimeter?
1. What is the difference between a lamp and a bare lamp?
Bulb / bare lamp
A bare lamp is a bulb. Bulbs are available for customers if you want to replace the bulb inside by yourself and reuse your existing lamp housing. The main benefit of this option is a considerable price reduction compared to a lamp module. Original projector bulbs come from manufacturers such as Philips, Osram, Ushio, Iwasaki, Phoenix, Panasonic or Matsushita. Your original lamp module will contain a projector bulb made by one of these manufacturers.
Lamp module / lamp
The bulb plus the cage or housing is called a lamp module or lamp; most manufacturers product is supplied as a "lamp module" for quickness and ease of installation.
2. What is the difference between an genuine lamp (OEM), original bulb inside lamp and compatible lamp?
Genuine lamp
A genuine lamp consists of the original bulb and original housing. It is exactly the same projector lamp as the lamp inside of a brand new projector. The whole lamp is assembled and produced by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). There is only a few manufacturer can produce, such as Philips, Osram, Ushio, Phoenix, Iwasaki, Epson, Panasonic and Matsushita. These lamps are designed for optimum performance with their patented technology.
Original bulb inside lamp
An original bulb inside lamp consists of the original bulb and generic housing. It use original bulbs supplied directly from the major bulb manufacturers, such as Philips, Osram, Ushio, Phoenix, Iwasaki, Epson, Panasonic and Matsushita. Lamp quality and performance is claimed to be the same as the lamp module supplied by the projector manufacturer.
Compatible lamp
A compatible lamp is a complete lamp module that is the least expensive option. They are guaranteed to work the same as the original lamp module. Our compatible bulb is the top quality in market. They usually come in a plain white box. We offer 180 days warranty give our customers peace of mind.
Ventilation
Projector lamps usually expire early because they are burning at too hot temperature over the course of their lives. The most important thing you can do to ensure that you have adequate ventilation around your projector so heat can dissipate. Do not cover the vents on the sides or the front of the projector. Projectors mounted in corners, extremely close to the ceiling or in rooms with little to no airflow often cause the projector lamps inside expire early.
Vacuum
Dust that gathers inside your projector can cause the projector lamp to burn at too hot a temperature over time, which will cut its life short. The easiest solution is to vacuum your projector with compressed air. If you are using the projector frequently, complete this process more often.
Clean Your Filter Regularly or Replace
Every projector has a filter that prevents dust from getting inside the sensitive circuitry. If the filter gets blocked with dust, it can cause the projector lamp to burn at a higher than normal temperature and shorten its lamp life. The filter on your projector is a small rectangular panel usually found behind.
Do Not Turn Your Projector On and Off Quickly
Turning your projector on and off quickly can have damaging effects to your projector lamp. Projector lamps typically take about a minute warm up before they are running in a stable current. Projectors have special ballasts inside that ignite projector lamps at a high voltage and then run at a low voltage. If you turn your projector on and off quickly it can cause the ultra-high pressurised mercury vapour to become destabilised, which will cause the projector lamp fail permanently.
Run Your Projector in Economy Mode
Most projectors have normal mode and economy mode. Economy mode usually makes the projector lamp illuminate at slightly lower brightness level and therefore can extend your lamp's life.
4. How many hours will my projector lamp work?
The lamp life is typically around 2000 - 4000 hours, however, the average life of a projector lamp is dependent on a variety of factors such as humidity, air pressure, dust, temperature, and physical impact. The lamp's success rate is based on a bell curve, so that a majority of lamps will meet the lamp life hours specified. Some lamps will fail sooner and this is part of the acceptable operating range of the rating.
For projectors that are used under normal operating conditions (no more than three to five hours per day in a clean and dust-free environment) the lamp will have the greatest likelihood of lasting through its entire rated lamp life. Projectors that are used more often or are exposed to environmental contaminants are more likely to have short lamp life.
IMPORTANT TO READ
To reduce the risk of electrical shock, always turn the projector off and disconnect the power cord before replacing the lamp.
To reduce the risk of injuries to fingers and damage to internal components, use caution when removing lamp glass that has shattered into sharp pieces.
To reduce the risk of injuries to fingers and/or compromising image quality by touching the lens, do not touch the empty lamp compartment when the lamp is removed.
Lamps contain mercury. Consult your local hazardous waste regulations to dispose of this lamp in a proper manner.
Step 1. Turn the projector off. Disconnect the power cord from the outlet and the projector. To reduce the risk of severe burns, allow the projector to cool for at least 45 minutes until the lamp has cooled before replacing the lamp.
Step 2. Loosen the screws and remove the lamp cover.
Step 3. Pull the handle to remove the lamp housing. If the screws are not loosened completely, you could injure your fingers. Do not insert your hand into the projector after the lamp is removed. If you touch the optical components inside, this could cause colour unevenness in projected images.
Step 4. Replace the lamp with the new one. Insert it into the projector, and tighten the screws firmly. Loose screws may cause a bad connection, which may result in malfunction.
Step 5. Re-install the lamp cover and tighten the screw. Do not turn the power on with the lamp cover removed. Whenever the lamp is replaced, reset the total lamp operation time. Do not reset if the lamp is not replaced as this could cause damage.
6. Can I test a projector lamp with a multimeter?
Projector lamps CANNOT be tested with a multimeter. Projector lamps function by igniting ultra-high pressure mercury vapor across an ARC tube. There is no conductive electrical material contained in the ARC tube. Therefore testing a projector lamp with a multimeter will not work.
Testing a projector lamp is impossible to do with your typical household electrical equipment. You must have specific testing equipment or a compatible working projector when testing projector lamps.
Prices are subject to change without notice. Product images used on the website are for illustration purposes only and may vary from the actual products