FAQ's
What is a Projector Lamp?
The technical description of a projector lamp is that it is an ultra-high pressure mercury vapor ARC lamp. Projector lamps are scientifically categorized as metal halide lamps and Philips has trademarked the name "UHP lamp" for their projector lamps.
How Does a Projector Lamp Work?
A projector lamp operates by sending an electrical current accross an ARC gap that is full of ultra-high pressurized mercury vapor. The electricity lights the mercury vapor which then causes the lamp to emit a light with an extreme intensity or brightness. The bright light created by this process shines onto an LCD (Liquid Crystal Diplay) or DLP panel which then in turn produces the fantastic images projectors are known for.
Projector lamps are a extremely complex technology that are very costly to manufacturer, therefore the price of projector lamps tends to be pretty high.
Where is My Projector Lamp Located?
A projector lamp is the essential part of any projector, it shines light through a DLP or LCD system so that the projector lamp can display its beautiful images.
The projector lamp is found by locating a square or rectangle plastic plate somewhere on the outer shell of the projector, the plate is usually on the bottom of the projector but can sometimes be found on the top or sides.
The covering is often secured in place by two screws. Undoing the two screws and lifting the plate off will reveal the bottom of the plastic housing that holds the projector lamp in place in your projector.
The plastic housing usually has a handle attached to it. Pulling the handle gently will remove the projector lamp and housing from the projector.
Replacing a Projector Lamp
Projector lamps are easy to replace whether you have the bare projector lamp only or the projector lamp in the black plastic housing.
For installation information please click here.
How Do I Know When My Projector Lamp is Dead?
Often times projectors will have a built in timer that keep tracks of how long your projector lamp has been running inside your projector. Once the timer reaches a certain point, usually a few hours before the expected lamp life, a message will display on your projector screen. The warning message is usually a good indicator that you should jump online and start looking for new projector lamp.
It is possible to get rid of the warning message, you can do this by searching your projector's manual or navigating through the onscreen menu if your lamp is still functioning.
Sometimes projectors will shut the projector lamp down when the timer reaches a certain point, even if it has not been totally exhausted. In these cases, it is useful to reset your lamp hour counter as it may increase the amount of life you get from your projector lamp.
We recommend that if you are using your projector lamp for important presentations, weekly events or even home theater that it is smart to have a back-up projector lamp in stock so that you will not miss a minute without your projector.
Who Makes Projector Lamps?
There are only a handful projector lamp manufacturers in the world that make high-quality projector lamps considered worthy enough to be requisitioned for projectors. Manufacturing a projector lamp takes an incredible amount of engineering know how and capital.
The following are the major movers and shakers in the projector lamp industry -
Philips - The global consumer electronics company engineered the 100% mercury vapor metal halide lamp in 1995. Using 100% mercury vapor allowed traditional metal halide lamps to emit a brightness never achieved previously and for all practical purposes made digital projectors possible. Philips was the trailblazer in the projector lamp world and remains as a dominant force in the projector lamp industry. Some estimates have Philips controlling over 70% of the projector lamp manufacturing and sales market worldwide.
Ushio - Ushio is a Japanese company that started operations in 1964 as an industrial light manufacturer. The company is now a self-described "creator of light" and manufacturers hundreds of different industrial light formats. The company manufacturers projector lamps for Sony, Sanyo, Epson, and BenQ amoung others and is estimated to have a 20-25% share of the projector lamp market.
Osram/ Sylvania - Osram is a German company that claims to be the second largest lighting manufacturer in the world. The company specializes in producing the ARC tube found in metal halide lamps, but they also manufacturer complete OEM projector lamps for several projectors. Osram controls a 7-11% share of the projector lamp manufacturing market.
The Rest - A handful of projector lamp manufacturers are located in Taiwan, Japan and China. Most of them do not manufacture high enough quality projector lamps to be considered for mass distribution inside brand new projectors. However, there are some projector lamp manufacturers that have been successful and received work orders to fill lesser-known brand name projectors with their proejctor lamps.
Why Are Projector Lamps So Expensive?
Projector lamps function by igniting ultra-high presurrized mercury vapor that is compressed inside a quartz ARC tube. Electricity jumps or arcs accross the gap filled with mercury vapor, ignites it and produces an extremely bright light.
As you can imagine, this technology is not inexpensive to produce. The machines required to produce a single projector lamp can oftentimes cost manufacturers tens of millions of dollars.
Projector lamp manufacturers also have to hire expert scientists and engineers to ensure that the projector lamps are constructed to the standard required. The mercury vapor has to be pressurized at an exact pressure and the ARC tube and quartz reflector also have to be structurally sound. If these components are not calibrated with exact precision then the projector lamp quality will suffer severely or the projector lamp will fail to work at all.
Further, most projector lamps have different ignition and running voltages and wattages. These different settings produce different brightness levels or ANSI lumens rates. The machines that construct projector lamps therefore have to be recalibrated for each specific lamp setting.
As you can tell, projector lamps are not easy to manufacture and that leads to another factor that makes them so expensive. There are only four major high-quality projector lamp manufacturers in the world. The limited amount of manufacturers means that they have more control over market prices than say banana farmers or flat screen TV manufacturers.
Projector Lamp Prices are Falling Over Time
The good news is that as the years go by, projector lamp prices have fallen slighty and they are becoming more and more affordable for the average buyer. Every year there are more companies attempting to manufacture projector lamps and the competition drives prices down. Also the return on investment for lamp manufacturers increases every year as they pay down the lofty start-up costs associated with manufacturering projector lamps.
Projector Lamp Compatibility
Can I Put Any Lamp in My Projector?
Projector lamps are manufactured to specific settings, meaning the mercury vapor is pressurized to a precise measurement and the quartz ARC tube is engineered to withstand that pressure.
This means that the projector lamp manufactured for any specfic projector or group or projectors is unique to those units only. You cannot, for example, put a 150W projector lamp inside a projector that requires a 250W projector lamp. It is also impossible to put a 250W projector lamp inside a projector that requires a 250W projector lamp but nonetheless requires a different ignition and running voltage.
Projector lamps also have different ANSI lumens rates or brightnesses. If you install a lamp with the same ignition and running voltages AND the same wattage settings but a different ANSI lumens rate then the projector will not perform as it is supposed to.
Are Any Projector Lamps Compatible with Multiple Projectors?
Yes! There are several projector manufacturers who frequently team up and license the same, exact projector lamp from a single projector lamp manufacturer.
MyProjectorLamps.com displays all the compatible projectors for every single projector lamp ID# we sell. Simply lookup your projector lamp ID# and if we have it in stock a compatible projectors box will load, displaying every projector that projector lamp works with.
If the projector lamp ID# you are searching for does not display your projector in the compatible projectors list, then most likely it is the incorrect projector lamp ID# for that projector.
Extending Projector Lamp Life
Projector lamps usually expire early because they are burning at too hot a temperature over the course of their lives. Below are some simple tips for extending your projector lamp life.
Ventilation -
The single most important thing you can do to make sure your projector lamp lasts a long time is to mount your projector in a space with ample ventilation. Projectors that are mounted in corners, extremely close to the ceiling or in rooms with little to no air flow often cause the projector lamps inside them to expire early.
Vacuum and Blow Compressed Air -
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 to this problem is to vacuum your projector and blow it out with compressed air every now and then. Use your judgment, if you are using the projector often, complete this process more frequently.
Change or Clean Your Filter Regularly -
Almost every projector these days has a filter that prevents dust from getting inside the sensitive circuitry. The drawback to this is that if the filter gets clogged with dust it can cause the projector lamp to burn at a hotter temperature and diminish its lamp life. The filter on your projector is usually found behind a small rectangular panel that measures 0.5" by 6" long.
Do Not Turn Your Projector On and Off Quickly -
Turning your projector on and off quickly can have devastating effects for your projector lamp. Projector lamps typically take about a minute before they are running in a stable current. Projectors have special ballasts inside them that ignite projector lamps at a high voltage and then run them at a low voltage. If you turn your projector on and off quickly it can cause the ultra-high pressurized mercury vapor to become destabilized, which will in turn cause your projector lamp to fail permanently.
Run Your Projector in Economy Mode -
Most projectors these days have normal mode and economy mode. Economy mode usually makes the projector lamp emit a slightly lower brightness level and therefore can extend your projector lamp's life. If you are unsure if your proejctor has economy mode, please reference your projector's manual or contact the manufacturer.
Testing a Projector Lamp
Projector lamps are a complex and different technology than most household or traditional electronics and therefore it is important to know certain facts when attempting to test a projector lamp.
1. Projector lamps use customized ballasts that ignite the lamp by charging it with a higher voltage in the ignition phase and then dropping down to a lower running voltage once the circuit is created.
2. Projector lamps CANNOT be tested with an AMP or OHM meter. Projector lamps function by igniting ultra-high pressurized mercury vapor accross an ARC tube. At the point where the mercury vapor resides there is no conductive electrical material and therefore testing a projector lamp with an AMP or OHM will not work.
Testing a projector lamp is impossible to do with your typical household electrical equipment. You must buy specific testing machines when testing projector lamps, for information about where you can acquire a projector lamp testing device please contact Philips.
Can I Touch a Projector Lamp?
There are many views out there concerning installation of projector lamps and specifically touching them when you are installing them. It is important to note that projector lamps are NOT halogen lamps and can be touched in certain places.
It is highly recommended that you do not touch the ARC tube with your fingers at all. The ARC tube is made out of quartz and fingerprints will cause the ARC tube to burn hotter in the spots where it was touched. The higher burning temperature will distabilize the ARC tube and cause it to explode.
We recommend that you also do NOT touch the inside of the globe or reflector that surrounds the ARC tube. Touching this area will also leads to hot spots being created, which will destabilize your projector lamps performance.
You can however touch the outside of the globe or reflector with little to no damage done to the life or performance of the projector lamp. Make sure that you clean your hands before you handle the outside of the projector lamp. If you have extremely sweaty hands or if you do not wish to handle the lamp we recommend wearing latex gloves to handle your projector lamp.
Can I Use a North American Projector Lamp in a European Projector?
The voltage standards for electrical outlets are different in North America and Europe. You can use a projector lamp that is purchased in North America in a European projector and vice-versa.
You are able to use a projector lamp purchased in North America in European projectors because the projector itself converts the power once it enters the unit. The voltage that is entering the projector from the wall does not affect the actual ignition and running voltages inside any projector.
