Below are some of the common questions that we get asked regarding our products, please make sure you have read these before you buy and fit your new lamp so that you understand fully what is involved.  If you have a query which is not listed here, please contact us and we will try to help out.

The projector image seems dimmer than usual - what does this mean?

With Metal Halide lamps, dimming of the output is normally an indication that the lamp is coming to the end of its life and may be about to fail.  We recommend that when the characteristics of your projector image begin to drift, you purchase a spare lamp as failure is likely to occur shortly.  Many manufacturers fit their machines with lamp hour counters, which is accessible through the menus.  This will give an indication of the lamp life used / remaining.  Lamp life figures can be obtained by searching for your projector in our online store.

How long will my projector lamp last?

The lamp life of a projector lamp is determined by its construction and how it is used.  Normally manufacturers will quote a figure of 1000-2000 hours, with some newer models claiming up to 4000 hours life - these figures can be obtained either in your user manual, or by checking your projector model in our online store.  Lamp life is an expected figure, not a guaranteed one and much of this can be down to how the projector and lamp is treated. 

What can I do to extend my lamp life?

Projector lamps like to be clean - make sure that you:

• Never handle the bulb without gloves on
  Sweat deposits and contamination from your fingers can cause "Hot Spots" on the bulb glass and may result in premature failure
• Keep the air filters clean
  Dirty filters cause restricted airflow in your projector and this in turn causes the temperature to rise. Lamps that overheat fail more quickly and this can be detected by manufacturers and may invalidate your warranty

Avoid shock and vibration
Your lamp module is very delicate -especially when it is hot so treat it carefully. Wait for your projector to cool before you move it as even the slightest shock or vibration can cause damage to a hot lamp. If you travel a lot with your projector, invest in a padded carry case to protect it from shock damage.

Turn your projector off correctly
Most projectors have a "cool down mode" which activates when you switch it off by the remote control or soft power button on the unit. This cool down sequence normally runs the cooling fan for a few minutes after powering off the lamp to cool the lamp properly. If you pull the mains cable out of the projector then the fan will not run and the lamp will cool unevenly. This can cause diminished lamp life and occasionally even crack the lamp glass.

Use Economy Mode
Many projectors have an economy mode or "High / Low" lamp function - use it wherever possible and you should enjoy longer than average lamp life.

Why don't you sell Compatible Lamps?

We don't stock and will not sell you a compatible projector lamp, we only supply manufacturer approved original units.  If you are offered or have purchased a compatible lamp, please consider the following before you fit it to your expensive projector, you may cause irreversible damage:

Health & Safety – The item you install in your projector is the result of a highly complex manufacturing process combining hazardous chemicals inside a glass capsule pressurised to over 200 atmospheres that, once 20kVof power is supplied, will then heat to over 6,000 degrees C. We wouldn’t want our customers to handle a product that hadn’t first gone through strict regulation regarding manufacture and certainly wouldn’t expose them to the resulting litigation from an explosion or fire.

Performance – Over ten years of research & development has gone into the development of the projector lamp, which is then tailored to the design of each projector models’ optics. We wouldn’t risk 3rd party production techniques being able to provide the same performance levels in terms of brightness, colour rendition and life.

Warranty – As soon as a 3rd party lamp is used in a projector, the warranty is invalid. Bearing in mind that this electrical component could damage the performance of other projector components such as the power supply and ballast, this could be a very expensive decision we wouldn’t want you to take.

Legality – 3rd party manufacturers flaunt the Intellectual Property rights of the original manufacturer. For us to sell the product would be illegal.

Identifying a "fake" lamp

It is not easy to identify a non genuine lamp and we have provided the following information to assist you:

Price - If the price looks too good to be true ask if the lamp is an original.

Module or Bulb? – Just about every replacement lamp you can buy will be supplied as a complete module - a plastic or glass housing around the glass or ceramic bulb. This can easily be slotted into the projector in seconds. If you are buying a bulb that needs to be fitted into the old lamp housing it is unlikely to be an original. Also, be prepared to spend half an hour fiddling with spanners and screwdrivers to swap the bulb over. (The only exception of note to this rule is Sharp who supplies both modules and bulbs on some of their lines). Conversely, this does not imply that all modules are originals; there are some fakes that look very convincing.