As Proud members of The Genuine Lamp Alliance' to enable our customers to make a fair comparison when purchasing a replacement lamp we would like to offer the following information:
Search engines will throw up a host of choices, requiring decisions to be made. These decisions can spark a range of consequences spanning from simple dissatisfaction with the quality of the product, to health and safety risks – and even questionable ethics and legality where intellectual property is abused or counterfeit lamps are passed off as original replacements.
In today’s market for replacement lamps, the cheapest option doesn’t always represent the best value; products are not always what they seem and even the presence of a manufacturer’s brand or technology provider’s logo is not always a guarantee that a replacement lamp is genuine.
Online retailers who offer ‘Genuine Lamps’
This is an alternative to sourcing a replacement lamp from the original device manufacturer (OEM), the leading lamp technology rights owners authorised a small number third party suppliers to manufacture compatible replacement lamp modules using the same technology as the original, branded product installed by the projector and rear-projection TV manufacturers. – These are equivalent to our ‘Diamond Lamps’
Is the replacement lamp on offer just too cheap?
There is a hierarchy of lamp pricing. Original lamps supplied by the manufacture of the projector or rear-projection TV are usually the most expensive, but offer the replacement lamp buyer reassurance on issues such as continuing warranty protection.
Next in the hierarchy come genuine lamps, manufactured with the consent and support of the lamp technology rights owners and using exactly the same lamp components as the original lamp fitted to the projector or rear-projection TV. Genuine replacement lamps are made by a small number of authorised manufacturers. For example, Philips has authorised Diamond Lamps to make replacement lamp modules using genuine UHP technology.
Finally, the cheapest lamps available will almost certainly be copy lamps. The manufacturers save costs in a variety of ways, none of which are generally favourable to lamp module buyers
The emergence of copy lamps has triggered a host of internet-based dealers to enter the market for replacement lamp modules. Some of these have excellent credentials, often linked to an established audio-visual or consumer electronics business, while others are simply opportunistic.
When buying on the internet it can be difficult to assess the quality or ethical policy of the supplier. Helpful signs of a quality supplier include relationships with projector manufacturers, such as authorised dealer status, or a specialist replacement lamp distributor.
