I received my new bulb or lamp today, but it doesn’t look the same as my old one.

Different manufacturers for housings can mean that one lamp can look slightly different from another, but they should all fit and function the same. Small differences can be expected, but the overall dimensions of the lamps should be the same.

Additionally, the brand of the bulb inside the lamp can differ, but the specifications of the bulb are the same, and in our case, we guarantee the quality regardless.

All our bulbs are original.

We like to use the same bulb as the manufacturer of your unit, or a bulb we specifically selected because we feel it offers the customer a better experience.

If you are concerned that you received or ordered the wrong lamp, you will want to gather the following information prior to contacting us:

1. Check the information tag on your projector/TV for the model# of the unit
2. Verify that the lamp you received matches what you originally ordered from us
3. Note the information/numbers on your existing lamp and/or bulb (it is okay if you don’t know what they mean!)

I installed my new lamp, but I never get a picture.

1. Ensure that the lamp cover is fully reinstalled before plugging in and attempting to use the unit. The lamp cover must be secured and screwed/fastened in place before the unit will operate.
2. Check that the cables/plugs on the TV/projector are secure.
3. Un-install the lamp. Unplug the projector/TV. Look inside the lamp area before re-installing and clean out any dust or debris. Use a flashlight to check the female connector (the one located inside your projector/tv) for signs of wear/warping. If you have never cleaned the inside of the unit before, or if it has been a couple of years, now is a good time to remove the main cover and thoroughly clean out the inside. Dust is a huge factor in performance/length of life for both your unit and the projector lamp!
4. Re-install the lamp and ensure that it has been seated properly.
5. Power the unit on and listen. You should hear fans running when the unit powers up. This is normal operation and required for the lamp to function. If the fans do not come on, but the unit powers on, something may not have been installed properly, and you should check that the lamp is seated properly, and the lamp cover is secure. There could also be an issue with the cooling mechanism in your unit.
6. Observe all the maintenance or indicator lights on the unit. You may need to count flashes, observe whether a light is flashing, or steady, which indicators are on together, or what color the lights are. Your owner’s manual usually has a ‘troubleshooting’ or ‘indicator’ section that can help you decipher what the unit is telling you. *

*Keep in mind: if a unit indicates a lamp error, there may not actually be a problem with the lamp. The unit is simply telling you that it shut down or did not strike the lamp. There can be underlying reasons for this happening. Another part of the unit failing (ex: bad DLP chip, color wheel, light engine, ballast, etc.) can make the unit present a lamp error code.

I installed my new lamp and I get a picture, but my projector/TV is giving me a warning that I need to replace the lamp.

Most projectors/TVs have a ‘lamp timer’ function that requires you to manually reset the hours used to ‘0’ every time you install a new lamp. This feature, which tracks how long the lamp has been in use, is what prompts you to replace the lamp when it reaches a certain number of hours. Until you manually reset the lamp timer, you will continue to get this message.

Some projectors/TVs will shut down if the hours used reaches a certain threshold past the recommended hours of use and may even require a different reset procedure.

1. After you have installed your new lamp, follow the procedure outlined in your owner’s manual to reset the lamp timer on the unit.
2. If you are required to push buttons on a remote, you will need to use the original remote that came with your unit. If you do not have one, contact the manufacturer of your unit for a replacement.
3. The procedure may have to be repeated several times before it works; follow the instructions carefully.
4. Do not reset the lamp timer on your unit unless you install a new lamp. Failure to follow this procedure will result in the hours used being incorrect and renders this important feature of your unit useless.

I installed my new lamp and I get a picture, but the picture is dim and/or there are dim spots.

1. Check the brightness and picture color settings on your unit to ensure they are optimized.
2. Some projectors/TVs require that the lamp base be adjusted by the customer to a certain angle before installing it into the unit. If this is the case for your projector/TV, you can use the lamp you are replacing as a gauge for the angle of your new lamp.
3. Check the front of the lamp and ensure that the lens of the bulb is flush against the housing. The lamp itself may be tilted and the bulb may sit at an angle in the lamp, but the front of the bulb should always be flush and flat against the housing, and not off-center.
4. If you installed the new bulb yourself into your existing housing, uninstall the bulb and reinstall it into the housing again to ensure that it has been seated in the housing properly.
5. Press a ‘menu’ button on your unit to pull up the main menu. If the menu is bright, this is a good indicator the dimness is not related to the lamp.

I installed my new lamp and I get a picture, but my projector/TV shuts down after only a short period of use.

Most commonly, behavior like this indicates that the unit is overheating. This is usually caused by dust and debris building up in the unit over time, a fan not cooling the unit properly, or an electrical failure of another part (this is an example of when a unit might fail after installing a new lamp, when the lamp isn’t actually the problem).

1. Check that the cables/plugs on the TV/projector are secure.
2. Un-install the lamp. Unplug the projector/TV. Look inside the lamp area before re-installing and clean out any dust or debris. Use a flashlight to check the female connector (the one located inside your projector/TV) for signs of wear/warping. If you have never cleaned the inside of the unit before, or if it has been a couple of years, now is a good time to remove the main cover and thoroughly clean out the inside. Dust is a huge factor in performance/length of life for both your unit and the projector lamp!
3. Re-install the lamp and ensure that it has been seated properly.
4. Power the unit on and listen. You should hear fans running when the unit powers up. This is normal operation and required for the lamp to function. If the fans do not come on, but the unit powers on, something may not have been installed properly, and you should check that the lamp is seated properly, and the lamp cover is secure. There could also be an issue with the cooling mechanism in your unit.
5. Observe all the maintenance or indicator lights on the unit. You may need to count flashes, observe which indicators are on together, whether a light is flashing or steady, or what color they are. Your owner’s manual usually has a ‘troubleshooting’ or ‘indicator’ section that can help you decipher what the unit is telling you. *

*Keep in mind: if a unit indicates a lamp error, there may not actually be a problem with the lamp. The unit is simply telling you that it shut down or did not strike the lamp. There can be underlying reasons for this happening. Another part of the unit failing (ex: bad DLP chip, color wheel, light engine, ballast, etc) can make the unit present a lamp error code.

I installed my new lamp, but after a period of use my projector/TV shuts down. The maintenance/indicator lights are telling me that my unit shut down due to high temperature.

Failures related to high temperature inside your unit are usually related to dust. Dust is a huge factor in the performance and length of life of both your projector lamp and unit. Just a little build-up of dust inside your projector/TV will make a big difference