The Projector Lamp Experts UK Projector Lamp Glossary
Projector Lamp Terms - A
AC Projector Lamps
A projector lamp which is classified as an AC lamp is a special type of metal halide projector lamp. The AC part means that the projector lamp is a high pressure, mercury arc projector lamp.
Projector Air filter
A projector's air filter is the part of the LCD or DLP projector which cleans the cooling air which circulates around the inside the projector to keep it at a level temperature. Should this projector filter be clogged up by dust or other debris, this can lead to a build up of heat inside the projector because the air cannot circulate properly. If the projector overheats it can lead to the projector's lamp failing before would normally. To ensure that this does not happen, you should clean your projector's air filter at regular intervals. You may also find that select manufacturers of projector lamps will provide a brand new replacement air filter with the new replacement projector lamps they supply.
Projector ANSI lumens
The ANSI lumen unit of measure is a standardized method used for testing LCD and DLP projectors and comparing their light output. The ANSI lumen unit of measure was created by the American National Standards Institute. The testing process for ANSI lumens involves averaging together a number of light measurements taken from different angles. The ANSI lumen standard is generally recognised to give a reasonably accurate guide to the brightness of an image produced by a projector, however the disadvantage in using the ANSI lumen unit of measure to gauge projector light output is that the human eye will often disagree with the ANSI lumen rating due to the number of different variables involved. These variables include:
- The contrast ratio of the projector
- Whether the projector technology that produces the image is Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), Digital Light Processing (DLP) or Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)
- If the projector is LCD, whether the type of liquid crystal display technology being used is Polysilicon or active matrix TFT
- The differences in light output between a metal halide projector lamp and a halogen projector lamp, since even if a halogen projector system and a metal halide projector system have the same ANSI lumen rating, the metal halide projector lamp will always seem to be brighter than the halogen lamp
Projector Lamp Terms - B
BriteOptic Dual Projector Lamp system
The working power of a pair of high intensity projector lamps is provided by the BriteOptic dual projector lamp system, which channels the light from the two projector lamps through a high pressure prism. BriteOptic dual projector lamp system technology means that the light integrator system is improved. The BriteOptic dual lamp system is used solely on a few models of Panasonic projector. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. Has owns the BriteOptic trademark
Projector Lamp Terms - C
Colour temperature
The colour temperature of a light source is a means of determining how white it is. The colour temperatures that halogen projector lamps and other incandescent lamps possess are low when compared to metal halide projector lamps which have a high colour temperature.
Compatible Projector Lamps
Please see the entry for copy projector lamps
Copy Projector Lamps
Copy projector lamps, which are also known as compatible projector lamps, are frequently imported into the United Kingdom on the grey market and do not often carry proper projector lamp warranties. Copy or compatible projector lamps are frequently produced by unregulated projector lamp manufacturing companies, and these lamps are frequently supplied in packaging that does not have proper manufacturer labeling. In addition, compatible projector lamps or copy lamps are not usually produced to a tested manufacturing standard. The prices for copy projector lamps are usually a great deal lower than original manufacturer lamps. Compatible or copy projector lamps are often supplied lacking the plastic housing around the projector lamp. However, these kinds of bulb only projector lamp products can pose safety risks. Some technical knowledge of electrical projector lamp wiring is normally needed to effectively replace the bare projector lamp in the used projector housing. Projector Lamp Experts UK does not advise using copy or compatible projector lamps and does not sell them, providing instead Original Alternative Lamps which are available for a cost effective means of replacing a projector or TV lamp. Click here to find out more details about the safety risks of using bare projector bulbs.
Projector Contrast ratio
The ratio between white and black in a projected image is known as the projector's contrast ratio. The larger the contrast ratio of the projector, the better the projector is able to reproduce subtle colour differences in the images it projects in environments which are bright. In the projector industry there are two main methods of gauging contrast ratio:
- When the difference measured its the ratio of the light output of a fully white image and the light output of a fully black image, this is known as full on/off contrast ratio
- If the measurement is made using a grid of 16 alternating white and black rectangles, this is known as the ANSI contrast ratio. The average amount of light reflected by the white rectangles is divided by the average amount of light reflected by the black rectangles to determine the ANSI contrast ratio.
Projector Lamp Terms - D
Dichroic lenses or dichoric mirrors
Dichroic lenses or dichoric mirrors are those lenses or mirrors that refract or reflect certain light wavelengths. These types of mirrors and lenses are normally used in the light engines of projectors to divide the light produced by the projector lamp into its three component colours: red, green and blue.
Dual projector lamp mode
Most models of projector now feature a dual lamp mode, which means that the projector can be configured to operate at two levels of brightness. When in economy projector lamp mode, the projector can operate at a lower brightness level (up to 20% lower brightness) which means that the lamp will last for a longer period of time. In normal projector lamp mode, the projector's operating brightness is greater but the lamp will not last for as long.
Dual projector lamp system
Certain more expensive models of projector have two projector lamps which they can use, which means that should one of the projector lamps fail during a projector presentation, the projector can continue producing an image as it can switch over to its back up projector lamp without interruption.
Projector Lamp Terms - E
EHP Projector Lamp
EHP is an abbreviation for Efficient High Power projector lamp. An EHP projector lamp is a type of metal halide projector lamp.
Projector Lamp Terms - F
FXL Projector Lamp
The FXL projector lamp is a type of halogen lamp which is used the most often in halogen projectors. This type of projector lamp normally lasts for approximately 40 to 50 hours. This means that to save time, the majority of halogen lamp projectors come with a spare FXL projector lamp which means that when the first lamp fails, the second can be switched to without interruption.
Projector Lamp Terms - H
Halogen Projector Lamps
Halogen projector lamps usually work for approximately 40 to 50 hours and generate a uniform light performance during the halogen projector lamp's operation. Halogen projector lamps are often utilized in projectors with lower lumen ratings. Whilst the light produced by metal halide projector lamps is a bright white, the light produced by halogen projector lamps is more of a yellow colour. Often, halogen projectors will be supplied with a lamp changer which means that after the halogen lamp's 40 to 50 hours is up, a spare back up halogen lamp can be switched to
Hi Lo Projector Mode
The hi lo operating mode available on the majority of newer projector models means that the user of the projector and choose to operate their projector's metal halide lamp at a lower brightness, which will help to increase the life of the metal halide projector lamp.
Projector Lamp Terms - L
Lamp Assembly
Please see Lamp Module section
Lamp Module (Complete Projector Lamp Module)
A projector lamp module is a complete user replaceable projector lamp made up of a projector lamp and the projector lamp housing. This is how most replacement projector lamps are supplied, meaning that it is an easy and hassle free process for UK consumers to replace the lamp in their projector or rear projection television. Only a few steps are required to replace a complete module: first loosen the relevant screws on your projector, then remove the used projector lamp module, and put in the new projector lamp module before tightening the relevant screws again. Your projector's instruction manual will have detailed instructions on how to complete this process, along with how the lamp hour counter can be reset.
Lamp only
Online in the United Kingdom you may occasionally find a small number of projector lamp resellers that offer a complete projector lamp module OR a bare replacement bulb option for projectors and rear projection DLP TVs. A compete projector lamp module (see Lamp Module above) is a projector lamp with black plastic housing around it. This type of projector lamp product is very easy to plug into your projector after removing the old lamp, and does not require any previous experience of electrical projector lamp wiring.
The other option, a bare projector bulb, does not come with any black plastic lamp housing, which is necessary for the replacement lamp to be able to function in the projector. This means that the bare projector bulb must be installed into the old and used projector lamp housing from the old lamp, which can be a difficult process without prior training in how this should be accomplished. Unfortunately, refurbishing a projector lamp module in this way can result in damage to the projector lamp. Care and attention is needed if you will be handling bare projector lamps, and if you do decide to refurbish your projector's lamp make sure that you use appropriate gloves or a protective cloth. You should also make sure that when you are undoing the projector lamp's connectors, you do not tighten them up too much afterwards as this can damage the lamp's ceramic and reduce the filament's electronic insulation. However, you should also make sure that you do not leave the connectors too loose, since this can cause arcing on the terminal. If this happens it can put too great a load on the projector ballast, which can result in failure of the projector lamp. Projector Lamp Experts UK does not recommend purchasing a bare or Lamp Only projector lamp without previous training in electrical wiring.
Lamp timer
The projector's lamp hour counter, or lamp timer is a feature present on many models of projector which enables the user of the projector to keep a record of the amount of hours that the projector lamp has been used for. In some more recent projector models the lamps themselves may have an electronic lamp house counter installed in the actual projector lamp itself. This enables the operator of the projector user to more accurately check the length of time that the projector lamp has been used for.
Lamp uniformity
Lamp uniformity is a useful measure for how evenly light from a projector lamp is scattered over the entire projector screen. A higher lamp uniformity level means that the light is more evenly distributed. For example, if a projector manufacturer makes a projector which has lenses that are positioned approximately 5mm by 5mm, the level of lamp uniformity will be over 90%. When light produced by the projector lamp goes through this projector lens configuration, the light is evenly scattered over the entire projection screen.
Lux
Lux is an old unit of measurement for the level of light output by a projector, which has been replaced as a projector brightness standard by the more the modern unit ANSI lumen (see ANSI lumen above)
Projector Lamp Terms - M
Mercury Halide Projector Lamp Module
Mercury halide projector lamps are used in 90% of projector models. A projector lamp classified as a mercury halide projector lamp means that the technology involved in manufacturing the lamp is an advancement of the high pressure mercury projector lamp. The way in which this type of projector lamp differs from a high pressure mercury projector lamp is that in addition to mercury gas, mercury halide projector lamps have small additions of a number of other metal halide compounds. These compounds are vaporized into the lamp discharge and lend their spectral light output to the light that the projector lamp produces. Those metal halides selected are types which fill in the gaps in the spectrum of light that mercury produces. This means that the light source produced by the projector has a considerably improved colour property. Since the generation of invisible ultraviolet radiation is also reduced in a metal halide lamp, the luminous efficiency of mercury halide projector lamps is also improved upon.
MHE Projector Lamp
An MHE projector lamp is a type of metal halide lamp. MHE is an abbreviation for Metal Halide Efficiency projector lamp.
Projector Lamp Terms - N
NSH Projector Lamp
NSH projector lamps are a type of projector lamp which produces a consistent amount of brightness throughout the entire projected image area. NSH stands for New Short Arc High Pressure projector lamp. An NSH projector lamp is made from crystalline glass which helps it to produce this consistent brightness level.
Projector Lamp Terms - O
Original Alternative Projector Lamp Modules
Original alternative projector lamp modules are a an excellent value and authentic alternative to original manufacturer projector lamps modules. These original alternative projector lamps are manufactured in quality controlled process, and original alternative projector lamps are made to the same extremely high quality specs as projector lamp modules produced by the original manufacturer. Every original alternative projector lamp module is manufactured to ISO9001 standards and is capable of giving a very high performance level at outstanding value.
Projector Lamp Experts UK has visited factories in Asia and Europe and has completed a large amount of testing and research, and has discovered the best quality and most reliable original alternative lamps available on the market. Projector Lamp Experts UK is proud to recommend Alternative Lamps Co., which is a leading manufacturer of original alternative projector lamps. Click here for further details and information on Alternative Lamps Co.
Projector Lamp Terms - P
PCP
PCP is an abbreviation which stands for Polarization Conversion Prism, which was designed to fix a problem to do with radiating light. Natural light is made up from a number of light elements that spread out in different directions. As this light radiates on a horizontal plane against the projecting direction, it does not do anything to increase the brightness of the screen. Polarization Conversion Prism technology was developed to help this problem, and by doing so it increases projector lamp performance and efficiency by almost two fold.
Projector lamp: worldwide usage
The replacement projector lamp used in LCD and DLP projectors around the world is known by several other different terms other than the term projector lamp. These include: projektorlampor fur beamer, lampada de projecao, lampe a haute pression, Metalldampflampe, lamppu videoprojektori, metal halide projeckter lampemoduler, beamerlamp, lampara de proyector, projector bulb, lampe de projecteur, Projektorlampe lampe de rechange, Metallhalogenlampe, , lampada de proiettore and projektielampen.
P-VIP
P-VIP is a type of metal halide projector lamp developed by Osram. P-VIP is an abbreviation which stands for Premium Video Projector Lamp.
Projector Lamp Terms - Q
Quad projector lamp system
A quad projector lamp system means that the projector is fitted with four projector lamps, which enables these kinds of projectors to function at all times with a back up lamp. Quad projector lamp systems are only used in a very small number of applications, for example very large audience projection events.
Projector Lamp Terms - S
SHP Projector Lamp
SHP projector lamp is an abbreviation which stands for Super High Pressure projector lamp. SHP is one kind of metal halide projector lamp.
Projector Lamp Terms - T
Turbo Bright System
Canon developed the Turbo Bright System especially for its projectors which were being used in brightly illuminated environments. Although many brands of projector balance out the colours they produce by reducing the orange light (wave length 570mm to 600mm), Canon's ground breaking Turbo Bright System actually uses these orange light wavelengths to optimize the light produced by the projector lamp through the projection lens. The Turbo Bright System can increases the brightness of images produced by the Canon projector using this system by 25%. Best of all, the Turbo Bright System makes this possible without disturbing the overall colour balance, so even in a brightly lit room, clear and vivid images and text data can be projected.
Projector Lamp Terms - U
UHE Projector Lamps
UHE projector lamp is an abbreviation which stands for Ultra High Efficiency projector lamp. These kinds of metal halide lamps are renowned for operating at a low temperature and with only a very small consumption of electricity, which is less than half of that of regular halogen projector bulbs. Adding to this, Ultra High Efficiency projector lamps reduce the size and weight of projectors which use them since the UHE projector lamps themselves are smaller in size.
UHP Projector Lamps
UHP projector lamps are trademarked by Philips Electronics and are one type of metal halide projector lamp. UHP projector lamp is an abbreviation which stands for Ultra High Performance projector lamp. One of the key selling points for a UHP metal halide projector lamp made by Phillips is that they guarantee an almost constant colour shift and lamp performance over the lamp's operating time without producing any hotspots. Other metal halide projector lamps may experience a significant performance and color shift after a length of time has passed.
UHB Projector Lamp
UHB projector lamp is an abbreviation for Ultra High Brightness projector lamp. A UHB projector lamp is one type of metal halide projector lamp available.
UHM Projector Lamps
UHM projector lamps are a type of high capacity projector lamp, and are a trade mark of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. The majority of Panasonic projectors use Matsushita UHM projector lamps for their light source.
Projector Lamp Terms - V
VIP Projector Lamps
VIP projector lamps are a type of metal halide projector lamp. VIP is an abbreviation which stands for Video Projector lamp.
Projector Lamp Terms - X
Xenon Projector Lamps
A Xenon projector lamp gives a stable and more natural colour light which means that Xenon projector lamps are able to produce a true to life and vivid colour reproduction. Xenon projector lamps are used in a small number of high end projector models, for example, projectors used in large cinemas.
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