Projector Replacement Lamps
 

I'm a big believer in genuine products and replacing parts with genuine parts. However, when I look at the price of a new lamp for my JVC projector, the genuine part cost is over 3 times that of other products.

Does any one have experience with non-genuine lamp replacements for their projector? What is the quality like and does it make a difference? I could buy 3 non-genuine lamps for the cost of a JVC replacement, but if the quality is not there in the picture I'd be reluctant to buy non-genuine, but also reluctant to pay 3 times for the same result.

I've been using projectors for 20 years for home theaters, including sports bars, etc and have replaced my share of bulbs, but beware that 90% of all of the non-factory/genuine OEM bulbs will not have the same Lumens as the original, and also normally will not give you the same life.

Hi Trevor, I've been a long time JVC projector owner and have replaced several bulbs for several projectors, in home theater circles it's pretty much a given that after market bulbs may not have the same quality, longevity and brightness in lumens. I've always bit the bullet and ordered genuine JVC bulbs from AVS Science over on the AVS forums. They're authorized dealers. I tried a different "generic" lamp one time from a very reputable dealer, I couldn't even install it even though the lamp was correct, but the plastic housing had a small plastic lip that wouldn't even allow it to sit correctly in the projector. That was the last time. JVC lamps from now on for me.

- Buck

I agree with the others. I've tried a couple after market lamps from a couple different sources for my Epson and they all disappointed. They all claimed to use the same OEM lamp. They seemed ok at first, but got very noticeably dimmer than the original very quickly. Recently upgraded to a Sony 325ES and will be sticking with genuine Sony lamps.