Buying projector bulbs, lamp or cartridge with bulb?

[Manic1]

When you buy do you buy just the lamp or the cartridge with the lamp in it? I have a Panny pt-ae8000u and looking at eBay lamp /with cartridge is cheaper. Thanks for the help.

Manic1

 

[mechman]

The main thing you need to be concerned about in my opinion is whether or not the bulb is an OEM bulb. I’ve been tempted in the past to purchase after market products and have been disappointed every time.

As for the cage, if it’s easy to replace just the bulb, just buy the bulb. It should be cheaper than the housing/bulb combo.

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

I always buy the whole assembly. I just replaced the lamp in my old 8000 about a year and a half ago (replaced/sold it last month).

Unfortunately, too, you can't really trust ANY of the auctions on eBay. They are 99% fake assemblies using an OEM bulb. There are probably hundreds of reports of these off-brands (even though they claim to be OEM, since the bulb is) damaging the projectors to the point of having to be sent in for service.

I would highly recommend biting the bullet and contacting an authorized Panasonic reseller and paying the extra for a good lamp. There are only a few, Audio General, B&H, and I think Projector People.

I used audiogeneral.com. I actually called them and they gave me a discount over the phone.
https://www.audiogeneral.com/store/products/view/6200-2080

I attempted to go cheap, too, and bought one that claimed to be an official, authorized Panasonic bulb. It was a struggle to even install it, to the point that I wasn't confident enough to turn it on. I returned that bulb and bought from the official reseller.

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

The main thing you need to be concerned about in my opinion is whether or not the bulb is an OEM bulb.

OEM hasn't been good enough, in my findings. I've always gone for OE only.

 

[mechman]

OEM hasn't been good enough, in my findings. I've always gone for OE only.

Unless my understanding of OE and OEM is off the mark, I don't think you'd be able to find an OE bulb anywhere as they are the Original Equipment the came off the line at the manufacturer - the ones that were in the projectors. And if you did I would guess it would be used unless there was some sort of factory surplus left over when manufacturing was halted.

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

I am under the impression that OEM just means something made by the same manufacturer that made them for Panasonic. So the Ushika bulbs that are packaged in substandard housings are still actually OEM, but they are not the same quality.

OE is the original equipment, and is, in theory, only available from the authorized resellers. These are the Ushika bulbs in the original housing that show up in a box labeled Panasonic and include a replacement exhaust filter in the package as well.

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

And you're correct that there are a limited number of OE units remaining, but there are a few.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I agree with the above, @Manic1 don't get suckered by a non-OEM bulb. I'd only buy from a true-trusted source and only by the OEM bulb. Otherwise, you might end up with very short-lived performance... or extremely bad performance.

 

[jtalden]

I've bought about 6 replacement assemblies for 2 different projectors. I have not tried to replace just the bulb, but am considering it. My experience has been good, saving maybe 30-50% of the OEM price. One of them was defective in that it became very dim at very low hours. I have read that this can occasionally happen with OEM bulbs as well. Possibly the likelihood is higher with 'replacement' bulb assemblies, but I don't know. I look to an assembly using the same

bulb manufacturer, ​

or other reputable OE bulb supplier. The assembly is often a different color and/or had slight difference in design that did not impact the installation. Several lasted well beyond the recommended life without noticeable dimming. I always choose one that has lots of good reviews and would be wary of any that seemed to be priced too low.

Just another persons experience.