Projector Lamp FAQ

Who Makes Projector Lamps?

There are only a handful projector lamp manufacturers in the world that make high-quality projector lamps considered worthy enough to be requisitioned for projectors. Manufacturing a projector lamp takes an incredible amount of engineering know how and capital.

The following are the major movers and shakers in the projector lamp industry -

Philips - The global consumer electronics company engineered the 100% mercury vapor metal halide lamp in 1995. Using 100% mercury vapor allowed traditional metal halide lamps to emit a brightness never achieved previously and for all practical purposes made digital projectors possible. Philips was the trailblazer in the projector lamp world and remains as a dominant force in the projector lamp industry. Some estimates have Philips controlling over 70% of the projector lamp manufacturing and sales market worldwide.

Ushio - Ushio is a Japanese company that started operations in 1964 as an industrial light manufacturer. The company is now a self-described "creator of light" and manufacturers hundreds of different industrial light formats. The company manufacturers projector lamps for Sony, Sanyo, Epson, and BenQ amoung others and is estimated to have a 20-25% share of the projector lamp market.

Osram/ Sylvania - Osram is a German company that claims to be the second largest lighting manufacturer in the world. The company specializes in producing the ARC tube found in metal halide lamps, but they also manufacturer complete OEM projector lamps for several projectors. Osram controls a 7-11% share of the projector lamp manufacturing market.

The Rest - A handful of projector lamp manufacturers are located in Taiwan, Japan and China. Most of them do not manufacture high enough quality projector lamps to be considered for mass distribution inside brand new projectors. However, there are some projector lamp manufacturers that have been successful and received work orders to fill lesser-known brand name projectors with their proejctor lamps.