Not all lamps are created equal.   If you are searching for a bulb for your projector or DLP TV you will likely see a wide range of pricing available for your lamp. A lot of terms get bandied about such as OEM Compatible, Bare Bulb, Hybrid, Diamond etc. What does it all mean? Long ago when you purchased a lamp for your projector, you had only one choice; the "original manufacturer's lamp" or "OEM Lamp". That's' it. You paid their price and you waited for delivery. Customers complained about the cost of these lamps and the interminable wait they had for lamps that were backordered. So other manufacturers started making copies of these lamps and selling them cheaper. These are the "generic brand" lamps or "OEM compatible" lamp. They are almost all made in Asia. These lamps were much cheaper and in the beginning a much poorer quality. There are still cheap poorly made generics, but there are some high quality generics as well. The generic lamps that allprojectorlamps.com sell have a less than 1% return rate. Still customers wanted cheaper options, so these generic manufacturers started selling the bare bulbs. These are the bulbs without the surrounding lamp module or lamp cartridge. Customers that were more mechanically inclined could extract the old bulb form the housing and replace it with a new generic bare bulb at an even greater savings. This is the "bare bulb option". This is definitely not for everyone. The lamp module manufacturers did not design the assembly to be easily re-lamped. The life rating for these lamps was reduced by the manufacturers knew that some lamps would be improperly installed. As pricing for projectors spiraled downward. The original bulb manufacturers knew that customers were not going to continue to pay for their high priced lamp replacement options so they begrudgingly started selling the bare bulbs themselves. This led to the introduction of the "Hybrid Lamp" option. This is a complete lamp assembly that uses the original manufacturers' bulb. Some of these bulbs such as the Hybrid brand allprojectorlamps.com sells use new cases and are assembled in a factory environment by professionals. Other hybrid lamps may use old lamp cases. These cases looked scratched or worn. Some may have chips or small cracks and some may still have mercury or other contaminants from the original lamp if it came from a lamp that "exploded" in the projector. There are Hybrid lamps that are branded; one being the "Diamond" lamp brand that claim to use new modules as well. You can find these on our site ProjectorLampZ.com So what is the best option for you? Well any of these options will work. What is more important is to find a company that does not mislead you when advertising their lamp. Make sure you know what brand of lamp module or bare bulb you are getting. Are you getting the complete lamp module, or are you getting the bare bulb? There is a difference. And trying to remove the old bulb can be very frustrating and time consuming. Allprojectorlamps.com supplies clearly defined complete lamp modules only. If you are interested in purchasing a bare bulb, please email me atinfo@allprojectorlamps.comor call me at 866-470-9877 during regular business hours Monday – Friday. I can also answer any questions you might have on other lamp types. ...read more