At EC Computers Ltd we sell original and APO branded compatible replacement lamps. There are three distinct product categories in the market: Original Lamps, Branded Compatible Lamps and Compatible Lamps.

Original Lamps

These are products produced by the original manufacturer of the projector. They are made to a high standard. EC Computers Ltd sells original lamps for all major projector manufacturers.

Branded Compatible Lamps

APO is an example of a branded compatible lamp. They are similar to Kingston memory for your PC or ScanDisk memory cards for your digital camera – they are a branded, high quality compatible product you should be able to trust will work flawlessly in your machine. Often slightly cheaper than an original product, however the high quality levels are still maintained.

For example, all APO lamps go through strict quality checks and all the bulbs used are of the highest quality (even some well-known projector manufacturers use these bulbs in their products). The quality checks include: Beam Performance, Ignition, Voltage, Appearance, Connections, and Runtime. All lamps are manufactured to ISO9001 standards. Each APO lamp is bespoke designed to ensure great performance levels and not to infringe on any copyrights.

APO also offers two great warranties on their products:

• A 90 day warranty against lamp failure

• A “Peace of Mind Warranty” that means if an APO lamp proves to damage your projector your customer will receive a brand new projector of equal performance (Terms and Conditions Apply).

Compatible Lamps

Compatible lamps are often supplied in brown boxes with no branding or manufacturer markings. This un-branding can often mean a non-regulated company has produced the goods. Do not expect to see warranties, nor can the quality of the products be guaranteed. Often the products are not manufactured to high standards (such as ISO9001). High risks can be associated with these products (Please see below for a full explanation of risks). EC Computers Ltd does not endorse the sale of these products.

EC Computers Ltd is a strong supporter of both original and APO branded compatible lamps. We believe our customers should be offered the choice of original and branded compatible lamps. We believe in empowering the industry by providing quality products and allowing our experienced customers to make their choice accordingly.

The risks of compatible lamps that are not verified include:

• Health and Safety: Projector lamps are made by a highly complex design and manufacturing process. This process uses hazardous chemicals within the glass which are under immense pressure and can generate substantial amounts of heat. Poorly manufactured projector lamps could pose a safety risk to our resellers and their customers.

• Performance: The quality of a projector lamp directly influences a projector’s ability to accurately replicate colours, brightness and contrast levels. It is important that any projector lamp used is designed specifically for that projector to ensure the highest image quality.

• Legality: Some compatible lamp manufacturers will flaunt intellectual property rights of the original manufacturer which is illegal. Making a custom compatible product however is not illegal – examples include printer ink, memory cards, etc.

• Warranty: Currently, as soon as a 3rd party lamp is used in a projector that projector’s warranty becomes invalid. Projector manufacturers are only prepared to cover official lamps in their machines.

Identifying a fake/non-verified lamp:

It is not easy to identify an original lamp from a brand or compatible version. APO tries to make it easy to identify their products from non-verified products. For example, APO ensures its products have the logo clearly marked on the boxes and all sales are serial number tracked so we can ensure branded compatible product is not passed-off as original product. This protects all parties.

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