The Basics
A projector lamp is the part of the projector that is responsible for transferring the image onto the screen. Projector lamps can be used in a variety of venues including businesses, home theatres, educational organizations, and movie theatres.

In the past halogen bulbs were used in video projector lamps. However, these bulbs often added a yellow tint to the image being projected. Because of this halogen bulbs have been replaced by metal halide bulbs in most projector lamp centers today. Metal halide bulbs are intense bulbs that produce a brilliant white light that bounces off of tiny mirrors in the projector to display the image on a screen for audiences to see.

There are three types of projector lamps: overhead, slide, and multimedia.

Overhead Projector Lamps
Overhead projector lamps can commonly be seen in schools and educational environments. One of the main advantages of using an overhead projector is that the teacher does not have to hand out several copies whatever document they are discussing. Rather an image is shown on the projector screen for the entire class to see.

These osram video projector lamps have a flat surface located directly beneath the metal halide bulb. The projector lamp bulb reflects the image off of a special mirror that enlarges it and displays it on the screen. Depending on how the projector lamps are made, the overhead models are typically the most affordable type of projector lamp, costing between $100 and $200.

Slide Projector Lamps
Unlike overhead projector that project the image off of a transparency sheet, slide projector lamps have a slot built into them for 35 millimeter slides. The lamp will then enlarge the image on the slide and portray it directly onto the screen. These types of projectors can be used in educational settings, or for personal use at home. Many people take pictures with 35 millimeter slides. These slides are easy to store and are very durable. On average a slide projector lamp will cost between $200 and $300.

Multimedia Projector Lamps
This type of projector lamp is responsible for transferring images from a DVD, video tape, or film reel to a large projector screen or blank wall. These projectors are more expensive that the other two types of projectors, generally ranging from $800 to $1300. These types of projector lamps are used most commonly in movie theatres and high end home theatre systems.

No matter which type of projector you have proper care and maintenance is required to get the best image quality, and make sure your projector has a long lifespan.