What is DLP:

DLP stands for Digital Light Processing and is a trademark owned by Texas Instruments. DLP technology has been around for sometime, but is quickly being adopted for economical, high definition televisions. DLP uses a light source, a color wheel & ballast, and a DMD, or digital micromirror device to project onto a screen to create sharp, illustrious picture. Some major DLP manufacturers are Samsung, RCA, and Mitsubishi.  Other manufacturers of similar technologies include Panasonic, Sony, and Philips.

How DLP works:

A light source is powered by a light ballast. The source sends light through a color wheel which gives color to the picture. The light and color gets reflected on a digital micromirror device. the DMD contains millions of tiny mirrors, each with the purpose of turning itself on or off. The combination of on and off mirrors multiplied by the millions of mirrors gives you high definition picture quality. The light then travels through a tunnel and gets projected onto the screen in reverse. The tunnel is made of 4 mirrors glued onto its sides. 

Common DLP problems:

Most problems with DLP televisions are lamp-related. Lamps in DLP televisions are consumable parts that last anywhere from 1-3 years. Some users tout longer lasting lamp life, but this is rare. The lamps themselves are typically as good as your use of the television.

Sometimes when lamps go out, other parts may go out as well. These parts include the ballast and the color wheel. Each component has straight forward signs that signal a bad or faulty component, though the lamp indicator or lamp warning light may also indicate something is wrong with the DLP television set. In most circumstances, the lamp will go bad and a lamp indicated light will flash. 

A sure sign that the ballast or power supply is not properly working is when the ballast clicks often in sequence, or it doesn't click at all. When a ballast clicks, it is trying to "jump start" the lamp. Most UHP lamps need 15,000 volts to start up. A bad ballast will not power the lamp, thus giving you a flashing lamp indicator light.

Another sign that your lamp may not be the problem is a bad color wheel. Color wheels are responsible for give the picture color. If the color wheel was removed, and your television still worked, there would be only a gray scale/black and white picture on your television. When a color wheel is defective, users report a distorted or false color in their television's picture quality. Usually, you can also hear a winding or whirring noise associated with a faulty color wheel. The color wheel uses a translucent wheel of colors that spins really fast. Some use ball barrings, some use air barrings. Using mechanical parts such as ball barrings can cause it to freeze up, or work intermittently.  This may also cause the lamp indicator light to flash.

Obstruction between the light source and the projection screens are often misdiagnosed as a lamp issue. A collapsing light tunnel for instance may cause a black, shadowy line to move on the screen, causing some people to believe the lamp is at fault. The lamp merely acts as a light source, and nothing more.

"Dead pixels"  or lines on the screen may be caused by the DMD board. The DMD is a silver rectangle containing microscopic mirrors. The misalignment of the DMD chip can cause a truncated picture with black bars, or no picture at all.

About UHP Lamps:

UHP stands for Ultra High Performance. This technology was pioneered by Philips and is in use in most DLP and LCD projection televisions. Philips is considered by many to be the superior brand in DLP televisions, but this is not often the case. Lamps are designed with the ballast to work together, and while Philips lamps and ballasts are in the majority of DLP televisions today, some televisions require a different original lamp part such as Mitsubishi televisions, though generic brands do exist. Philips is still considered the better brand, should there be other replacement options since Philips is the world's leading manufacturer of lamps for DLP televisions. It is recommended to use a Philips brand whenever possible in your DLP television. Philips lamps are manufactured anywhere from China to Germany.

Osram manufacturers a variety of UHP-type lamps called P-VIP. Almost similar in quality to Philips, Osram is quickly becoming a major lamp manufacturer for televisions using DLP, D-ILA, or LCOS technology. Though the Osram brand is still inferior, lasting only 70-80% of Philips lamps, some televisions manufacturers use  Osram as an OEM part (OEM meaning Original Equipment), and others use Osram in times of lamp production shortfalls.

Panasonic manufactures a lamp under the brand Matsushita. Do not by these lamps. The lamps tend to last only about a year. A recommended replacement for Matsushita lamps are Philips brand UHP lamps.