Oem Samsung
Samsung DLP bulb BP96-01653A blown twice, ballast?
My original samsung bulb lasted about 3 years. I bought an OEM replacement bulb from discount lamps. It lasted about 3 months then the screen whent black and the bulb won't start up again. Looks exactly like what happened last time the lamp whent out. I can see the ballast firing. I am about to replace the lamp again but was wondering if there might be another problem causing my lamps to blow. Is there any way to test the ballast.
There can be multiple possibilities but many people get bulbs from places which claim they are equal to the original bulbs and they aren't, so they blow out.
Check www.samsungparts.com for the exact bulb you had and see if it's different from the one you received from the other site. Even different brands can fail more easily. I think the original bulbs are Philips and some of the replacements are Orem (or something like that) which are Chinese made "equivalents".