Tungsten Surcharges and Xenon Lamp Pricing

[Eric Simonian]

Hello all,

There has been a lot of discussion recently within the cinema industry about the rising cost and limited availability of tungsten, a critical raw material used in the manufacturing of xenon lamps.

Some xenon lamp suppliers have introduced additional tungsten surcharges and price increases reaching as high as 30%. For theater owners, technical managers, dealers, and service companies, increases of that size can have a significant impact on budgets, especially for circuits running multiple sites or replacing higher-wattage lamps throughout the year.

We wanted to let the industry know that LTI is not adding a tungsten surcharge to our xenon cinema lamps. Our pricing remains stable and competitive, without a separate material surcharge being added to your invoice.

In addition, LTI’s xenon lamps are manufactured at our facility in California. Because our products are manufactured in the United States, we do not add import tariffs to our customer invoices. The price quoted is the price you can expect to see on the invoice, without an unexpected tungsten surcharge or tariff being added afterward.

LTI manufactures a complete range of OEM certified xenon lamps for Christie, Barco, NEC, and Sony projection systems. Our lamps are backed by strong warranty-hour coverage and technical support. We can also help cross-reference existing Ushio, Osram, or Christie lamp models to the appropriate LTI equivalent.

We understand that changing lamp suppliers is not a decision theaters take lightly. Lamp performance, ignition reliability, brightness stability, warranty coverage, and technical support are all important considerations, not just the initial purchase price. Our goal is to provide a reliable, American-made alternative while helping customers avoid the major price increases currently affecting other parts of the xenon lamp market.

For anyone currently reviewing annual lamp costs, receiving quotes with tungsten surcharges, or looking for an alternative supplier, feel free to message me. We would be happy to review current lamp types, annual usage, and warranty requirements and recommend the correct LTI lamps for your operation. Email: Eric.Simonian@ltilighting.com

[Marcel Birgelen]

One of the reasons why people tend to keep to their trusted lamp manufacturer is because they usually don't have experienced many failures with them. A blown bulb can easily damage the reflector inside your lamp house or worse, which will not only take down the house, but also involve a costly repair bill. I've seen this happen once with a Barco approved bulb from OSRAM, but they eventually paid for the repairs on the lamp house in full. And while OSRAM isn't my preferred supplier, this at least inspired confidence in me that OSRAM bulbs are mostly safe to use, even though I've experienced quite some instabilities in their higher-powered bulbs.

Without reading all the fine-print, what does LTI effectively guarantee for exhibitors, in case of the worst-case scenario, like an exploding bulb damaging their equipment?

[Steve Guttag]

We had an Osram lamp below in a Barco projector (original lamp supplied with the projector)...Osram faught us on reimbursement for everything, including the reflector. I don't think I've ever had an Ushio (or Christie) lamp outright explode. I've had them outgas and I've had them go flickery or become hard striking...but those are rare cases. Generally, they look when they come out like they did when they went in.

Most lamp manufacturers will warrant their lamp and reflector/mirror damage associated with a lamp explosion. I think the Dolby 3D color wheel is covered (but it is an EOS part now). Warranties can also vary by region (country). For instance, the DXL-22BAF is a 2000-hour lamp in the US...but 1500-hour elsewhere. I'm sure the coverage what a manufacturer will do if a warranty claim is made will also vary by region.

[Eric Simonian]

Completely understand the concern. A lamp rupture can potentially cause significant damage to the projector, so exhibitors need confidence that their lamp supplier will stand behind the product if the worst-case scenario occurs.

Since LTI was founded in 1999, we have always honored our warranties through the very last covered hour. Fortunately, it has been many years (10+) since we have experienced a lamp rupture involving one of our cinema lamps.

In the unlikely event that an LTI lamp ruptures and damages the equipment, LTI covers the complete repair of the projector. We will also replace the affected lamp at no charge.

The process involves very little hassle for the exhibitor. We simply need the lamp’s serial number, the number of hours used at the time of the incident, and information regarding the damage. From there, LTI coordinates and covers the rest.

We understand how costly and disruptive equipment damage can be, which is why we take full responsibility for our products throughout the warranty period.