the bulbs were actually being completely blown out. the projector was given to me and I don't know how to tell if the lamp in it(one that the previous owner had in that blew out) is an appropriate light or not. and I'm not about to drop 300 bucks for a new bulb till I am confident that I have the problem with the projector solved. is this a problem that is fixable? if so, what parts do I need to purchase and from where can I get them?

Ok well i wanted to first start off by saying hello to everyone this is one of my first times posting in a long time. Ok now to the fun stuff.. I have a dt-500 projector from sharp. I have owned it for roughly about a year. about a month or two after owning it i noticed like a faint swirly image at the top of the screen. i cant tell if it it smoke or just heat wavyness. Either way it only happened a couple times, but now the lamp only has roughly 20% life left i notice that happening way more often. it will stay liek that for about 5 minutes and then dissapear for like 10 or 15. my question is what is that? is that normal? its just a wavy clear swirly image at the top. i see no actual smoke infront of the projector or anyting soo it must be from inside the projector? any help would be great.

Junmer, Have you purchased a lamp yet? I have a brand new (sealed) one I can sell to you at a good price. I don't know if this is allowed here but I couldn't find a way to PM you....