08-01-09: MartyklI just ordered a new lamp assembly from Discount-Merchant. The bulb on my Hitachi LCD RP HDTV blew out this week. My local in-town supplier wanted $291 for the replacement, and he was out of them anyway. Most online lamp vendors charge about $219 for my unit. But DM's price was $139.99 plus $28 for 2-day shipping, little more than most places charge for the bulb alone (which you then have to install inside your old housing).
IME, the picture quality is very good, but maintenance issues are real. You will go through lamps...
Their return policies are reasonable, and if the bulb is sourced from Philips or Osram (mine was), they provide 3-month or 6-month return periods, depending on the application.