I have a digital 400-watt Lumatek ballast, with which I've been very happy. I just ordered a 1k light, non-digital, not here yet, so can't comment on that yet except to say: 55 pounds (for the ballast/bulb/cordset/reflector), jeez. I think digital ballasts are worthwhile. Haven't seen many digital 1ks yet; I think I'll wait a while before getting one of those, in case they haven't got the kinks all worked out yet. If I'm not confident in 1k digitals by next summer, I may get a 600-watt digital to use during the hot months. I have no prob with the extra heat of a non-digital 1k in the winter; in fact, it saves on the heating bill!

As for the radio/cable/satellite RF interference issue: I think that was just the initial round of production, before the manufacturers realized that was an issue. I don't have that problem with the Lumatek ballast, and it's not far at all from my satellite line coming in and my satellite service's DVR, and there are no interference issues. I wouldn't worry about that at this point; I'm pretty sure they're all shielded well now to prevent that.
jamstigator Reviewed by jamstigator on . Digital Ballasts...Worth It? I wanted to talk about Digital Ballasts. Id like peoples opinions, but mainly people who have used them and compared the results. I am generally a skeptical person when it comes to "the new big thing." Brand new products always have bugs and are generally talked up, not neccessarily providing the "incredible" difference they claimed. So when digital ballasts starting coming out on the market, I believed they were better but I did not see how they could really be THAT much more Rating: 5