It works! Definitely a lot quieter than the good old magnetic ballasts. I swear it's also a bit dimmer.. but I may be mistaken. But regardless, works like a charm!
Here is a just starting up picture and then a full brightness picture, and then a close up of the lamp itself during startup. Works nice right?
What's the pros and cons for an electronic ballast like this OVH has?
AFAIK, some electronic HID ballasts in Europe are dimmable - usually 2 levels - full and reduced (energy saving during late night hours with low traffic).
I'm not sure about the 120V world though.
Nice! I guess pros would be: Quieter, less lamp flicker, faster restrike, more resistant to line voltage fluctuation, dimmable like merc said, and almost always HPF (though magnetic HPF is readily available it's not standard for small lamps). Cons would be more chances for something to fail since it's electronic and not just a coil of wire. Some electronic HID ballasts have an auto-off feature too, where the ballast will stop trying to light a cycling lamp after a few cycles. Would help save the internal ignitor and make a cycling lamp more noticeable since the lamp would be out.
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I'm not sure about the 120V world though.