xenons/hids, what are the differences?

Well, I know what an HID light is, Ive used them lots in the past just not with cars. I see alot of these super bright bulbs around, and I wanted to get a set for my car. The thing is though, how do you know which are which? I see Xenon bulbs that are just bulbs, no ballast that Ive seen, just a plastic case with a couple of bulbs in it. Ive also seen the HID kits with the seperate, and fairly large ballasts that get mounted remotely. so, are these xenon bulbs HIDs? or are they just brighter, whiter bulbs? what would people say are the best hid kits to buy, the brightest allowed by law, and would those types of ultra powered lights be the ones with the remote mounted ballast?

High Intensity Discharge lights use a ballast and a bulb filled with xenon gas. the "xenon" bulbs you see at the store that are around $30 for the set are just regular bulbs filled about 90% xenon and 10% halogen witch is just a slightly brighter crisper colored bulb. as per where you can get hid kits just look around the internet but keep in mind there not legal to put in as an aftermarket piece because the headlight casing on your car is not DOT approved for hid's. Also there is a $5,000 fine a set for illegal (non DOT approved) HID's. "Please keep in mind that although it is possible to purchase a "kit" to convert a standard halogen setup to HID not only is it illegal but potentially dangerouns to oncoming traffic. Automotive headlight designs that use HID have full cutoff optics that properly aim this intense light so it does not blind oncoming traffic. Most retrofit kits simply include all of the inner workings such as the power supplies, harnesses and xenon bulbs however they expect you to use the stock housings. Usually this results in light that is scattered everywhere and even though you can aim the headlights there usually is still enough light spill that is harmful to drivers coming in the opposite direction. This is the reason that the DOT has made it illegal to sell these HID kits in the USA and for good reason."

well im in Canada, but i dont know if the laws are different or not. Cant you buy replacement housings? or kits that retrofit properly/legally? mobilehid.com i think states that there kits are legal and dont get too hot or something.

im not sure what the laws are in canada, yes you can find kits that replace the whole housing and are dot approved but there very expensive, and mobile hid's retrofit kits are not legal in the us. the kit is only legal if it comes with a housing/lens thats DOT aproved ( again thats for the US i dont know about canada)

I also live in canada an am thinking about buying some HID's.. and yes they are illegal in canada but you shouldnt be bothered unless you get a really blue or extremely colored bulb, its just a chance to take if your willing

i cant tell you how many people i see driving around here that have insanely bright lights. Im not just talking about newer cars that have them, ive seen a bunch of older cars that have these installed, even some older model minivans lol. theres no way that this many people would have them if they are getting pulled over for it. im not saying its legal, but i dont think the cops where i live care too much about the lights. ive been damn near blinded by some of these lights, i just want to keep up. mobile hid's kit for my car is $400, and i dont think that includes housings, but i would want to get housings anyway because i wouldnt want mine to melt or something.

i have had aftermarket HID's in most of my cars and have never really had an issue with melting, the most i have ever had was the lens would start to frost/fog up over time.Nothing last's like the temporary.

my lens is already frosty, one of them has a small crack, and ive tried using some lens restorer which worked very well, but i think i still need to replace them anyway.