Street Price: $15,000 ($17,000 with standard lens)
If you hate the time, expense and hassle of changing projector lamps every year or two, Canon's LX-MU800Z uses a permanent laser light source that should never need to be replaced. At $15,000 (not including a lens), it's expensive, but the LX-MU800Z is as close to a maintenance-free projector as exists today.
Underneath the conventional looking black LX-MU800Z lies a radical rethinking of how projectors operate. Rather than a traditional high-pressure lamp that requires replacement roughly every 2,000 hours of use, the LX-MU800Z uses the latest laser technology that's rated to last for 20,000 hours. If you use the projector for 15 hours a week, that adds up to a lifetime of roughly 25 years. In fact, all you should need to do to the LX-MU800Z is occasionally dust it.
The projector's innovative light source starts with a bank of high-output blue lasers whose light beam travels through a rotating phosphor wheel that converts it into yellow light. Its beam is then converted into yellow, blue, green, and red segments with a color wheel. Finally, the light is bounced off the projector's 0.67-inch Digital Light Processing imaging chip, sent through the projector's output lens and onto the screen.
Inherent Flexibility
It adds up to 1,920 by 1,200 resolution imaging that is super sharp with uniform color and lighting level. Canon rates the projector to have a contrast ratio of 10,500:1 and 8,000 lumens of illumination. Aimed at mid-sized to large venue installations, the LX-MU800Z is powerful enough to light up all but the biggest religious institutions.
At 8.5- by 19.7- by 23.4-inches and more than 60 pounds, the LX-MU800Z is a lot of projector and makes others in its class look like lightweights. Plan on having two or three people on hand to move and install it.
The LX-MU800Z is very flexible in how and where it can be set up. It can run on either 110- or 220-volt power and you can install it at any angle. This makes the unit ideal for everything from vertical projection tasks to aiming its beam straight up or down. It does require 12 inches of clearance on the sides and 20 inches at the rear exhaust grille, so it won’t overheat.
Underneath, the projector has four adjustable feet for shelf or nook setups as well as six attachment points for ceiling installations. Canon sells several ceiling installation kits, but heavy-duty generic mounting hardware should work just as well.
Because there are no filters or lamps to replace, the LX-MU800Z is a lean machine that you can set and forget.
Regardless of whether it’s showing video of the choir or projecting inspirational thoughts, the LX-MU800Z’s family of seven lenses can suit the geometry of just about any church. They range from a fixed focal length short-throw lens to a mid-range one with a wide 1.65X zoom ratio, and cost between $2,100 and $3,600.
It takes about two minutes to change lenses, and you can lock the lens in place to prevent theft. I used the $2,100 Standard lens that has a throw ratio of between 1.73 and 2.27 and a 1.3X zoom.
Behind the scenes, the LX-MU800Z has a precise lens shift mechanism that can put the image exactly where you want it without reorienting the projector. It can move the image up and down by 50% as well as shift it right and left by 10%. While it lacks something like Epson’s easy-to-square Quick Corner tool, the projector can correct for keystone distortion of up to 40 degrees vertically and 60 degrees horizontally. In other words, you can put the LX-MU800Z at an odd angle that’s determined by the room’s geometry and still get a square, sharp and bright image.
The projector’s Menu system is well laid out and logical. It offers three projection modes: Presentation, Standard and Video, but nothing for sRBG mode or a way to create your own based on individual settings. It also lacks a video processor, such as the Faroudja DCDi Cinema chip or a dedicated video card slot. On the other hand, its video was smooth and virtually free of artifacts.
Its control panel is one of the most comprehensive in the business, but I would have liked a light to help out when working in the dark. Rather than on top, where it’s hard to maneuver when ceiling mounted, its panel is on the side and is far enough away from the exhaust grille that you don’t have hot air blowing on you.
In addition to an on/off switch, the projector has a power button and a switch for 110- or 220-volt operation. There are thoughtful touches, like the power cable lock so it doesn’t get accidentally unplugged at the wrong moment.
To help get the projected image just right, the LX-MU800Z has 10 test patterns. There are keys for calling up the Menu, navigating within it and for changing the input source and aspect ratio. You can zoom, focus and shift the lens from the control panel or do everything from the backlit remote control. It comes with a pair of AA batteries, has a range of about 40 feet, and can be hard wired to the projector with a 3.5-millimeter audio jumper cable.
Ports, Old & New
The LX-MU800Z’s connections are a mix of old and new with HDMI and DVI-D port, but it lacks DisplayPort inputs. There’s VGA in and out and YPbPr coaxial inputs. It has an RS-232 serial port for updates and control, as well as 3D synchronization ports. On the downside, the projector lacks a cable cover to hide the inevitable tangle of wires.
While the projector has an HDBaseT network video connection, Canon doesn’t offer a Wi-Fi option. It works with AMX, Extron and Crestron control equipment and has a trigger for opening and closing a powered screen. As is the case with many large-venue projectors in this class, the LX-MU800Z does without audio system or speakers.
It’s fast, taking 14.5 seconds for the LX-MU800Z to start up. It was at full brightness within a minute and shuts itself down 7.1 seconds after turning it off. I set the projector up with a variety of sources, from an iPad and Windows tablet to a DVD player, live video feed, pattern generator, and Gefen eight-way HD switcher.
In Presentation mode, the LX-MU800Z blasted out 8,210 lumens of light, slightly above its 8,000-lumen rating. On the other hand, it had a greenish-blue cast to it, and yellows were muddy looking.
After changing to the projector’s Standard and Video modes, the output dropped to 6,140 and 5,125 lumens, but the color balance was vastly improved, particularly with respect to projecting life-like flesh tones. Of the three, the Video mode was the best with just the right amount of warmth with vibrant yellows and greens.
Even at full blast, the LX-MU800Z had excellent focus and brightness uniformity. It kept its cool with its temperature topping out at 105 degrees Fahrenheit, although its fan was on the loud side at 45.1 dBA. Still, it’s quieter than the Canon WUX 6010’s 48.2 dBA noise level.
Because there are no filters or lamps to replace, the LX-MU800Z is a lean machine that you can set and forget. It uses 821 watts of power in Presentation mode and five watts while idle. This translates into estimated operating expenses of just $82 per year if it’s used for 15 hours a week and electricity costs the national average of 12 cents per kilowatt hour. That’s less than one-quarter what it costs to use Christie’s DHD600-G, saving hundreds of dollars a year.
The LX-MU800Z comes with a three-year warranty. While its $15,000 ($17,100 with a Standard lens) is on the high side, think of the LX-MU800Z as an investment that can cut a church’s expenses to the bone. The real dividend, though, is how well it fills a house of worship with bright and vibrant video.
