With the projection world evenly split between acolytes of DLP and LCD technology, Canon offers an alternative that can teach the others a thing or two about image quality. The company's LCOS projection panel takes the best attributes of each technology to make the Canon Realis WX6000 Pro AV large venue projector a gem.
Think of LCOS, which stands for Liquid Crystal on Silicon, as the best of both projection worlds: it's like a traditional LCD screen, but rather than having light pass through it, the lamp's beam is reflected off of it. The design allows for thinner lines between pixels for better detail, excellent color balance, and a more uniform image.
Inside, the Realis WX6000 projector has 0.7-inch LCOS panels for red, blue and green imaging and Canon's fourth-generation Aspectual Illumination System. Called AISYS for short, it boosts brightness and performance. The LCOS panels combine for a 1,440 by 900 resolution projected image, which falls short of true HD projectors, like the Hitachi CP-WU8450. Its single air-cooled lamp provides enough light for Canon to rate the projector at 5,700 lumens, more than enough to light up a mid-sized house of worship.
At 6.7 by 14.9 by 16.9 inches, the dark gray and silver projector is small compared to its peers and its lens doesn't awkwardly protrude. There's an optional matching gray top that adds $250 and makes the projector almost disappear in the dark. It weighs in at a svelte 19 pounds, which should be fine for a single person to install and has convenient indented handles on each side that can ease carrying it around.
The WX6000 does without built-in stacking brackets, though, but has six well-placed mounting screws underneath for an upside-down ceiling installation. For use on a tabletop or shelf, the projector has a pair of adjustable front feet that can tilt it up to six degrees.
As is the case with most professional projectors, the WX6000 comes without a lens. Canon sells four lenses, but you can't use lenses from other companies, as is the case with some InFocus projectors. There are lenses for creating an image of up to 50-feet wide.
I used the RS-IL03WF short-throw lens, which—like the others—has its gearing and motors built into the lens housing. It provides smooth response and very quiet operation. Installing it is easy and requires four mounting screws, as well as inserting its power connector. The lenses cost between $500 and $2,500 each and have powered focus, lens shift and zoom, although the one I used had a fixed zoom.
Assuming the projector is used at full power for 15 hours a week, it all adds up to a reasonable annual estimate of its operating expenses of $187, half that of some of its competitors.
Simple set-up
The projector also has keystone correction of up to 20 degrees for both vertical horizontal distortion. This gives the installer nearly unparalleled flexibility in where to set the WX6000 up, but still get a good image. On the downside, unlike the NEC NP PH1000U, the projector can't create special effects, like picture-in-picture, oval and circular images, on its own.
Its assortment of connectors is adequate to the task with inputs for VGA, HDMI and DVI. If you need Component video input, you can use a pigtail adapter with the VGA input, but it does without the antiquated S- and Composite video ports or output ports for having two projectors show the same video stream.
The system also has an RS-232 connector for controlling the projector, as well as a LAN port for monitoring it and displaying items transferred from the institution's network. As is the case with many projectors in its class, it lacks Wi-Fi wireless networking and Canon doesn't sell an optional connection module.
On the side of the projector is a minimalist connection board, although the projector lacks a cover to hide the cables. It's a little cramped, but there's a simple circular control panel and LEDs that show what's happening. This set up pales in comparison to the CP-WU8450's small monochrome LCD panel that displays the projector's current parameters.
It comes with a remote control and a pair of the AA batteries you'll need. It has a reasonable range of 25 feet, which can be extended by using a microphone jumper cable. The remote doesn't have a laser pointer, but can control up to four projectors and can do everything from adjusting the focus, lens shift and zoom, to picking the source and controlling the projector's volume.
While it has a single five-watt speaker that's adequate for small rooms, most will use an independent sound system to fill the auditorium with sound. To help ease its set up, the WX6000 has a built-in color-bar test pattern, but has nothing like the IN5544's 10-bit image processor and digital scaling chip. Or, it can use an optional video processing board. It does have a color correction circuit that provides exceptional control with six-axis color adjustment, and it shows.
Put to the test
Whether it's connected to an iPad, PC or Blu-ray source, the WX6000's color and white balance are second to none with realistic flesh tones and vibrant primary colors. It was able to put 5,980 lumens on the screen in Dynamic projection mode, well above its 5,700-lumen spec. The device has six projection
modes to put different material in its best light. Just about every projection parameter is adjustable, and they can be saved in any of five user-defined presets.
To its credit, the WX6000 leaks almost no light, so it won't be a distraction in the dark. The system has a 93% brightness uniformity, well above Canon's 88% spec. When operating, it uses 413 watts of power, about average for this type of projector, but is eco-smart—using less than a watt in standby mode.
The lamp has an on-screen warning when it's nearing the end of its life, and the system's $579 replacement bulb is rated at 3,000 hours of use. Changing it can be done with the projector hanging upside-down and takes about five minutes.
Assuming the projector is used at full power for 15 hours a week, it all adds up to a reasonable annual estimate of its operating expenses of $187, half that of some of its competitors. To keep the WX6000 running cool and clean, the projector has a slide-out air filter that costs $80 and needs to be vacuumed after every 300 hours of use; a thoughtful timer keeps track of its life and warns when it needs to be cleaned.
Unfortunately, you can't be in a big hurry with the WX6000 projector because from a cold start it takes 45 seconds to put an image on its screen and several minutes to get to full brightness. After turning the projector off, the fan stays on for 32 seconds to cool the lamp. This will seem like an eternity compared to the quick-starting IN5544.
On the other hand, the WX6000 runs cool and silent—a big consideration during silent worship. Its peak temperature was 103 degrees at the exhaust vent, and its fan noise was 44.7 dBA at 10 feet, which makes it slightly warmer but quieter than the IN5544.
While the projector comes with a three-year warranty, the lamp is only covered for four months. At $4,500 plus between $500 and $2,500 for a lens, the Realis WX6000 PRO AV Projector is a bargain compared to some of its peers that don't offer its unique combination of flexibility and image quality. With the right lens, it can create video magic.
