List Price: $6,500 (can be found retail for $3,600)
This article was revised 7/18/15 with new pricing from the manufacturer.
If the Realis WUX400ST Pro projector was intriguing but you wanted more light and HD imaging, Canon's WUX6010 Pro AV LCOS Projector should be right up your alley. With 1,920 by 1,200 resolution, more than 6,000 lumens of light, and a good range of interchangeable lenses at its disposal, it puts the spotlight on value for medium sized houses of worship.
While half of the projector world is enamored with Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) and an equal number taken with Digital Light Processing (DLP), Canon goes its own way with its homegrown Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCOS) imaging. Think of it as taking the best attributes of LCD and DLP to create a hybrid that excels at projecting bright and sharp images. In fact, LCOS constitutes a third way for projectors.
Close Examination
Inside the projector is a trio of 0.71-inch LCOS panels for red, blue and green light that combine to create vivid 1,920 by 1,200 resolution images and video. Capable of projecting images as large as 50-feet (diagonal), the WUX6010 Pro AV is a projection powerhouse with a 340-watt traditional high-pressure lamp. Its optics and advanced cooling system allows the projector to be set up at any angle as long as there's at least 24-inches of clearance on each side.
At 6.7- by 15.0- by 16.9-inches and 18pounds, the black and silver projector is a lightweight compared to the likes of the more powerful 87-pound NEC PH1000U. In other words, one person can easily unpack, maneuver and mount it.
Underneath, the projector has six attachment points for ceiling mounting or you can set it up on a shelf or nook with its pair of adjustable front feet. Canon has ceiling attachment kits with bar extensions, but generic hardware should do fine.
Five Easy Lenses
Like any mid-range projector worth its salt, the WUX6010 Pro AV uses any of five interchangeable lenses that suit the size and geometry of the auditorium it's set up in. Canon has everything from short- to long-throw optics that range from $500 to $2,600.
For my work with the projector, I used the RSIL01ST standard-throw lens with powered 1.5X zoom, focus, and mechanical lens shift that can be controlled either from the projector or the remote control. In other words, it should work in most mid-sized churches. It can deliver a 42-foot image from between 53- and 79-feet from the screen, depending on the zoom level.
Installing the lens is a bit tedious because you'll need to work with 10 screws that, fortunately, all can use the same Philips screwdriver. After opening the rear lamp door and sliding off the projector's top panel, you need to remove the lens's protective cowling. At this point, you can plug the lens's control cable in and slide and secure the lens into place.
The lens can mechanically move the image up or down as well as side by side. Along with vertical and horizontal keystone correction, this lets you set up the projector off center or in an oddly shaped room.
With a variety of projection modes at its disposal—Standard, Presentation, Cinema, Dynamic, Photo, VividPhoto and sRGB—the WUX6010 Pro AV can be tuned to different material and venues. It also lets you set up and save up to five of your own configurations with custom settings for anything from brightness, contrast and color gamut to color temperature, noise reduction and color tone. You can use the projector in split screen mode, with for instance, the choir on one side and the pulpit on the other.
Like the WUX400ST, the WUX 6010 Pro AV has its control panel and cable connections on the side, which prevents trying to plug cables in and out with the exhaust blasting in your face. Unfortunately, there's no panel available to cover the inevitable tangle of cables.
The projector's connections are up to date, with DVI, HDMI and VGA ports. It lacks a link with the past by including either Component or S-Video, though. There's both a standard network connection (although no Wi-Fi) and a HDBaseT digital video input. It also has RS-232 and USB ports.
Happily, the WUX 6010 ProAV has two audio-in and an audio-out for connecting to the institution's sound system. It, however, lacks a 12-volt output for remotely opening and closing a powered screen.
If the small remote control is too far from the WUX 6010 Pro AV to control it, you can use an audio jumper cable. The remote has selections for input source, focus, zoom and even freeze the action while muting the audio. It uses a pair of AAA batteries, isn't back lit and lacks the handy laser pointer of the BenQ WU515T.
The WUX 6010 Pro AV has so many test patterns that I put away my pattern generator. There are 27 images available, ranging from solid colors and checkerboards to cross hatching and focus points. Every installer or maintainer will appreciate this level of detail.
Real-world Tests
It may be quick to set up the WUX6010 Pro AV, but it takes a long 45.8 seconds to start projecting an image and a couple of minutes for its lamp to get to full brightness. It took 1 minute and 33 seconds for it to cool down and shut off its fan.
Overall, the WUX6010 Pro AV worked well with everything from a Surface 3 tablet and iPad to a live video camera and Gefen video switcher. At full brightness it was loud, putting out 48.2dBA of fan noise. In other words, it's best to keep the WUX6010 Pro AV as far from parishioners as possible.
In Standard mode, the images have a blue tinge to them, which turns to a warmer pink cast in Presentation mode. The projector delivered 6,130 lumens with nearly perfect illumination and focus uniformity. That's better than the BenQ WU515T's 5,430- and the Epson Pro G6970's 6,105-lumens. Overall flesh tones were best using the sRGB mode.
The WUX6010 Pro AV uses a $450 replacement lamp that is rated to last for 3,000 hours. That can be stretched by using the projector's eco mode, but at the cost of lower light output. It takes about two minutes to change the lamp and you can easily do it while on a ladder. There's also a pull-out air filter up front, but it's a snap to remove and replace.
Its 428-watts of power consumption is about right for this class of projector; it consumes 0.3 watts while not being used. If the WUX6010 Pro AV is turned on for 15 hours a week and electricity costs the national average of 12 cents per kilowatt-hour, it has estimated operating expenses of $157 per year. That's slightly above the $129 a year that the WU515T costs to use, but the WUX 6010 has a brighter output.
While the WUX6010 Pro AV lists for $5,499, you can find it in a variety of stores for closer to $4,400. Add in the standard lens and you have an economical $4,650 projector that should be enough for all but the largest congregations. Of course, if you need one of the specialty lenses, the total price tag rises quickly.
Still, the Realis WUX6010 Pro AV just might be the brightest bargain for mid-sized churches.
