List Price: $2,300
Do the price tags on high-definition projectors make your head spin? Optoma has a different way to fill a mid-sized church with vibrant images and video. The company's WU515T projector costs $2,300, barely half what the competition goes for, putting HD within reach of just about any congregation.
With the ability to deliver 1,920 by 1,200 resolution images and video, the WU515T can bring the big picture to all but the largest houses of worship. It makes a virtue of optimizing a thoroughly conventional projector design with a high-pressure lamp, 0.67-inch Digital Light Processing (DLP) imaging engine, six-segment color wheel and a 1.8X zoom lens that combine to fill up to a 25-foot screen.
At 13 pounds, and 6.3- by 13.5- by 16.7-inches, the WU515T is about half the weight and one-third smaller than other projectors in this class, like Epson's $6,000 Pro G6970. This means installing, adjusting, or even changing a lamp can be accomplished by one person.
For nook or shelf installations, the projector has adjustable feet. There are also three threaded attachment points underneath to mount it from a ceiling. Optoma sells several mounting kits, but generic hardware should work fine.
Unlike the Pro G6970 and other medium- to large-venue projectors, the WU515T doesn't have interchangeable lenses for different set ups and lacks ultra-short or long-throw options. For example, its lens can create a 17-foot image from between 17- and 30-feet from the screen, depending on the zoom level. If that works for your space, the pay-off is a bargain projector that sells for what a single NEC, Epson or Barco lens can go for.
Mechanical Shift
The WU515T's lens is offset to the projector's left side and has a throw ratio of between 1.26 and 2.16 depending on the zoom level. If things don't line up perfectly, the WU515T has simple mechanical lens shift knobs to move the image 20% vertically and 10% horizontally. Unfortunately, the settings can't be locked in place.
It has seven projection modes for a variety of circumstances and content, including Bright, Presentation, sRGB, DiCom Sim, Blackboard, Movie, and a Custom selection for configuring your own. There are also three power modes, from Bright (all-out illumination), Eco (lower power use) and Power (where you can set the upper limit on its consumption).
It’s a bargain projector that sells for what a single NEC, Epson or Barco lens can go for.
The projector, however, lacks a high-performance video processor, like the Faroudja DCDi Cinema chip that the Pro G6970 has for smoothing out video anomalies. Still, its projected video was smooth with excellent sound synchronization and only the occasional annoying artifact.
The on-board control panel is unconventional, but functional, as is its large connection panel. It brings a plethora of possibilities with a pair of HDMI and a DisplayPort connection as well as a pair of VGA-in and -out ports. There're also inputs for the older S- and composite video sources.
It has a 3D sync signal plug, a USB port for powering a peripheral and a 12-volt source for opening and closing a screen. The projector can be controlled or take in uncompressed HD Base T video from the institution's network via its RJ-45 Ethernet connector, but the WU515T lacks Wi-Fi. It can work with in-house audio-visual control infrastructure from Crestron, Extron, AMX, as well as PJLink software.
No Cover-up
Oddly, the WU515T has a pair of threaded screw holes in back that look like they'd be perfect for holding a cable cover, but Optoma doesn't sell a cover for the projector. You might be able to craft your own to make a warren of cables disappear.
With a variety of audio inputs and outputs, the WU515T can connect with a sound system. You might not need to, particularly for a smaller room, because the projector has its own pair of 10-watt speakers that sound surprisingly rich and clear.
The WU515T's remote control is a gem with blue backlighting that is very helpful when working in the dark. With it you can make minute adjustments, select the input source, correct for keystone distortion, adjust the volume, and even blank the screen. It requires a pair of AAA batteries and if the device's 30-foot range doesn't cut it, you can use an audio jumper cable to hard wire it to the projector.
When it comes to the unit's remote, the WU515T's has the bonus of a built-in laser pointer. This can be helpful for pointing out a text on-screen during a scripture class or when tweaking the projector with one person pointing to hot spots or dead zones on the screen while the other makes adjustments.
Overall the projector's set up was straightforward, but unlike many of its peers, which often have a dozen test patterns for tweaking the installation, the WU515T gets by with a grid and plain white screen. It took 18.2 seconds to start the projector, but at least another couple of minutes for it to get to full brightness.
Out of the box, it annoyingly beeps when you turn it on or off. Happily, it's the first thing I turned off while exploring the projector's menu structure.
Real-world Tests
After using the WU515T for a week with a wide variety of sources, including an iPad, live video camera, Gefen video switcher, an HD pattern generator, and a Surface Pro 2 tablet, we found it should be able to brighten up any mid-sized house of worship. It runs on 110-volt power but lacks the Pro G6970's cord lock that can prevent the embarrassment of accidentally pulling the power cord out.
At full brightness, it put out 42.1 dBA of noise 36-inches from the projector. While I expected the steady drone of the WU515T's fan, there was also a more annoying high-pitched whine. However, it seemed whisper quiet compared to the Epson Pro G6970's 49.6 dBA.
From corner to corner, the WU515T had a sharp focus and consistent illumination across the screen. In Bright mode, it put out 5,430 lumens of light. This is about 10% off its 6,000-lumen specification and well off the pace set by Christie's DHD 600-G (6,150 lumens) and the Pro G6970 (6,105 lumens), both of which sell for considerably more. On the downside, Bright mode has an overall bluish green cast to it that makes bright yellows look mustardy. Movie mode was much better for anything with flesh tones, such as live video of the pastor or worship team.
The WU515T's replacement lamp costs $450, has a 4,000-hour rating, and comes with a one-year warranty; the rest of the projector is covered for a more realistic three years. At full blast, the projector consumes 443 watts, which drops to 0.2 watts in sleep mode. This translates into $129 per year to use if it's on for 15 hours a week and power costs the national average of 12 cents per kilowatt hour. Slightly higher than the Pro G6970's operational expenses, its costs less than half as much to run compared to the DHD 600-G.
It's a quick and easy job to either take the air filter out for cleaning or replacing the projector's lamp. Each can be done in a few minutes while hanging off a ladder.
While the $2,300 WU515T can't compete with the likes of the Pro G6970 and DHD 600-G on brightness, it costs less than half as much and will still make an audience sit up and take notice. If you can live with not being able to change its lenses and slightly lower brightness, it could be the projector bargain of the year for all but the biggest houses of worship.
