CANON RELEASES TWO NEW COMPACT INSTALL LCOS PROJECTORS WELL-SUITED FOR BUSINESS AND EDUCATIONAL USE.

Selangor, 22 May 2014 – Canon, the world leader in digital imaging, is proud to announce two projectors in a new category of compact models packed with a host of features and designed to meet the changing needs of consumers. The XEED WUX450 (WUXGA, 1920x1200) and WX520 (WXGA+, 1440x900) are LCOS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) business projectors with superior image quality and reduced maintenance requirements that are targeted at the rapidly growing market for compact install projectors. With these features and functions, the two new projectors will be well-suited to educational institutions, administrative boardrooms, and medical facilities

Crystal clear images
The core feature of a projector is the ability to project high quality images, and these new projectors are able to do so with Canon’s newly developed AISYS (Aspectual Illumination System) 5.0 optical system. Another feature of AISYS 5.0 is its ability to project images with minimal loss of lamp light. Not only does this make the projected images brighter, it also results in a more efficient usage of energy and lower carbon dioxide emissions, making the XEED WUX450 and WX520 highly eco-friendly. The XEED WUX450 consumes energy at 0.081 watts per lumen and the XEED WX520 at 0.068 watts per lumen. This noteworthy energy efficiency is maintained when the projectors are on standby mode, as they have the lowest energy consumption among projectors in its class.

One unique benefit of XEED WUX450 and WX520 is the constant Fno of 2.8, which means the high brightness of the projectors (4,500lm for XEED WUX450 and 5,200lm for WX520) is maintained throughout their entire projection range from wide angle to telephoto. The constant Fno of 2.8 is also beneficial in terms of having a deep depth of field which means projected images’ sharp details are kept in focus even when the screen’s surface might be uneven.

These two projectors are also equipped with other image enhancement functions to improve their output. For example, fast-moving motions are projected sharply, thus enhancing the clarity of videos. The imaging engine also performs edge enhancement, giving human skin a smooth look while retaining crisp edges in human hair. Dynamic gamma correction detects dark areas in the image and brightens them to bring out more details, without affecting already well-lit areas.

Memory color correction can detect common colors such as skin color, blue skies, and greenery and then automatically adjusting their hues to the shades and saturation that the human eye perceives as attractive. As the XEED WUX450 and WX520 are primarily used in business environments, there are two functions that can make text incredibly easy to read. Diagonal line correction helps to accurately scale lower resolution source text up to the higher resolution quality of the projectors. Diagonal lines in fonts are recognized and maintained, avoiding the fuzzy and jagged edges of text in normal scaling functions. Letters of the alphabet are also recognized by the projectors, and are internally processed to be sharper and easier to read, with its character recognition edge enhancement feature.

For usage in the medical industry, the XEED WUX450 and WX520 support the DICOM color standard with two preset modes: blue base and clear base. Users can also adjust the color tone and temperature to their own preferences.

Outstanding usability
For greater convenience, the new XEED WUX450 and WX520 are designed to fit into a compact body. Measuring in at only 337 x 362 x 118mm (without protrusion) in size and weighing only 5.9kg, these projectors are far smaller and lighter than others in the same category.

Its compact size and design makes it incredibly flexible when it comes to installation options. With a flat top and bottom surface, as well as feet that can be attached to either sides, tthese projectors can be easily placed on a desktop, stacked, or mounted on a ceiling without any curved surfaces getting in the way. It can even be mounted for upwards or downwards projection. Anticipating the many ways this projector can be mounted, Canon has made the operation panel on the projectors more intuitive, and the arrow keys can be set to match the orientation of the projector, whether its upside-down or used as a rear-projector.

Should the projectors be installed at an angle from the screen, the four-point keystone correction is implemented to accurately correct the four corners of the projected image.

The two new projectors have other features to increase their usability in different situations, such as the unique Canon-only ability to simultaneously project two high-quality images from different digital sources. For example, the projectors can project a powerpoint presentation from a PC connected to their DVI port, while projecting an HD video from a Blu-Ray player connected to their HDMI port at the same time.

To project an extremely large image, two of these projectors can be linked together with each projector displaying a portion of the overall image. The Edge Blending function helps users to adjust the projections to overlap the two images in the middle and intelligently reduces the brightness of the overlapped area so that the resultant image is seamless without any additional brightness.

Professional durability
The bodies of the XEED WUX450 and WX520 projectors are designed to allow convenient access to replaceable parts, with a lamp cover and filter cover that is easy to open and close. Replacing the lamp and filter can be done even when the projectors are still mounted to the ceiling. The projectors also boast of a lamp lifespan of 3000/5000 hours, and air filter which lasts about 12,000 hours. Future firmware updates can be downloaded into a USB flash drive and installed into the projectors via the USB terminal.

Development Announcement - XEED WUX400ST and WX450ST
Canon is currently developing two projector models- WUX400ST and WX450ST. The WUX400ST and WX450ST are short throw projectors equipped with lens shift functionality, housed in an unprecedented compact body. Unique characteristics include superior installability, high-level brightness, and high resolution. More information on these models will be announced in late 2014.

The XEED WUX450 and XEED WX520 projectors are now available at a RRP of RM 20,800 and RM 18,800 respectively.