Outdoor Projector

[painiac]

Hey gang,

I recently moved to a place with a backyard, and i'm looking to set up a projector for warm weather night viewings.

having never owned a projector before, what specific features should I be on the lookout for in an outdoor projector?

are there particular models that handle ambient light well, and can connect to speakers? i've watched movies outside at other folks' backyards but have always found the picture sort of washed out looking.

any advice would be greatly appreciated, this has been a long-held dream of mine

if there is a dedicated thread for this that someone could direct me to, that would also work just as well

[roar]

Originally Posted by painiac

Hey gang,

I recently moved to a place with a backyard, and i'm looking to set up a projector for warm weather night viewings.

having never owned a projector before, what specific features should I be on the lookout for in an outdoor projector?

are there particular models that handle ambient light well, and can connect to speakers? i've watched movies outside at other folks' backyards but have always found the picture sort of washed out looking.

any advice would be greatly appreciated, this has been a long-held dream of mine

if there is a dedicated thread for this that someone could direct me to, that would also work just as well

Projectors and ambient light don't mix, find the projector with the most lumens that your budget will allow. What screen size are you going for and what's your budget. The bigger you go the further away your projector will be and the more washed out it will get if there is any light around. To combat that you could look into ultra short throw projectors as possible candidates.

If your budget is small, like less than a couple of grand this isn't a big conversation, find the cheapest projector you can get with the most lumens, look at used ones to get better quality to stay in budget as long as they've got a new lamp in it as the lamps age the become less bright.

[painiac]

Originally Posted by roar

Projectors and ambient light don't mix, find the projector with the most lumens that your budget will allow. What screen size are you going for and what's your budget. The bigger you go the further away your projector will be and the more washed out it will get if there is any light around. To combat that you could look into ultra short throw projectors as possible candidates.

If your budget is small, like less than a couple of grand this isn't a big conversation, find the cheapest projector you can get with the most lumens, look at used ones to get better quality to stay in budget as long as they've got a new lamp in it as the lamps age the become less bright.

awesome, thanks for the insight! definitely not going to spend a ton - this isn't going to be my main mode of watching movies (and post-pandemic just having folks over to watch flicks out back)

i appreciate your help here

[Know Noting]

Go cheap with a Yaber Pro V7. Some times you can score one for $200. I got mine for $260. Not perfect, but for the money it is a great buy. The one I got is not exactly super sharp, but my neigbor's is. Even though mine is off a little it is stilll tolerable for the cost. You can use it to see if that is something you want to really get into before spending $1000+.

Get the Yaber, then get yourself a decent screen to project onto. I use a 150" screen (Elite Screen) that hangs from my garage door (not literally, but just in front of it). The Yaber fills it up and works perfectly. The screen runs from $300-$400 depending on the sale.

You will then need some audio. You can use some Klipsch PC speakers and subwoofer form Costco for $80-$120, along with a $10 cord from Walmart to extend and connect them. They produce enough sound, and good 2.1 sound.

You are then going to need a cart to set all of the projector, Roku, Apple TV, Blu-Player etc. to set this stuff on. It makes it so much easier to do. I bought the Ikea Bekant cart with wheels (the smaller one) for around $200. Yes over the top, but again, everything is there and wired, just need to push it out into the driveway.

You will see as you put this all together you are going to run into several logistical problems concerning cables, speakers, stand to hang screen on if not on a garage door, cart for projector and disc player etc. It takes time to set all of this crap up and to sort out what you need. There are always options to go wireless, add a reciever for true surround sound etc. It can get really costly.

I was glad that I only had $260 into the projector and was able to spend another ~$1000 in the rest of the setup. Having the cheap projector did two things, 1. it allowed me to test the concept (all of that other stuff didn't come unitl later and I was sold on it), and not have to worry about guarding it with my life. I learned from my neighbor that with kids involved it doesn't always stay on the stand (unless you have the Ikea cart ). I wanted to get a better projector, but when I eventually did, there is no way that things going outside...EVER. I can't do it. I can deal with the image that is slightly not the sharpest. It really is not a problem.

The downside with those cheap projectors is that it needs to be fairly dark, but again...it needs to be dark with basically all projectors. With street lamp, neighbor lights etc. the screen was always fine with no wash out. Only when there was still quite a bit of light would an image be washed out.

Out door projectors are for fun social gatherings. Nobody is going to care to deeply what you are using, as long as it is decent. If you want to project onto one of those larege 30' inflatable screens, you will probably need something else.

If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me.

Good Luck!

[CatBus]

Regarding ambient light, if you can set up your screen inside a garage, the shade helps tremendously, depending a little bit on which direction your garage door faces. i.e. the screen in the garage facing outward, and the projector and audience outside the garage on the driveway (I suppose they could also be sitting inside the garage if your garage is cleaner than mine, but then it's no longer outdoors). A 120" 16:9 screen pretty much fills up your standard one-car garage opening. You can sometimes scoot the screen further back into the garage for more shade. Other sorts of shade (under a tree, shadow of a house) aren't nearly as complete, but you may have to make do with what you have. If you're showing in the evening, try to have some sort of barrier to the west.

But yes, get the most lumens you can afford to counteract the inevitable ambient light, and to allow for a larger screen if you plan on doing that (you can use online screen size calculators to see how bright your image will be at a certain distance/size -- you want to bury the needle as far right on that ambient light meter as you can, because the sun is a hell of a light source). Outside projection is full of compromises. Get a tension screen, though, and keep it out of the wind if possible. Moving, rippling screens look like crap. Avoid ultra-short throw projectors (IMO) because they require very exact positioning and a little screen wobble from the wind will look ten times worse. Long-throw deals much better with windblown screens, but can be a bit of a problem with people walking in front of the lamp. I went with short-throw, but not ultra.

Speakers are tough. You have to be pretty loud to get the real movie experience, but you could also get the real annoyed neighbor experience, so maybe feel that one out ahead of time rather than surprising them with your new setup.

[orangerunner]

I did an outdoor movie night with a cheap projector and noticed dirt and dust debris had entered the projector through the fans. Maybe a bug or two as well!

I was able to blow-out the debris enough that it was no longer visible on the screen but next time I would try to protect it from the elements by using some sort of housing around the projector.