Outdoor Theatre at Home? (1 Viewer)

[livefromDC]

I know some of you must have done this before. We're looking at getting an outdoor projector, screen, and speakers. Any advice on what equipment to go with would be welcome. Am I leaving off anything from my shopping list? All tips welcome too. I'm thinking I could use this set up to watch games as well.

 

[efil4stnias]

I thought about this....i ended up nixing the projector and screen and just went with a 60 inch TCR - Got the TCR on sale at Best Buy for like $450 -

After much thought and consultation with kids, they would use MAYBE 5 times a year. And I dont need to watch TV on 6 ft screen. Woulda been waste.

I have Yamaha speakers for outdoor. ( along with Yamaha AV control center for zones/input etc ) That was prolly one of my favorite buys. Runs on app on my phone ( and all other phones...just be DAMN sure your phone is "alpha" - i wasnt home and so dude made my oldest daughter phone the "alpha" which she can control over all other phones lolol. And yes she has switched off during games - grrrrrrr)

Im assuming mount would be under patio ( out the elements ? ) right?

 

[livefromDC]

I thought about this....i ended up nixing the projector and screen and just went with a 60 inch TCR - Got the TCR on sale at Best Buy for like $450 -

After much thought and consultation with kids, they would use MAYBE 5 times a year. And I dont need to watch TV on 6 ft screen. Woulda been waste.

I have Yamaha speakers for outdoor. ( along with Yamaha AV control center for zones/input etc ) That was prolly one of my favorite buys. Runs on app on my phone ( and all other phones...just be DAMN sure your phone is "alpha" - i wasnt home and so dude made my oldest daughter phone the "alpha" which she can control over all other phones lolol. And yes she has switched off during games - grrrrrrr)

Im assuming mount would be under patio ( out the elements ? ) right?

Ah...nice. No, perhaps theatre was the wrong word choice. We were looking at a projector and screen combo because we want to do something under the stars. We have a nice size backyard that would give us enough distance for projecting. The deck isn't covered so a TV mount wouldn't work there. Plus, if I suggested a TV my wife would say, "why don't we just go in the sun room? (where we have a 55 inch Vizio)"

Thanks for the tip on Yamaha speakers as well. That's probably where I'll need the most help. I'm clueless when it comes to speaker tech these days.

 

[efil4stnias]

Ah...nice. No, perhaps theatre was the wrong word choice. We were looking at a projector and screen combo because we want to do something under the stars. We have a nice size backyard that would give us enough distance for projecting. The deck isn't covered so a TV mount wouldn't work there. Plus, if I suggested a TV my wife would say, "why don't we just go in the sun room? (where we have a 55 inch Vizio)"

Thanks for the tip on Yamaha speakers as well. That's probably where I'll need the most help. I'm clueless when it comes to speaker tech these days.

ohhhhh ok ok.

So man, you could get some simple tripods and put speakers on em for when projecting. I would see what type of speaker outputs it has and wattage. You may need additional power to get good sound from it.



Maybe over on Tech board post this? idk.

 

[dtc]

Our old house had a little pool house at the end of the deep end with a flat roof sloped away from the pool. I put a stereo in it with some exterior speakers and a sub that was buried in the ground. We connected it with a Sonos Connect so it linked with the rest of the house and later my wife put a projector screen on top of the pool house so we could watch football and other junk outside. It's been a few years and I don't know the brand, but it worked pretty well. The stereo arrangement was great. TV was tough in bright sun. I'm sure tech is far better now.

 

[Zardnok]

We have a screen mounted outdoors under an eave, but we have only used it one time for a football game party. We ran an HDMI cable from the receiver output inside out to the projector on a table in the yard and then ran an extra set of outdoor speakers outside for the audio. I have built a set of 12" monitors and an 18" sub to use when we do outdoor movie night, but we haven't seemed to ever have an outdoor movie night, so it sits in the garage collecting cobwebs with leaves stuck to them. Pretty soon they may just look like a bush in the corner.

As for outdoor speakers, it depends on how durable you want them to be and whether they will have any sort of protection. Are you planning on putting them up and down when you use them or do you plan on leaving them mounted around the yard permanently?

 

[Bayouboy]

Projectors have very good picture after dark. Tons of options depending on your budget.

 

[Charlie Brizzown]

I put some serious thought into getting a projector for outdoor use but the thought of setting it all up and putting it all away all the time put an end to that for me.

 

[boutrous]

I bought this one when COVID started and used it twice when the weather was still nice. It actually works very well, but needs to stay plugged in because the battery only lasts 2 hours. That wasn't an issue. I bought a white sheet and hung it from the eave for the screen and had it hook to my bluetooth speakers for better sound.

Amazon product ASIN B07MHYT53J
This is the one I really wanted, but it was more expensive.

Amazon product ASIN B07W4PJHF3

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

...oohhh... I thought you meant like Shakespeare in the Park but at your house...
*sigh*
amyway....blah blah blah quadraphonic Blaupunkt Blah blah

 

[livefromDC]

We have a screen mounted outdoors under an eave, but we have only used it one time for a football game party. We ran an HDMI cable from the receiver output inside out to the projector on a table in the yard and then ran an extra set of outdoor speakers outside for the audio. I have built a set of 12" monitors and an 18" sub to use when we do outdoor movie night, but we haven't seemed to ever have an outdoor movie night, so it sits in the garage collecting cobwebs with leaves stuck to them. Pretty soon they may just look like a bush in the corner.

As for outdoor speakers, it depends on how durable you want them to be and whether they will have any sort of protection. Are you planning on putting them up and down when you use them or do you plan on leaving them mounted around the yard permanently?

Definitely taking them down when not in use.

 

[SUGrad03]

I went the cheap route; we have a $150 projector (it must be dark outside) and a $60 120” screen from Amazon. I built a frame for the screen out of 3/4” pvc. For sound I’ve got a big Bluetooth speaker, it serves it’s purpose. We let the kids play video games with the neighbors and watch movies on the lawn.

 

[livefromDC]

I went the cheap route; we have a $150 projector (it must be dark outside) and a $60 120” screen from Amazon. I built a frame for the screen out of 3/4” pvc. For sound I’ve got a big Bluetooth speaker, it serves it’s purpose. We let the kids play video games with the neighbors and watch movies on the lawn.

Sweet. With the Bluetooth speaker, is lip sync ever an issue? From what I read online, this could be an issue sometimes with bluetooth.

 

[livefromDC]

I put some serious thought into getting a projector for outdoor use but the thought of setting it all up and putting it all away all the time put an end to that for me.

I read this and I see another way for me to get out of diaper duty.

 

[SUGrad03]

Sweet. With the Bluetooth speaker, is lip sync ever an issue? From what I read online, this could be an issue sometimes with bluetooth.

So I’ve done both Bluetooth and an Aux cable to the speaker, never noticed anything being out of sync. I assume the aux cable would keep up better. We’re talking Sonic the Hedgehog and Troll World Tour type stuff though, don’t think the kids would even care.