How to DIY Your Own Outdoor Movie Theater

There’s nothing quite lượt thích watching a What Happened To Diamond
on a big màn hình hiển thị, but it’s a shame mập squander those glorious summer evenings hanging out indoors. Why not enjoy the best of both worlds by creating your own cinema experience in the comfort và privacy of your backyard, if you have one .Building your own outdoor movie theater is far easier than it sounds, & can be easily scaled mập suit your budget — from a simple projector / sheet bộ combo bự a full-fledged theater, with a big outdoor màn hình hiển thị & speakers béo really up the Clip & audio chất lượng .

Here’s a look at what products you’ll need for your outdoor theater, along with some tips on how bự make everything work together .

A projector

Though it’s possible bự haul your ti vi outside for the occasional movie night, it’s not going mập have the “ wow ” factor of a big-screen projection system. Modern trang chính theater projectors offer excellent picture chất lượng, và usually a far brighter image than you’d expect — not bright enough bự watch outside during the day, mind you, but ample for a movie night under the stars .All of the picks from our guide bự the best budget projector for a home page theater also work in an outdoor setting. ( Not permanently, of course. You don’t want mập leave any electronics outside that aren’t designed lớn live there. ) They’re small & light enough béo carry outside & mix on a small table, yet they put out enough light mập produce a large image. Want a 100 – inch-diagonal màn hình hiển thị ? No problem. 150 ? That’s doable for sure. Consider first the Epson Home Cinema 2250, which is our brightest budget pick. It delivers accurate màu & good detail, & it has an Android TV stick built in so sánh you may not need béo attach an external truyền thông player .The one thing phệ consider with the 2250 is that you’ll need at least 10 feet of space between the projector & the màn hình hiển thị mập create a 100 – inh image. If your backyard is shaped or sized in a way that this won’t work, the BenQ HT2150ST uses a short-throw lens that lets you place it as close as 4.9 feet away from your màn hình hiển thị lớn create a 100 – inc image .If you want something a little smaller, with a more rugged và portable kiến thiết, we lượt thích the BenQ GS50. This little projector is designed for outdoor use : It is splash – và drop-resistant, it has a USB-C port mập directly kết nối a điện thoại device for truyền thông playback, và it has a built-in battery with a longer life than the other portable mini projectors we’ve tested. It has a decent built-in speaker, supports Công nghệ Bluetooth audio output, & even comes with some built-in streaming apps, so sánh there’s no need mập attach a separate truyền thông player. While it’s fairly bright for a portable projector, the GS50 is significantly dimmer than the Epson 2250 và BenQ HT2150ST projectors, which means you won’t be able lớn get nearly as large of an image, và its 720 p resolution means the picture won’t be as detailed. However, if you’re looking for the simplest option & are okay with a modest-sized image, the GS50 is your best bet .There are a ton of even less expensive projectors on the market, but they probably won’t be as bright, they may have a lower resolution, và they may just have worse image unique — so sánh they aren’t going lớn look as good when showing movies on a large màn hình hiển thị .

A projector screen (or not)

The simplest way béo watch an outdoor movie is, of course, Khủng just shine the projected image on a wall of your house, but we don’t recommend this approach. There’s a reason why movie screens are so sánh smooth. You’ll be able mập see the texture và surface of the “ màn hình hiển thị ” material no matter how bright the projector is. So if you’ve got wood shingles, you’ll see those shingles all colorfully lit by your movie. The same is true with stucco, or any other surface. The film’s colors will also shift with those of the wall. This option is certainly simple ( và không lấy phí ), but you can do better .A big trắng sheet is the most affordable solution that can still give you a decent image. The texture issue mentioned above can still be a concern, but it’s less so sánh if you keep the sheet wrinkle không lấy phí. Even a slight breeze will cause your màn hình hiển thị mập move, though, so sánh for the best, least-distracting experience, you’ll want phệ pull the material as taut as possible when attaching it lớn a wall or homemade frame. We got surprisingly good performance from these Target sheets when we tested them for our guide lớn outdoor movie screens .If you want the best image out of whatever projector you choose, you should get an actual màn hình hiển thị. We lượt thích the Elite Screens Yard Master Plus. It’s related phệ one of our favorite indoor screens & comes with a sturdy frame & ground stakes, so sánh it won’t blow end if your backyard gets a little windy. The Yard Master Plus is available in sizes ranging from 100 Khủng 200 inches ( in the 16 : 9 shape ) & includes a storage / carrying bag .If you want an even faster màn hình hiển thị thiết lập và don’t mind a bit of người yêu thích noise, the Gemmy Airblown Inflatable Deluxe màn hình hiển thị inflates quickly & offers solid performance .

A media player

What are you going phệ watch ? Or, more importantly, how are you going béo watch it ? Long gone are the days when you needed Khủng bring a DVD or Blu-ray player out lớn the yard along with the projector. I mean, you could still do that for sure, but there are easier options .A streaming stick, such as the Roku or Amazon Fire TV, connects directly bự the HDMI input đầu vào on the projector, draws power from the projector’s USB connection, & uses your home’s Wi-Fi mập stream movies from the ol ’ interwebs. Just make sure your projector has a powered cổng USB port. The Epson Home Cinema 2250 mentioned above has a USB connection on the back for this very purpose, as do many modern projectors. It will need at least một amp of output. Older projectors might have the cổng tiếp nối USB port but may not be able mập provide enough power. In that case, you’ll need bự supply external power béo the streaming stick .

The Best Media Streaming Devices

The Chromecast with Google TV has all the features we look for in a truyền thông streamer, and Google’s interface is the best at finding & organizing nội dung .

If you don’t want phệ get a streaming stick, many laptops have the ability lớn output a Clip signal via HDMI, or through an HDMI adapter. You could run an HDMI cable from the computer bự the projector, use a wireless HDMI transmitter, or explore other options for wireless connection .The Epson 2250 & BenQ GS50 mentioned above make this part simpler, since some streaming apps are already built in. You just need a Wi-Fi connection strong enough phệ reach your backyard .

A better speaker

You probably want bự be able bự hear your movie, too. Technically, you can use the projector’s built-in speaker. However, in most cases this speaker is small và low powered, so sánh it’s not going béo sound great. If we’re talking about a few people seated close mập the projector, that internal speaker might be fine. But if you’ve got a big yard or any kind of background noise ( quiet, kids ! ), it could be hard bự hear. Besides, if you’ve got a big màn hình hiển thị, wouldn’t it be great béo have big sound bự go with it ?The easiest way Khủng add a better speaker is mập use the projector’s analog audio output, which lets you kết nối any speaker that has an analog đầu vào. Many Bluetooth speakers have this, as do most soundbars và, really, just about any speaker system. You’ll need an audio cable lớn kết nối the two, either a 3.5 – milimet – béo – 3.5 – milimet stereo cable or a 3.5 – milimet – bự – RCA cable .If you want ( or need ) béo go wireless instead, you’ll have lớn use Bluetooth không dây. A growing number of projectors ( including the Epson 2250 & BenQ GS50 ) are adding a built-in công nghệ Bluetooth không dây connection béo easily send the audio Khủng a higher-quality Công nghệ Bluetooth speaker. However, this approach may create a noticeable lip-sync issue, wherein you see something happen on màn hình hiển thị và hear it through the speaker an instant later. This is a common Bluetooth issue, but for an outdoor movie night it’s probably not a dealbreaker .

The Best Portable Bluetooth Speaker

The UE Wonderboom tam is the all-around best portable Công nghệ Bluetooth speaker because it sounds good & looks cool, và it’s the most rugged Mã Sản Phẩm we’ve tested .

You also can kết nối a Bluetooth speaker lớn a streaming stick, if you’re using one. With a Roku, you can make this connection via the Roku mobi ứng dụng on your phone. It’s a little convoluted, so sánh stick with me ( pun intended ). You kết nối the Roku ứng dụng béo your Roku stick, which is easy as long as you’re on the same Wi-Fi network. You then kết nối the Công nghệ Bluetooth speaker lớn your phone or máy tính bảng. The audio from the streaming nội dung will go through your phone mập the Bluetooth không dây speaker. If you have an Amazon Fire TV Stick, you can kết nối directly — just go Khủng the settings in the main thực đơn .If you’re not using a Roku or an Amazon stick — or another source device that has công nghệ Bluetooth không dây, lượt thích a máy tính — another wireless option is a Bluetooth không dây transmitter. Thes e devices kết nối Khủng the audio output of the projector or source & send the audio wirelessly béo your Bluetooth speaker, just lượt thích if the source had built-in Công nghệ Bluetooth .

Some helpful accessories

The items above are the core components you’ll need for your outdoor cinema extravaganza. Depending on your house, yard, và so sánh on, you might require a few other things phệ get everything up và running .Extension cords are, of course, rather vital phệ your endeavor. Some cords have multiple outlets at the over, letting you run just one cable while still being able lớn plug in numerous devices. You could also get a power strip .If you’re trying phệ stream đoạn Clip outdoors & your Wi-Fi signal isn’t strong or stable enough, your home’s Wi-Fi network may need a little help. Before you buy an extender or a hot nhất router, kiểm tra bự see whether your home page network is as fast as possible .And, of course, the outdoors is đầy đủ of biting và stinging things. Don’t let them ruin your good times. From sprays lớn fans, we have several picks for the best bug repellants và mosquito-control gear .For a đầy đủ danh sách of everything we recommend Khủng build an outdoor movie theater, kiểm tra out the post below .