Summer is winding down and one thing I still want to do is host a backyard movie night with some friends. Smartphone projectors might be bite-sized, but their ability to get big screen results on a budget will help me have a nighttime showing to remember.
For starters, I need a screen. There's nothing cheaper than a white sheet, and it works just as well as more expensive set-ups. I recommend getting something from a thrift store and using some rope to attach it to a tree or deck. It's simple and affordable.
Not sure how to get the movie to the projector? How about using an app on your phone? If your cable company has an app, you can use that to access On Demand movies. Or if you're a Netflix subscriber, you can choose from your Instant Queue.
As an iPhone user, I was attracted to Brookstone's Pocket Projector, which slides onto the device and projects up to a 50" image. It's also got a built in speaker and a focus adjustment. The best part though? The projector has a built in 2100mAh battery, which is rechargeable, so even if your iPhone is low on power, you can use the Pocket Projector for back-up. The iPhone Pocket Projector costs $229.99.
If you're not an iPhone user, you've still got teeny-tiny portable options. The Optoma Pico Pocket Projector can project 1080i images via HDMI cable. At 5.6 ounces, it's ultra-light and portable, making it great for impromptu showings in the park. Another perk? This projector comes with a remote for easy pausing. It currently costs $256.42 on Amazon.
Depending on the size of your audience, you may also want to invest in some speakers. One cheap option is small speakers which can be plugged into a headphone jack. And don't forget the popcorn!
Now that I've got my screen and projector ready to go — I just have to decide on the movie. I think a John Hughes film might be in order.
Want some more ideas for setting up an outdoor movie night? Check out these top 7 tips.
(Images: Brookstone, Amazon, Netflix, Yaletown Business Improvement Association on Flickr, licensed for use under Creative Commons)
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Not to be a killjoy, but I don't think these little 10-20 lumen projectors are going to give you a cinematic experience in your backyard. I've used a 50 lumen mini projector for presentations and it's good enough if it's very dark, but it strains to get to 50 inches. Something with less lumens is not going to be very bright since the luminosity decreases exponentially as size increases. And in a situation with any ambient light, it's going to look pretty washed out.
I agree that the projectors suggested are incredibly under powered for outdoor use. The optoma projector you listed has a native resolution of 854x480, meaning you won't get anything close to HD picture out of it, regardless of the screen size.
This was a really unhelpful post given that it did not talk at all about the image quality of the projection.
Yeah, I agree with above. It would have been way better to read a review!
Not to be unfun, but there's a point where hyperbole and DiY-spiritedness cross over into good old uninformed ignorance. First of all, a white sheet does not work "just as well as more expensive set-ups". That's why movie theaters don't hang white sheets on their walls. It may work fine, provided you find the right sheet and rig it well, but let's not get carried away. Second - why would you even consider Netflix or an on-demand app if you're going to this effort? Resolution's probably the least of your problems once you factor in the video compression - and that's assuming that you don't lose bandwidth and have the app adjust your playback rate accordingly or have to wait for it to load.
My husband and I bought a full size ViewSonic 2700 lumens projector from Amazon for around $300 in May. We have used it almost every evening so far this summer, we can hook up his Wii to it, the Blu Ray player and the laptop for Netflix/Hulu. Use a white sheet-and it looks better than our local drive in.
Yeh, THE FORCE a bright spark in the gloomy negative posts here.
RIFFRAFFA - the big difference is that THEFORCE's projector is 180x brighter than the brookstone projector, and 135x brighter than the Optoma. The projectors listed here are too weak for any kind of outdoor viewing.
the post were not "gloomy negative posts" they were more informed then the article. Thanks everyone for being a self-correcting community.
We do this often when the weather's warm, neighbors are invited over, everyone knows to bring canned food for the local food bank as their beanbag rental fee. If you want to rent the hammock it's an entire case of food. We use the Brookstone and an old schoolhouse screen ($10 at a surplus sale) that we removed from its stand and hang on the side of the garage wall.
There is also this $99 from Pop Video…it was neat for showing off photos and things, but the room must be very dark.
http://thepopvideo.com/
@rucy ---- your idea for the food bank rocks! i also love that you put out bean bag chairs. making a difference in the world one person at a time is good feng shui. :)
We have a projector for our house that we watch movies on daily. It works well outside as well. I don't know how these projectors work but I want to make a suggestion other than a simple white sheet. Go to your local fabric store and get "block out" curtain in white. A white sheet will absorb the light and soften the picture, the block-out curtains will reflect it and make it crisper. It's a little more expensive and you want to be careful to roll it when you are done, not fold! It makes such a difference. I got mine at JoAnn Fabric and used a 50% off coupon. Happy Watching!
@FENGSHUIBYFISHGIRL - Thanks! We love it and it's done a lot to bring our neighborhood together AND support the food bank (the donations circumvent the 'you can't charge for a movie' law). By the way the bean bag chairs are ideal since they store easily and these particular ones can be hosed off. Next year we plan to add more and start showing old black and white movies.
Thanks for all your comments, everyone.
As I mentioned about the Optoma, it has up to a 1080i resolution and you can change the size (up to 62 inches) by how close or how far the projector is from the screen, but you NEED to use an HDMI connection. The iPhone projector projects at the resolution of your iPhone, which for the 4s is 960-by-640.
As a DIYer, I hoped to evoke that this is a simple, cheap way to do this. No, it's not movie theater quality. Yes, if you buy a $800 system, it will be MUCH better quality. But for about 8 people to sit around and watch a movie in a very small backyard, it works well!
Pour yourself a cocktail and relax folks, this post is about having a fun, inexpensive backyard movie night. For years my family has projected movies from a hand me down office machine onto a sheet (we used a wrinkle-free one that someone had gifted us but that kind of grosses us out). No, the image probably isn't the sharpest, but it sure is fun!