With thoughts of spring entering my mind (not that it feels like Spring yet here in Chicago), I thought I would resurrect the following thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=448969&highlight=outdoor+theater

Anyone preparing for their outdoor screenings yet?

My wife and I are talking about it--and we have started planning for it.

Don't know if it will be warm enough in May around here, but June I believe we have slated "Finding Nemo"--in honor of Father's day (after I get back from the World Cup in Germany)--and we have tentative plans to show a "game of the day" in the backyard for all of my soccer-obsessed friends (don't laugh, there are actually a large pocket of them around where I live...)

Of the pixars, we haven't shown Monster's Inc, yet, so we'll probably try to throw that one in there as well. (By the way, the trailer to Cars it out now--it looks pretty darn good, and my four year old made me play it about a dozen times on our computer last week...)

Any other ideas for movies for this summer? We got into Madagascar this winter a bit--it's a very funny movie, even if it drags slightly in the middle.

Hey Steve.

"Curse of the Were Rabbit". We're having a fundraiser at the elementary school school this weekend, but it's going to be cold. It's for two kids. One has a rare cancer and the other was injured in a school bus accident and was in a coma for a while. One school bus rear ended the other, he was in the back one. My son was in the bus up front, but was ok.

I think my first one will be towards the end of April or beginning of May. The time is right down here about then where the son still goes down reasonably early and its warm enough. During the summer, it's still light out past 9:00 PM, so its real late for the little ones when the movie is over.

Our kids enjoy the other short Wallace and Grommit movies as well. Chicken little just came out and Narnia will be out next month.

Bud

We're starting to think about the films we'll run this year. I like to try to stay away from the things that little kids have seen a gazillion times (Nemo, etc) as then they start to act like they are at home instead of out in public.

I also like to plan one or two nights that are not necessarily just for little kids. On those nights, maybe a couple of cartoons or shorts, and then an intermission to let parents get their kids home and then something a little more adult.

Still thinking about it, we'll see how it goes.

We had a great time last year, looking forward to it again this year!

Tom

We're starting to think about the films we'll run this year. I like to try to stay away from the things that little kids have seen a gazillion times (Nemo, etc) as then they start to act like they are at home instead of out in public.

I also like to plan one or two nights that are not necessarily just for little kids. On those nights, maybe a couple of cartoons or shorts, and then an intermission to let parents get their kids home and then something a little more adult.

Still thinking about it, we'll see how it goes.

We had a great time last year, looking forward to it again this year!

Tom

Not a bad idea. I love showing the movies for the kids, but wouldn't mind something a little more adult. We showed a double feature last year of Toy Story followed by Raiders of the Lost Ark, and while most stayed for Toy Story, the place noticeably cleared out for Raiders. By the end, we had only about 6 people left for the credits. Of course, a double feature in the summer time means the movie isn't over until about 11:30pm--frankly, is just a little bit too late, methinks.

I think if I did a short movie first, followed by an intermission and something more adult, I wouldn't get anyone back for the follow-up movie.

As it is, our neighborhood is just absolutely chock full of 2-8 year olds. It will probably be kids movies for a hile, unfortunately.

The start of our outdoor season begins the first weekend in May with King Kong. So far the response has been very favorable and I could see us having about 100 people there.

King Kong? Start that movie early 'cause it'll be 10-11pm by the time its over.

Victor

we're starting it at 8, that'll put it over at just past 11. that's when most of our summer movies end, since we have to start most of them at 9 later in the summer.

Glad to see more people doing the outdoor thing!

You can check out my setup at

http://members.cavtel.net/thomaslogan

click on "outdoor theater"


Tom

King Kong? Start that movie early 'cause it'll be 10-11pm by the time its over.

Victor

True, but I wouldn't start it too early, because that flick is definitely not for young kids' eyes.

True, but I wouldn't start it too early, because that flick is definitely not for young kids' eyes.

Well, nothing scary happens in the first hour anyway. It isn't until hours 5-6 that the movie really gets scary.

I kid! Seriously the first 5 hours of the movie should be fine for young eyes.



I am reconfiguring my set up this year, and was thinking about buying unprimed painters canvas at 84" x 6yds for the screen material (12oz) from Dick Blicks. Anyone use this for a movie screen?

I use a painters drop cloth for my screen. if you look in my signature you'll see a link to my outdoor theater, as well as a page on the creation of the screen.

We've put on the invites that due to the run time and frightening images, no small kids. If they bring them anyway they will have to deal with the aftermath of the nightmares and judgements placed upon them as bad parents!

Well, in case anyone is interested, I have finally posted photos from my big outdoor bash last November! It only took me 5 months to get around to it.

They are in the original thread (scroll to the bottom):

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=448969&page=6&pp=60&highlight=outdoor+theater

In Phoenix we never stopped doing the outdoor movies.

Christmas Eve we did Polar Express
In January we did Sky High
February we did National Treasure
March we showed Goblet of Fire
Later this month we are showing Spider-Man and The Longest Yard (two different nights)
We have one scheduled for May (movie is still being debated)
June we are taking the whole show up to the mountains to a ranch for a Friday night flick under the ponderosa pines.

You can check out my screen and equipment at Cheftom (http://www.cheftomproductions.com)

I use a 6x8' gessoed canvas for my screen and like it a lot. It's about a year old now and starting to show some wrinkles and sags (I keep it rolled on a piece of 4-inch PVC drain pipe), but the gesso gives a bright image - it's pigmented with titanium oxide, which has a reflectance of something like .99999. The canvas stays pretty flat and it can be ironed to get out the bad wrinkles.

We had a good season last year and are hoping to start up again at the end of April. Here's the tentative lineup:

Apr 28: Howl's Moving Castle
May 26-27: The Wizard of Oz
June 17: March of the Penguins
July 21-22: Johnny Bagpipes / Help!
Aug 25-26: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

We show these for friends and neighbors on the driveway, with the screen hung in front of the double garage door.

We also do some films that aren't so kid friendly (e.g. "Dr. Strangelove") out back, on the patio. Here are some possibilities for the Patio Theater art film series:

Parineeta (Hindi)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Shall We Dance? (original Japanese version)
The Triplets of Belleville

I wish there were more months in the summer, or that I had more time to do this. Five films just doesn't seem like enough!

There's a web site dedicated to the addictive hobby of digital outdoor theater at http://backyardtheater.com. Check it out, if you're doing this or thinking about it.

http://www.nmia.com/~vrbass/images/CHDT2006Calendar.jpg

I am planning on doing this with family members. i just don't know what speakers to use...

Believe it or not, just about anything will do. Remember the lousy little speakers that hung on the car window at drive-ins back in the '60s?

But you can do better, of course. I have tried several things, including dismantling the stereo system in the den and moving it to the driveway, but the best result for the effort was when I unplugged the speakers from my computer and used them. I have a Logitech Z340 three-way system (subwoofer plus two satellites) and the sound produced is very good. It has enough power to give a good, loud sound outdoors and enough bass power to do justice to a film with big thuds or explosions.

This kind of system is extremely easy to set up (connect woofer to satellites, connect input to DVD player, plug in power) and can be bought for $50 or so (or you can have 5.1 surround for a little more). You can buy them in any computer store or electronics store, or on Amazon.com. You will probably need a 25-foot extension cord to run the 1/8" stereo signal from the player to the screen.

That's the simplest and cheapest. Other people have carts or racks with 200-watt receivers and graphic equalizers driving professional quality PA speakers. Personally, I'd start with the three-way computer speakers and work your way up.

I am planning on doing this with family members. i just don't know what speakers to use...

I agree with Busy Hands. Just about anything will be fine. Last year, I ran the sound through a very old Kenwood receiver I had from college (stereo only) and used very old Kenwood speakers (massive 100W). I had no subwoofer (except the speakers had woofers and tweeters together). The sound was pretty darn good. Once you get outside, without walls bouncing sound around, just about anything sounds good. And you don't need very powerful speakers to get a pretty good sound.

Having said that, though, I always have a bad case of upgrade-itis. I am going to pick up a very cheap 5.1 receiver off ebay and run some other speakers I have laying around that I had wall-mounted in my previous house--they're now collecting dust in the basement. But I'll be able to get some pretty decent surround out of it, I hope.

Other people have carts or racks with 200-watt receivers and graphic equalizers driving professional quality PA speakers.

And there's always gonna be the ocassional whacko with an antique JBL sub and pair of Buttkickers mounted under the deck... : )

How ya doin' Busy!

Randy

Agreed...almost anything will work.

For sound, I found a $149 600W 5.1 TIB on the discount floor samples table at CC. Even the little tiny speakers sound great outdoors. I have some old ratshack speakers that I tried but they are only rated at 40w, so I use the little ones rated for 100w.

Again, people don't go to outdoor movies for the PQ (or SQ)...they go to have a good time.

Tom

Again, people don't go to outdoor movies for the PQ (or SQ)...they go to have a good time.

Tom

But, interestingly, even with the SVGA projector and almost antique speakers, I received many compliments about how good the picture looked and how great it all sounded.

But there is a communal experience with the movie that can't be discounted. As tlogan said, people go to have a good time--it's absolutely true.

I received many compliments about how good the picture looked and how great it all sounded.

Same here, which leads to my observation about PQ and SQ. People are generally just wowed by the size of the screen. Everything else is just icing on the cake!

Tom

Guys--I need some collective brainpower here.

Roger Sante: I like your set up--it's very similar to what I would like to achieve. My new screen will be attached to my fence like yours, but my question is, how do you store your screen when you are done with it?

I am really looking for a way to do what you did, but make it as easy as possible to take down at the end of the night.

My thoughts are to use Metal conduit for legs that are clamped down onto my fence posts to form a screen 16 feet wide. The screen would be attached somehow to each leg so that, when finished, I can just pull the legs out of the clamps and simply roll the whole screen up. The problem is--I need somethings to hold the screen up from the top of the screen across the whole screen. A buddy thought to use a line, like a clothesline across the top, with some kind of crank to make the line extremely taut. The screen would be attached to the line (possible folded over and stitched to form a pocket?). Anyone think this will work? Anyone have any other ideas?

Steve,

Mine stands up and rests against the wall in the garage when it's not being used. That eats up a lot of useful wall space that could be used for other things, but it's worth it.

Here's an outdoor screen option. Might be a bit expensive ($250), but looks pretty cool.

http://www.skymall.com/webapp/skystore?process=prodSrch&action=


Direct links don't seem to work, but look for item 301209

I thought I would post some info about my "backyard theater".

I have a Crestron home automation system for control.

Here you can see the screen up... in a motorized enclosure above the bay window:

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/1446/10xl2.jpg

This picture shows the screen down. The screen is a 100% opaque white sunshade... made to withstand the weather.

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/228/24pf.jpg

The projector is a Sanyo high definition model. I needed a projector that was very bright (3000 lumens), had a good throw distance, and good keystoning (since the angle is about 35 degrees). I have been very impressed with the picture quality as well as the viewing angle. People on the upper deck and in the hot tub can see a very clear picture. The projector sits on top of a rolling metal shelf that was intended for kitchen use. I keep it in the basement control room when it's not in use.

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/708/34zq.jpg

This is how the projector is connected to the control system. The following video sources are available:
DVDs from an Escient DVD server - 800 disc capacity
High definition DirecTV and OTA locals from 1 of 2 HD DirecTivos
PC access using wireless keyboard/mouse (1776X1000 or 1152X648 resolution)
Modified XBOX - can play games using wireless controllers and also use it as a network connected media server with XBMC
Security camera display... If the doorbell rings, I get an audio alert through the outdoor speakers. I can switch to the front door camera to see who is at the door, and talk to them through an intercom.

http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/7396/47wz.jpg

There are 3 audio zones that can be used, independently or together, depending on where people are located. Each zone has a local volume control knob.
Zone 1 is the main zone which has 2 12" Rockustics planter speakers. The arrow is pointing to one of them. These can be moved anywhere on the lower deck.
Zone 2 is on the upper deck. It has 2 8" planter speakers.
Zone 3 is the hot tub zone. There is 1 Niles dual speaker mounted under the deck directly facing the hot tub.
In addition to the audio that goes with the above video sources, FM radio is available as well as CDs in the Escient server and mp3s on the network.
In this picture you can also see a natural gas firepit, locted to the right of the projector... for those chilly nights.

http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/9480/51de1.jpg

This shows the HD Tivo source from the firepit area:

http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/3328/67of.jpg

Here is a DVD image from behind the pool:

http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/248/70df.jpg

I got everything up and running last October, so I didn't have too many chances to use it last year... other than a few Monday Night Football get togethers.
I'm looking forward to many outdoor viewing events this year.

Roger,

You are correct in the the Iron Giant is a great movie to show - it's one of my kids favorites (and I like it too). Also recommended is Spirited Away, however watch it before showing! While my children and I find it fascinating, it is very quirky and at times makes you think "what the ....?" But, once people start watching it they won't turn away.

Ben

Just thought I would bump this up.

I have been toying around with a new design for my screen that will hopefully work. I think I detailed it in a previous post, but in general:

Two metal posts (3/4" steel gas line) will be fixed to my fence posts 16 feet apart. The screen, when not in use, will be wrapped up on the posts, and unroll like a scroll. There will be a pocket across the top of the screen to run a line that will span the two metal side posts. The line will be attached to one pole, and run over a pulley, to a ratchet on the other. The poles will be tied from the top down to the fence at a 45 deg. angle.

The screen will work thusly: Once the poles are unrolled from each and attached to the fence posts the poles will be tied down (to ensure they stay pulling apart on the top, especially when the tension of the rope/line is added across the top of the screen.) Once the poles are tied down, the rope ratched will be tightened to keep the screen from sagging in the middle:

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c90/Etienne_72772/outdoorscreen.jpg

Hopefully this shows what I am planning to do. I guess, before I really get going, anyone see any downside to this?

The benefit is that once removed from the fence posts, the poles (which are ten feet total) can merely be rolled up--so I will have a screen "package" that is ten feet long--easily storable in my garage. I'm just hoping any breeze doesn't push the thing down, or sway too easily.

How do you intend to attach the poles to the fence? It appears to me that once attached, you will be able to tighten up across the top of the screen, but will you be able to get the bottom of the screen tight enough? Will you be able to unroll the screen, pull it taught and then attach it to the fence? How many people will it take to do this? I'm thinking the screen WILL get wrinkles when it's rolled up.

As I see it, to install you unroll (unscroll?) the screen and pull the two poles far enough to attach to the fence. Do you have to lift the poles up and into some tubes or something? Or will they be set into the ground. I'm thinking it would be easier if they are low to or in the ground. Do you require one person to hold each end and mount the poles or can you set one and then go to the other side and attach it? See what I'm getting at with how many people are REQUIRED to set it up. I CAN do mine alone. It's easier with help, but it can be done alone.

My frame comes completely apart and I fold up the Black Out cloth screen. As I'm putting the frame to gether and threading the sections through the screen pockets, the last one or two connections are pretty tight and it takes a little effort to pull it together, but it pretty much removes all of the wrinkles. And tightens up all the way around.

Just some questions to think about, since you asked.

Good luck,
Tom

Very nice setup Funky. I'd be there in a heartbeat for some MNF :)

How do you intend to attach the poles to the fence? It appears to me that once attached, you will be able to tighten up across the top of the screen, but will you be able to get the bottom of the screen tight enough? Will you be able to unroll the screen, pull it taught and then attach it to the fence? How many people will it take to do this? I'm thinking the screen WILL get wrinkles when it's rolled up.

We are thinking about using eyebolts, where the pole can slide down the eye. We found some at the local hardware store that are just about wide enough, but will have to be opened a little bit. The eyebolt will go all the way through the 4x4 fence post, and tightened on the other side. To get the screen taut enough across the face, I figured I would have the ability to tighten it by turning the poles, once in the eyebolts (thereby wrapping the screen every so slightly up to eliminate wrinkles). I will need something to keep the poles from turning, once it is in place--I'll think about this. Across the bottom, we have toyed with the idea of putting in a sleeve for a solid rod, or periodically attaching the screen to drawstrings that are then attached to the fence.

As I see it, to install you unroll (unscroll?) the screen and pull the two poles far enough to attach to the fence. Do you have to lift the poles up and into some tubes or something? Or will they be set into the ground. I'm thinking it would be easier if they are low to or in the ground. Do you require one person to hold each end and mount the poles or can you set one and then go to the other side and attach it? See what I'm getting at with how many people are REQUIRED to set it up. I CAN do mine alone. It's easier with help, but it can be done alone.

I don't think I will be able to do this without two people. I suppose I could unroll the one side of the pole, and lean the other pole up against the fence, attached the pole to the fence post, and unroll the other side and do the same thing. This may be do-able by myself. The screen poles will actually be off the ground--I plan to have a step (like an L bracket) under each pole keeping it off the ground. I'm not concerned if I need another person, as my wife can help.

My frame comes completely apart and I fold up the Black Out cloth screen. As I'm putting the frame to gether and threading the sections through the screen pockets, the last one or two connections are pretty tight and it takes a little effort to pull it together, but it pretty much removes all of the wrinkles. And tightens up all the way around.

The funny thing is--unless the wrinkles are really bad, they don't really pose that much of a problem for the outdoor screen. My screen last year (see my signature) actually had a lot of wrinkles, but were hardly noticeable, and then not at all when the movie started.

Just some questions to think about, since you asked.

Good luck,
Tom

Thanks so much for your help--it has given me a lot to think about. I will at least try this and see how it goes.

I tried something like this. The problem is the weight. At 16ft it will pull the two poles together. I used 2inch aluminium fence poles 18ft apart and 17ft high. I used a canopy tarp with grommets and bungee cords. I used the ratchet and eye hooks and pulleys. The setup was too heavy to pull with one person and the pulleys were also too small, 1inch.

My first solution was to use a bunch of pulleys one at every point of the pole and screen. This worked but the screen was very unstable. That wire cable or rope is critical to carry the weight and also to put plenty of tension to remove the wrinkles. It didn't work well and the screen with wind tipped over and tore the wire rope. So I scrapped the design.

My final solution was to go to a proven design that worked great, 10'x20'.
I also scrapped the canopy tarp for some projection material Dazian Trapeze light weight 112" wide screen. It cost more but I never looked back.

digitaldummies_com/projects/outdoor.asp

Good luck.

Steve -

Sorry, I missed your reply from a few days ago!

The funny thing is--unless the wrinkles are really bad, they don't really pose that much of a problem for the outdoor screen.

Agreed! My screen has a permanent sag in one corner becasue the bottom pocket was sewn just a bit off of a straight line AND it is TWO pieces of BO sewn together with the seam running right accross the center of the screen, the long way. Unless there is a very bright scene with little or no movement, it is not noticible.

Tom

I tried something like this. The problem is the weight. At 16ft it will pull the two poles together. I used 2inch aluminium fence poles 18ft apart and 17ft high. I used a canopy tarp with grommets and bungee cords. I used the ratchet and eye hooks and pulleys. The setup was too heavy to pull with one person and the pulleys were also too small, 1inch.

My first solution was to use a bunch of pulleys one at every point of the pole and screen. This worked but the screen was very unstable. That wire cable or rope is critical to carry the weight and also to put plenty of tension to remove the wrinkles. It didn't work well and the screen with wind tipped over and tore the wire rope. So I scrapped the design.

My final solution was to go to a proven design that worked great, 10'x20'.
I also scrapped the canopy tarp for some projection material Dazian Trapeze light weight 112" wide screen. It cost more but I never looked back.

digitaldummies_com/projects/outdoor.asp

Good luck.

Yikes. This doesn't instill a lot of confidence in me.

But I am using steel gas pipe for the poles--they are very rigid. I am hopeful that, with the tie down lines, they will help pull the screen apart to keep the poles relatively vertical. I am anticipating that they will bend some.

I have changed one aspect of my design--and that is I have placed grommets around the screen on one side, across the top and bottom. I bought ball bungees that slip through the grommets, and will be attached to the pole on one side and the line on the top. The other side of the screen will be wrapped around the pole. I have rigged up a ratchet system for the pole, so if I need to increase the tension across the screen, I merely turn the pole, and lock into place.

I may be able to get something working tonight. I'll post results.

I did not want to discourage you only to share my experience and hope you can look out for my mistakes. It did work and I showed a few movies. I was just not very happy with how flimsy it seamed to me, at least for the size I was looking for.

Well, I didn't get to it tonight. My stepmother's birthday dinner kind of got in the way, which pushed bedtimes for the rugrats back a bit. Damn--busy weekend coming up, too.

Man, with three kids 4 yrs old and younger, it's tough to get anything done!

OK--the big screen is finally coming together. I was able to spend some time on it last night, and these are my conclusions. My first attempts to get the screen up wasn't a complete failure, as I learned alot about where the tension is placed all around the screen. I have taken the screen down, and retooled it. Attempt #2 is tonight.

Basically, my design for bigscreen 2.0 is grommets on one side of the screen, and across the top and bottom. The other side of the screen is wrapped around the pole (pole#1), and it can be turned to tighten the screen up. The line across the top is affixed to the top of the other pole (pole #2), and run through a ring on the top of pole #1. The line then is angled down 45deg. and affixed to a rope ratchet to tighten.

Well, bigscreen 2.1 will have the line on top not tied down to the top of either pole, but will fall at 45 deg. angles on both sides of the screen, with rope ratchets on both sides. I also got rid of the ball bungees (make the screen too loose on top), and threaded the line on top through the grommets themselves. One other change is I now have both sides of the screen wrapped around the poles, instead of just one. I noticed that the side wrapped around the pole held up really well, while the other side, attached with ball bungees through the grommets, sagged like crazy. So now the screen will open like a scroll. Hopefully, there will be enough tension across the top to really make the screen tight.

For anyone who cares, I will post results later.

Update results from last night.

We're getting there! We were able to get the screen up and secured. It is very taut across the bottom and middle, but across the top, we are having trouble. We decided to put knots near the outer most grommets along the top, and that does a good job of straightening out the top. In addition, the screen absolutely has to have tie down ropes on either side of the legs attached to the top of the posts to pull the screen ever so slightly apart. This also decreases the sag across the top.

One thing that would definitely help would be something that could pull the screen near the top of the screen outwards. I am thinking of adding a grommet in the screen near the posts, and tying a line from the post to the rope coming down off the sides that is holding the top of the screen up. As the tension increases to keep the top of the screen up, it will also pull the screen apart at that location as well.

Over all, I think this will work just fine. Got to get the pj out there to see how it looks. The canvas is now quite wrinkled, so hopefully that won't be too noticeable. If so, I will have to iron this damn thing...

Nice set up Funky


OK Guys,
How big of a screen are you using and what projector.

I just bought the panny 900 a couple weeks ago.
My goal is to have movie nights and football by late summer and early fall.

Is my panny ok to project a true 9' by 16'?
CAN I GO BIGGER??

Thanks - I think I have found a summer hobbie.
T

Todd,

I have a Panny 300, and my screen is 14' x 6' (2.35:1 aspect ratio). It does a great job.


In fact, on Saturday we host our first movie night of 2006. We are showing King Kong. We expect about 50 people, but could see the number grow as most people we invite don't RSVP, they just show up.

Good luck with yours. They are a LOT of fun.

very good ideal !

very good idea!!

rsante,
what's the advantage of 2.35:1 over 16:9
I'm debating over which to use.
thanks
T

A lot of the big blockbuster movies are in 2.35:1, so it's good to be able to display the entire image on the screen from top to bottom, left to right. If you have a movie that's 16:9 then it takes up the top to bottom but just leaves some black bars on the side.

doesn't the panny have function that will adjust a 2.35:1 show to a 16:9 and the reverse with out any distortion??

T

How big of a screen are you using and what projector.

Roughly 8X12 and a business class Sharp Notevision XR-1S. Works great.

Tom

Todd, you can use the Zoom feature, but if you are watching a 2.35:1 and zoom it to the fill out the 16:9 screen you'll loose things from the side.

First off, thanks everyone! - I have been reading this and the other thread for a while and wanted to share my thoughts and comments from my recent movie nights.

Overview:
I started watching outdoor movies this past spring [well February in Houston] and I think this last weekend was probably my last until Fall [well December in Houston :)]. A cool front came through and it was absolutely beautiful Friday night (clear, clear skies and 68), then started warming up a bit Saturday. Friday night we had some kids over and watched Chicken Little - the kids went home and a couple of us watched Big Mamma's House 2 (mainly because I got it in that day from Netflix) -- not that good, but some really funny parts; especially the beach scene... I was in tears [I'm sure the Coronas helped :)]. It was my daughter's birthday party Saturday - so we had about 15 kids over. That night we watched Hoodwinked. I had screened it earlier in the week and thought it was pretty funny, a good mix of humor. I don't have the elaborate set up like many of you do so I have never bothered to take any pictures - just admire yours. I basically hang my screen off the back roof soffit in front of the patio door and pop some pop corn, then sit in our patio swing with the wife. I am sure one day I will do-it-big, but for now this will suffice - granted we have not had any neighborhood parties, which might change things.

The Projector:
I am using a business-class projector (InFocus LP130). This is plenty bright and works very well. Native 4x3 but can change settings to enhanced widescreen which does the job. One thing that I don’t like is that there is no ceiling mount option so it projects from just a couple feet off the ground. Of course this means no sitting directly in front, but you can get pretty close on the sides - for our family it works fine and even with the 15 kids plus five adults last weekend (which was our largest viewing) it worked out well.

The Audio:
We have two windows on each side of the patio door; I simply run wire to my living room speakers (from Sony system) and set them outside the window next to the screen. You can hear the sub rumblings coming from within in the house. We are happy with the near 2.1 sound but I would like to get the center channel out there. If I don’t go with a larger screen (7’+ tall) I will probably make removable boxes that hang from the soffit to hold the L/C/R speakers. If we move the screen to the back-back yard I will move our old Pioneer 5.1 out of the bedroom.

The Screen:
I combined a few thoughts and ideas from your posts as well as some general knowledge I have gained over the years in the DIY screen section. I created a 2:35:1 CH screen using Wal-Mart $3/yd. budget BOC and a semi-collapsible wood frame from 1x4s. Similar to Steve S., I put hinges in the middle of the 4 vertical braces so it could basically be folded in half. I just hang this in the garage when not in use. I used Velcro on the frame back and BOC - and although not the best on the cloth - if careful removing, it works fine - I have not had any problems with it - now with about 15 movies watched (10 or so times putting up and taking down). I think over the summer I may be upgrading to something else however as I would like to get it a little bigger. Currently at 54x126, this works fine, but I would like to get it closer to 6.5-7’ CH.

Side Note (or two):
This past week, I took a look at the painter’s drop cloth (8x12) and using PVC to frame but about halfway into the project I scrapped the idea. I was just not confident in the way it was headed (stability, etc.) and I really did not like that large seam in the middle of the cloth. I have heard others mention it - but I did not realize it was THAT noticeable - maybe it is the type I am using. Do you all cut that excess flap off or just leave it as is? I am sure this goes away once the movie starts, but surely you have to be able to see that??

This WAS (and some day may still be) the way I was going to create it: I was going to use 1.25" PVC with crosses on each corner and in the middle of the top and bottom. Then I was going to put 2" black duck tape around the edges of the painter’s cloth and either try grommets or just cut a small opening. Then, put some bungee balls (painted black [not default orange] through them and stretch over the cross connectors. I had cut some 2.0" PVC at angles and put reducers on them and WAS going to put these in the ground about 24" down for stability. After getting the frame built, I was moving it around and it seemed quite flimsy - I had not put the cloth on but since the birthday night was quickly approaching I decided to table the idea and save it for another day. Do any of you think I was headed in the right direction? If I do pursue this, I think I would need to go with the trapeze material or some wider BOC. I am not very picky, but that drop cloth just looked horrible to me. I was thinking about moving the screen location to the back of the yard - where at times it can get windy (more so than up near the house). I also don’t think tensioning with bungee balls is the best solution - again, I was just trying to think quick and easy set up and take down, storage and portability.

Movies Watched:
Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, The Fifth Element, Shark Tale, Shrek I and II, Star Wars VI, Gladiator, LOTR I, II, III, Narnia, Chicken Little, Big Momma’s House 2 and Hoodwinked

Conclusion:
Thanks again for all your ideas and lessons learned; I will be paying attention to this thread over the summer and offering my advice and movie thoughts if warranted. SORRY for the long reply, but I guess I made up for a season's worth of posting in one. :) Hopefully we'll get a blast from the north of some nice weather, but I am pretty confident the humid 90 degree nights and mosquitoes are going to be rolling in from here forward. YUCK!

WAF = 95% - she has actually mentioned upgrading to a 2:35 cinemascope screen in the house! Until we sat under the stars [watching Gladiator a month or two back] and I explained it to her - she had no idea (and was not interested) what a constant height screen was... it's amazing what that full moon and the bragging of neighborhood kids will do. ;)

I also wanted to pass along this link as I have not seen it mentioned here. I may try this material in the future - looking to get a size closer to rsante's (6'x14'). It seems they can do a 6' width without a seam - http://www.fabritechonline.com/Banners.html and they have all sorts of D-rings, sewing and grommet options you can add if you want. I am going to do a little more searching on vinyl banner blanks to see what turns up.

rsante - if you don't mind, what material did you use for your screen? I have probably read it in the past just forgotten. Thanks!

gwrieger,

I used a 12 x 15 (or was it 9 x 15) painter's drop cloth from Home Depot. It was kinda beige, but i painted it after stretching it over the frame.

Ok, so I want to try a rear projection to a screen that covers the two car garage area. IE I want to raise the garage door, stretch some film or cloth over the opening and project from inside the dark garage, is this doable? Who has done it and what cloth/film did they use.

That would work but you are going to have a low screen and without stadium seating in your driveway you are going to have a lot of people who will have people in front of them blocking their view.

gwrieger,

I used a 12 x 15 (or was it 9 x 15) painter's drop cloth from Home Depot. It was kinda beige, but i painted it after stretching it over the frame.

Thank you- I saw those and was thinking about that, but unfortunately I was looking for something I didnt have to paint - might be worth a shot though. Thanks again for your feedback.

When surfing around a bit yesterday I also ran into these - I am curious if the sheen would be too much and would have to end up painting these as well.

http://www.tarpusa.com/category.asp?CATEGORY=4

Does anyone have experience with just a plain 'ole white tarp like above?

That would work but you are going to have a low screen and without stadium seating in your driveway you are going to have a lot of people who will have people in front of them blocking their view.

So you are telling me you DON'T have stadium seating in your driveway? I thought everyone had that these days!

Rx8Doc - I saw your original post on this and thought it was a very good idea, please let us know how your ventures turn out - I would be interested in doing something similar - just because. :) I will try and hunt around for some material (that wont break the bank) when I get some time.


I know this is out there, but seems a bit rich ($90/yd) for my blood for an outdoor screen unless your going with a <= 4.5'H screen ($15/yd).

http://www.rosebrand.com/A_Com/showdetl.cfm?&DID=6&Product_ID=2546&CATID=12&ObjectGroup_ID=84

Ok, so I want to try a rear projection to a screen that covers the two car garage area. IE I want to raise the garage door, stretch some film or cloth over the opening and project from inside the dark garage, is this doable? Who has done it and what cloth/film did they use.

http://www.mikeandsharonrhodes.com/halloween.htm

If you want a nice, solid white surface, try using black out cloth. You can usually get it at fabric stores in 54" widths, but I've seen them online in 110" width. Of course, the length is up to you and your budget.

So you are telling me you DON'T have stadium seating in your driveway? I thought everyone had that these days!

Local ordinances prevent one from having a driveway that slopes towards the house. Don't these guys ever think of home theater applications? All they care about is protecting us from flooding and carssliding into our homes - they need to get their priorities straight! ;)

Local ordinances prevent one from having a driveway that slopes towards the house.

If they did, I would have to move the HT to the 2nd floor to make room for the great indoor pool I would have in the basement :)

Local ordinances prevent one from having a driveway that slopes towards the house. Don't these guys ever think of home theater applications? All they care about is protecting us from flooding and carssliding into our homes - they need to get their priorities straight! ;)

Well, I am not sure where you all have been living, but I have a hydrolic lift system on my home. We planned a basement but when you go down all you will find is the engine and mechanics. When the garage door opens the seats on risers roll out via a pulley system up the driveway. Get with the program! We're talking outdoor theaters for the 21st century here!


rsante - yes, I am using BOC right now, but I wanted to get a bit larger, closer to your size with a 6 or 7 foot CH screen and not pay $75+ per yard for 110". I think I may try the painted canvas approach and see how that turns out.

A couple questions: what type color paint did you use? UPW or Kilz2? Also, do you ever take your screen down or is it more permanent? Any problems with weather and paint or peeling, etc.?

Thanks again!

http://www.mikeandsharonrhodes.com/halloween.htm

Great video, thanks! That looks really fun - but I would be worried about falling into the "public" viewing domain during Halloween. I dont think any neighbors work for Pixar or Disney, but you never know.

I could see rigging this up for MNF or an occasional movie where public exposure might not be as great.

How are you guys maintaining tension across the top of the screen? It seems that as long as you keep that tight, the wrinkles across the rest of the screen should be minimal.

Steve,

would love to see your setup. I live just behind Lifetime Fitness East of Randall Road.

thanks,
scott

How are you guys maintaining tension across the top of the screen? It seems that as long as you keep that tight, the wrinkles across the rest of the screen should be minimal.

Steve,

would love to see your setup. I live just behind Lifetime Fitness East of Randall Road.

thanks,
scott

Back in my more youthful days (last year), I used to go to that LifeTime Fitness (I also lived on the south side of Crystal Lake at that time--we have since moved to the north side, and I rarely venture down that way anymore, except to use the drive through Starbucks when I have my three kids in the car...)

Anyway, back to the discussion. My screen is tensed by a rope across the top of the screen, and sits within a hem on my screen. The rope slides through two large eyelets that sit on the top of my two poles. The rope then comes down at about 45 deg., wraps around a hook, and is tied onto itself with a rope ratchet. I can then make it very, very tight, and it holds the screen up very nicely. However, the weight of the screen, and the rope across the top tend to make the poles on either side to bow ever so slightly inwards, so I have ropes attached to the poles themselves, coming down at 45 deg. and tied off on my fence (although I could probably use rope ratchets here, as well.

Any wrinkles tend to pretty much disappear with this set up, especially when the movie gets started--you don't notice a single wrinkle (or for that matter, stain on the screen, caused by me trying to steam iron the canvas--the iron sprayed out steam that then stained the screen--doh!)

In essence, the screen is like a drum--very tight, and very secure. sdspga--When we finally get things up and running (stupid weather...), I'll pass along an invite, and you can come and check it out. (There's another forum member from Woodstock who wants to come out and check it out as well).

I used 54" BO cloth, sewn together to create 104" wide. You only notice the seam in very bright scenes where your eyes are focused on the center of the screen and there is no movement. Ever notice that almost all drive-in screens are just a bunch of 4X8 pieces of plywood nailed to a frame? You never really notice it.

I keep tension across the top of the screen by having sewn in pockets to slide my PVC frame through. It's a little tight to assemble the last two or three connections, but it tightens everything up. I then use a set of three tightening ropes on each end (like for tents) to tension everything.

Tom

Thanks Steve. I like the ratchet idea to tighten it up. I am thinking of sewing hems along the two sides and sliding the poles through them and fastening at the top. Then employing your idea of the top rope through another hem and tightening somehow. Any problems you can see with this?

BTW, I know what you mean about the weather. I am a golf professional and we just got killed the last week or so. Seems like whenever we have good weather in April, May turns to crap!

thanks Tom. I was typing as you were posting. That is exactly what I was thinking. We don't have any fence around my yard, so I was going to sink some sleeves in the ground to slip either PVC or rigid pipe into. I'd like to get the screen 4-5 feet off the ground for viewing angles and to minimize somewhat the "kid shadow desire" mentioned earlier.

scott

I've invited the neighbors for an outdoor mem day event. For the gig, I bought an old school tripod rollup 100inch diag screen. Is damn near the same material as any inexpensive screen you'd see out there - or better yet - all the screens you watched cheesy school films in fifth grade science class.

I got 2... 8 foot 2x4s and put holders mid way up, and at the top to hold the screen in place.

My biggest challenge is levelling it since the yard is not flat, and tensioning it so it won't fall in the event of a vigorous breeze.

I'm afraid the 100inch screen won't be big enough for a crowd of 20, and the setup might fall. Any ideas as to what to do other then 2x4s? I'm using a built up cement base that is portable and bolting the 2x4s to it.

I guess it will work??

I used 54" BO cloth, sewn together to create 104" wide. You only notice the seam in very bright scenes where your eyes are focused on the center of the screen and there is no movement. Ever notice that almost all drive-in screens are just a bunch of 4X8 pieces of plywood nailed to a frame? You never really notice it.

Thanks! I may try that - I was hoping not to sew (thus a seam), but that seems like one of the only cheaper alternatives - thus far.

I think if we were sitting 20' back at the drive-in the plywood would be noticeable. :)

jsloyer,

I think while the 100" looks pretty big inside, it won't be big enough in the great outdoors. Some of the dimensions I have seen in this thread are 10', 16', etc. wide. Granted, those are HUGE, but you will need it pretty large to get the WOW effect.

Cannot imagine wind would blow over a screen of this size using 2x4's bolted into cement. You should be fine there IMO.

I would agree about size. 100 inches looks huge inside, with a relatively small room, sitting 2x from the screen. But outside, it is going to disappear.

Although I like the canvas material that I am using, I am exploring BOC that would be wide enough (96 inches high, or so) that is still economical. I'll post if I find anything good...

By 100" i mean that would be the height (or about 8'). you can get the cloth cut to any length you want. in case of a 16:9 it would mean you'd need a maximum 14.8' wide screen, or in a 2.35:1 it would be 19.5' wide.

By 100" i mean that would be the height (or about 8'). you can get the cloth cut to any length you want. in case of a 16:9 it would mean you'd need a maximum 14.8' wide screen, or in a 2.35:1 it would be 19.5' wide.

Sorry, Roger--I wasn't clear. I was responding to jsloyer's post above about bringing a 100 inch diagonal screen outside.

And, actually, I am assuming that 100 inch diagonal screen is a square screen (or 4:3)--the screen would be about 7 feet wide. But once you work in widescreen images, you are only dealing with an image that is about 4 ft. high in 1.85:1 aspect ration (and 3 feet high at 2.35:1).

spspga & gw -

For at look how my screen looks try my link for some pics (click on OUTDOOR THEATER). My first scheduled summer outdoor movie is this weekend, I'll try to get better pics of the whole setup prccess.

http://members.cavtel.net/thomaslogan

Feel free to PM for additional info!

Tom

100" diag is NOT enough outside - period, don't waste time or material. I am near that at 4.5'H 2:35:1 and I have only been watching outside since Feb. and I already want to go larger. Next screen will be a minimum 6' CH. I dont have movie parties [yet] - if so, I would think you want at >or= 8' high and >or= 4' off the ground.

Steve, I appreciate the post of any BOC material of size you find on budget - I will do the same. Right now, Wal-Mart at $3/yd. (54") sewn seems to be the cheapest for me.

100" Diag is my 16:9 screen -- so not that high.

tlogan, I'm in Leesburg, where are you? What is this "BOC" stuff? What's that mean?

Yest, I purchased a 12 foot by 14 foot painters cloth from HomoDepot and going to fasten it to a bunch of 2x4s. It's beige and I'm hoping the colors won't look washed out or way off.

If you hit www.dalite.com and download their super cool screen size calculator, it will tell you exactly what size to cut any material to for the size you want. (ie, if you want a 15' wide, it will tell you the height and diag screen based on the type you want (as in 16:9, 2.35:1, 4x3, etc). Pretty cool little program.

jsloyer,

that's what i did, used the painters dropcloth.

i painted mine white after i stretched it using some white, flat exterior paint. looks great.

see the link in my signature on how i made mine.

I see you used 2x2s. I am planning on 2x4s. I've got no fence, no nothing to fasten it to. So I made a 2x4 16inch square and cured cement in it to be the anchor, and prob gotta use some sort of rope/cord to keep the wind sways away.

I wonder if I can get away without painting it - or maybe the colors will be off.

Anyhow, construction might start tonight as I have only 1 1/2 weeks until show time and getting a bit nervous.

Just curious, how long did it take you to build it up and paint it?

If you have the time I would definitely paint it. If not, just get it built in time - once the movie is going not too many guests (if any) will care that the red (or other colors) look off. If you have a brighter DLP or LCD projector with 500+ ANSI lumens it should still look pretty good.

Like many have said before - "don't sweat the little details" - just focus on the overall guest experience.

jsloyer -

I'm in Sterling, across from the NOVA campus, behind the Kohls. BOC is BLACK OUT CLOTH. It's usedto line drapes to make them room darkening. I got it at the Joanns in the shopping center across 7 from the NOVA Campus. I hear WallyWorld carries it too. I had the wife sew it together and then sew pockets all around the outside. I made a frame from 1.25 inch PVC and I slide the pieces into the pockets, make the connections and raise it. Didn't need to paint it.

First outdoor movie is this Saturday night (if the weather holds). PM me if you'd like to check it out. We're doing Kid's Night....Racing Stripes.

Tom

P.S. - Don't be afraid to go into the Joanns. I went in and the woman asked me what I was doing with that much of the stuff. I explained that if a man. alone, comes in and is buying this stuff, it's to make a movie screen.

Don't be afraid to go into the Joanns. I went in and the woman asked me what I was doing with that much of the stuff. I explained that if a man. alone, comes in and is buying this stuff, it's to make a movie screen.

LOL Tom! I bought some velvet for screen curtains over the winter and when the lady asked what I was doing, I explained they were for curtains in my HT. I have been there a couple times since buying other HT supplies and I can just hear her thinking "There's that wierd HT guy again" :)

BTW, have never seen another male in the place!

scott

have never seen another male in the place!

That's becasue we hang around outside, in dark coats, with the collar turned up, peeking in to see if there are any other men inside. Then if the coast is clear, we sneak in, go straight to the rack in back of the store, get what we want and GET OUT as fast as possible, without any one knowing. That is, until your wife yells out across the store." HONEY! OVER HERE! YEAH, YOU OVER THERE, BY THE DARPERY LININGS! OVER HERE!"

Busted!

Tom

:) LOL Yeah I much prefer the Wal-Mart experience. When I went in to a local Hancock's Fabric store (of course only male) to pick up a couple yards of Madonna Dress black velvet for my inside screen frame I was asked the obligitory "whatcha usin' this for" - I said I was going to make a bunch of velvet socks [trying to keep a straight face] - after she stopped laughing she sure took her time measuring and ripping that stuff - guess it was punshiment for my smart-alek remark... all that was left for the storied ending was "I need a price check on black velvet". Thank goodness that didnt happen. :)

I was looking at the Utrecht site for stretcher bars but noticed they also carried large size canvas. Those that have used the HD or Lowe's painted canvas drop - do you happen to know the weight # (10, 12 or so) like the following site offers? I suppose I could always go and look.

I am curious if this is comparable material - I am sure with shipping, etc. HD and Lowe's still might be a cheaper. http://www.utrechtart.com/dsp_view_products.cfm?classID=1310&subclassID=131011

Also, you could feasibly create a 12' (144" x 338") Cinemascope screen by getting a roll of it for $200 + S/H. Talk about sag problems and needing a light cannon! Anyone have an Oak tree with a 30' horizontal limb to hang it from? http://www.utrechtart.com/dsp_view_product.cfm?classId=1310&subclassID=131010&brandname=&item=67142

I was looking at the Utrecht site for stretcher bars but noticed they also carried large size canvas. Those that have used the HD or Lowe's painted canvas drop - do you happen to know the weight # (10, 12 or so) like the following site offers? I suppose I could always go and look.

I am curious if this is comparable material - I am sure with shipping, etc. HD and Lowe's still might be a cheaper. http://www.utrechtart.com/dsp_view_products.cfm?classID=1310&subclassID=131011

Also, you could feasibly create a 12' (144" x 338") Cinemascope screen by getting a roll of it for $200 + S/H. Talk about sag problems and needing a light cannon! Anyone have an Oak tree with a 30' horizontal limb to hang it from? http://www.utrechtart.com/dsp_view_product.cfm?classId=1310&subclassID=131010&brandname=&item=67142

Art canvas is what I am using. My screen is cinemascope, 16 feet wide. I got 6 yards of unprimed canvas (96 inches wide) from Dick Blicks for $60, online. I use a Benq6100, which is a light cannon, and the image is very good, even with the darn iron stains (see post above).

With my system (steel pipes on the sides, screen material wrapped around each like a scroll, line across the top that is ratcheted and tightened, and lines down from each pipe to pull the tops of the pipes apart), my screen has no sag problems whatsoever, and is tight as a drum. Wish I had taken some pictures last time I had it up. We are looking to do a Memorial day showing, so hopefully the weather cooperates, and we get it together.

Thanks Steve, I remember reading your first few posts back in the other thread though I can not recall if you mentioned what type of paint you use. I know you fold your screen up and store it in the garage, which is something I am looking to do (or at least not permanent outside) - curious about your thoughts [do-overs] on the painting... (colors, types, spray vs. roll, etc.)

A while back you mentioned one layer being too thin - was this with the canvas or the 7$ thin drop cloth from HD? Or did I just answer myself :)

You also mentioned looking for some larger BOC - would this be to replace the canvas? as I would assume you are not completely thrilled with the image quality on the canvas - or just looking to improve (i.e. the DIYBug).

Thanks for your help - can't wait to see some pics of that set up! I am hoping the weather cooperates for memorial day (Sat. or Sun.) as I may try to get in Cheaper by the Dozen 2 with some family coming in. I'll even try to get an action shot or two of my humble setup.

Thanks Steve, I remember reading your first few posts back in the other thread though I can not recall if you mentioned what type of paint you use. I know you fold your screen up and store it in the garage, which is something I am looking to do (or at least not permanent outside) - curious about your thoughts [do-overs] on the painting... (colors, types, spray vs. roll, etc.)

A while back you mentioned one layer being too thin - was this with the canvas or the 7$ thin drop cloth from HD? Or did I just answer myself :)

You also mentioned looking for some larger BOC - would this be to replace the canvas? as I would assume you are not completely thrilled with the image quality on the canvas - or just looking to improve (i.e. the DIYBug).

Thanks for your help - can't wait to see some pics of that set up! I am hoping the weather cooperates for memorial day (Sat. or Sun.) as I may try to get in Cheaper by the Dozen 2 with some family coming in. I'll even try to get an action shot or two of my humble setup.


My screenshots in the link in my signature are to the 2005 version of the outdoor screen. I have significantly changed things around this year. If you look at my pictures, you will see that I hung it from my deck, and yes it folded up into a petty messy package that I stored in the garage. That was the screen that was very thin. I used a very thin cotton fabric (only one at the fabric store wide enough to use as a screen without a seam--but then had to line the screen with two Home Depot painters tarps (white cotton on one side, plastic film on the other).

Now, I am using 10 ft. long pipes (3/4 inch steel gas pipe), and the whole screen theoretically rolls up like a scroll. It is a bit big and unwieldy, even when rolled up, but is serviceable.

With respect to the canvas, I think it will be fine. Once it is set up, and dark enough, no wrinkles are evident at all (with the canvas, there are prominent wrinkles throughout in the daylight), and my ironing stains are not noticeable whatsoever while the movie plays. The image was very good, but I tested with some pretty high quality disks. I put in some pixar animated ones (can never go wrong with that), and they, of course, looked excellent. But I also tried the opening scene to SW:EP 3 (space battle) and it also looked excellent. I was afraid the off-white (almost tan color) of the canvas material would make the image look too dark, but it had no problems at all.

So why go with the BOC? Well, with a white screen, I think I might be able to get an even better and brighter image. (I suppose it's more of the DIY bug than anything--always pushing to squeeze that extra performance out...)

One thought I had--primed canvas might be a little better, as I believe the primer is white. I don't know how that affects the "pliability" of the material, though.

One thought I had--primed canvas might be a little better, as I believe the primer is white. I don't know how that affects the "pliability" of the material, though.
Primed canvas is indeed white. I have projected on primed canvas and BOC at the same time and they are very close as far as the way the image looks. Primed canvas is also MUCH stiffer to work with. As far as the pliability I would imagine that you could roll and unroll it hundreds of times (if not more) before it would crack... but that is just a guess!

Thanks! Yeah the primed canvas might be a good option.

Do either of you happen to know if the #7 lightweight would work or should one go with the 12 medium or 10 heavy? Cost justification. I was looking at this site and it seems like the color and fabric pattern for the #12 would produce a better image - but then again it could just be fools gold. http://primomart.com/index.php?cPath=4_6&gclid=CKjYns_1hIUCFTOVIgodKU4nIg -- I expect canvas color and texture to change by company?


Has anyone seen Cheaper by the Dozen 2? Is it worthy of a an outside family viewing? We watched Doogal last night - and as expected - it was not that great. It has some funny reference quotes and I think the kids liked it some, but overall probably a C-. I think Pixar and Dreamworks have us so spoiled on their standard of animation graphics that anything less just seems blah - guess for the kids it's more about the story - unfortunately that wasnt all that great either.

Priming takes away most, but not all of the texture. It depends on the quality of the priming job. The color will be the same no matter where you buy it. As far as I know all artist canvases are primed with gesso, a kind of acrylic base. I would probably do a test of the material before you order a large amount of canvas. If you have some unprimed canvas go to a local art or hobby store and get a small can/bottle of gesso and paint a test piece. Gesso should be readily available. You can also buy a cheap premade canvas and cut out the material.

I honestly don't think the fabric pattern will have any effect on the image at all. If wrinkles don't show up at all (which are fairly prominent) then the almost miniscule fabric pattern won't make a difference at all.


I went with the heaviest grade of canvas, because I wanted to minimize bleed-through to the other side. As it is, I also lined the other side with black weed fabric. I don't think any image gets through that screen (this was more for the neighbors whose house is directly behind where the screen is.

This is the stuff I used:

http://www.dickblick.com/zz073/22/

Yeah I was just looking at that site and noticed this: http://www.dickblick.com/zz073/09/ -- I was going to ask if this was the stuff you have, but I see its not. Looks like they dont carry the larger sizes in this type - might be worth a "contact us" to verify. Since I am only looking to do 72" CH at the moment maybe they can do it. I guess the light issue is another reason to consider the BOC... just one peice of fabric.


UPDATE from Blick Art Materials ["contact us"]:

Larger sizes of the primed and umprimed Blick Premium Cotton Canvas would be a special order.

This is how Special Orders work... Anyone at Dick Blick Art Materials can complete the form for you. (phone: 1-800-828-4548 in USA, 309-343-6181 outside USA) Any information you are able to provide will help us find the item is greatly appreciated.

Then, the Special Orders Department researches the details about the products. When they have all the information, Special Orders Department calls you back.

After you hear the details, if you wish to order, you would place the order with the Special Orders Department. Filling out the paperwork does not obligate you to purchase.

This is a service we provide, but it is not a particularly fast service. Special Order Department will tell you how long it would take to receive the items and the cost.

The photos are showing both one side of the unprimed (tan both sides) and the primed (white one side/tan one side).

I also noticed that the Kemah Boardwalk near me is doing movie nights in May. Guess they really are starting to catch on. I may need to take a drive out and see their set up - I'll try to get some pics if I go. http://www.kemahboardwalk.com/flash_content/flash_content.html

Last fall I built a 20 foot + screen to put on by the pool. We have used for the superbowl and two weekends in a row the Mavs vs Spurs series. We plan to put on a few movie nights in the upcoming summer months. We have had over a hunder people on the patio watching events and everyone gets a great view. Sound is provided by 12 speakers spread around the pool and patio. Here are some pictures at the following link.

Outdoor Theater (http://www.coatesoutdoortheater.shutterfly.com/action/)

The images are nice....

But that backyard is AWESOME!
http://shim1.shutterfly.com/procgserv/47b6df08b3127cce98548e8c793c00000017108AZtmjZs5ctS

Victor

jsloyer

I'm in Leesburg, VA also and have wired up my deck for an outside theater. Just stumbled across this thread and has certainly given me some excellent ideas.

I wired my deck last year for 7.1 surrond, with mounted Bose 251's for the surrond speakers and an unused indoor center channel speaker that I just hook up before an event. Everything is wired from my Pioneer 49TX receiver in the adjoining family room, and for a screen, I just unroll a white tarp and secure over a trellis on the deck. Use a Dell 3200MP as the projector which I hook up via component cables, which gives a decent picture with DVD and Directv HD for sports.

But the only thing lacking was decent bass, as I blew out my old Velodyne woofer which I would just roll open a sliding glass door and plop out onto the deck. So I did a lot of research on these forums and ended up purchasing an SVS PB12 /Plus2 which was delivered Friday morning. Man, that subwoofer is big. I was so anxious to get it up and running I decided to manhandle the beast onto the deck by myself and nearly had a heart attack getting it up the steps.

Anyhow, long story but let me tell you that it has made a tremendous difference in the outdoor theater. Had a bunch of friends over to watch the NBA playoffs then the latest Star Wars movie this weekend, and it was incredible. The whole deck was shaking, no need for buttkickers here. Everyone commented it sounded as good or better than any movie theater they had ever been to. I still haven't totally calibrated it yet and still playing with the muliple settings on it.

Only trick now is going to be moving that beast in and out of the house. I do wish I could figure out a way to be able to A/B switch the 7.1 system from between the family room and the outside movie theater. Now I just run the family room on speaker B setting, which is stereo only. We use the outdoor theater year round, as I have a fire pit on the deck also for those chilly nights. Does anyone have any ideas or know if this can be done (short of buying the top of the line Dennon unit).

Glad to see I am not the only one into outdoor theater!!

Where abouts in Lburg? I'm right by the outlets.

Anyhow, I was out last night testing my setup for this coming w/e. The HomeDepot Painter's cloth, the 2x4s, and my cement base all passed the test. Especially yesterday as it was windy as hell. I was very pleased w/ my Sony HS20 picture from about 25 feet away. Was using the largest HD Cloth that amounts to a 13 foot diag screen at 1.85:1 format.

Will be showing ET this weekend. Haven't seen that one in eeeonnss.

Anyhow, I only tested the screen and the PJ. I'm going to bring the sound out one night this week and check that out. I read alot of people saying SUBS aren't that good outside, but I'm w/ you - I want to try and replicate my indoor theatre as much as possible outside, incl sub. I've got a velodyne and plan to jack it up. I'm just not sure where to put it? On the grass or on the brick patio? Overall, I am way excited now for this w/e to come. This is my first outdoor showing and can't wait. My neighbor who helped me wanted to stay outside last night and watch the Sopranos. I was almost convinced!


I'm going for 5.1 and have a pair of older 2 foot high speaks for the front. A polk center channel that I use for the indoor theatre, and 2 polk rear speaks. I'm concerned that the sound will feel "empty" being outside so I may need to bring the 4 foot mac daddy front speaks out from the indoor theatre. But that's what dry runs are for before the big show.

I've got a chiminea and could do cold night movies, but that thing only throws heat to the 5 people around it 10 feet away. Not a yard full of people! You have the open seat fire pit?

What projectors are yall using outside? The biggest impediment to me in setting up an outside theater is whether a particular pj that I might get will be bright enough.

I've heard people say 500 lumens or more is better. Alot of the PJs out there are more. Mine is 1000 I think so it's fine.

I've heard people say 500 lumens or more is better. Alot of the PJs out there are more. Mine is 1000 I think so it's fine.

I think I said 500 ANSI lumens a couple weeks ago, but there is nothing scientific about that quote. From what I have read that seems like a good number. Anything you purchase nowadays unless your going oldschool CRT should have 500+.

It will also depend on your screen size. I think Steve S. is using a BenQ that puts out about 1500 on a 20'+ screen. I'm currently using a smaller screen at 4.5' CH with an InFocus business projector that puts out 750 and its fine (even with a full moon and clear skies) :). I have also pulled this PJ back another 10 feet or so and its still bright enough at around 8' CH - which is why I will be upgrading my "canvas" ASAP.

Of course you start to loose some of that brightness on the outside - but remember it is an outdoor theater - people are not there for picture and audio quality (though it does help) ;).

Good luck!

I think I said 500 ANSI lumens a couple weeks ago, but there is nothing scientific about that quote. From what I have read that seems like a good number. Anything you purchase nowadays unless your going oldschool CRT should have 500+.

It will also depend on your screen size. I think Steve S. is using a BenQ that puts out about 1500 on a 20'+ screen. I'm currently using a smaller screen at 4.5' CH with an InFocus business projector that puts out 750 and its fine (even with a full moon and clear skies) :).

Yeah, I use a Benq that is rated at 1700 lumens, I believe. It is, obviously, plenty bright.

I wish I knew what would be a good minimum to use, but I don't. Anyway to borrow some low lumen projectors to test?

The problem I see is when you go big--really big--the light is spread over a much larger area than your tiny big screen inside. A better measurement is foot-lambert, which is a measure of the brightness of a square foot of your screen in lumens/square feet. My Benq is throwing out 1700 lumens (highly doubt it, since I have about 600 hours on it--let's say it is about 1000 lumens now, plus I have to consider that it is 1700 lumens for a 600x800 image--once I add black bars, part of the bulb is blocked by my off pixels--almost 30 percent of the image!), and my screen is 1.85:1 (which at constant height, works out to 7 ft x 13 ft, or 91 square feet). Taking all of this into account, the image has a luminance of about 8 ft-lamberts.

Someone mentioned in a different thread that you want to get an image that has a luminance of about 6-8 (but I would image it also depends on the screen you are using--I would have to imaging my screen has a gain of less than 1 (off white), so that may decrease my luminance a little bit.

I fired up a 12 ft wide image using my crappy old sony 1020 CRT pj, which I know can't fire higher than 500 lumens.

Picture looks fine, but what you're showing makes the difference. Darker movies like Star Wars or Pitch Black might be difficult on some scenes but bright animation like Shrek will be just fine.

Victor

I'm using a Sharp XR-1S business class projector that says it's 1100 lumens in standard and 940 in economy mode. Ran Racing Stripes last Saturday in economy and it looked great at 12' wide, if that's any help.

Tom

Thanks for compliment Victor

On our 20 foot screen the optoma H77 looks pretty dim and I believe it is around 500 lumens. However, being in the Dallas metroplex it never gets real dark here. We use a sanyo light canon for outdoor use and it is rated at 2500 lumens. Picture looks great on it no matter what you are watching.

First outdoor movie is this Saturday night (if the weather holds). PM me if you'd like to check it out. We're doing Kid's Night....Racing Stripes.

Tom

Tom, how'd the weekend go? Did the weather hold up? - I think we missed your synopsis... ;) Any pics? I'm sure the kids had blast!

Thought I would post this over here as well in case you havent seen the thread:

pb_maxx:
gesso. designed to tighten and adhere the canvas.
prime with upw. 2 heavy coats.
light hand sand with 3M sanding sponge.
complete the prime with 1 coat of upw.

-------------------------------------------------------------

pb, thanks for the tip. Do you know (or have experience with) if there will be any problems (cracking, etc.) with the UPW-primed solution on canvas if it is rolled and unrolled many times (i.e. rolled up on a large PVC pipe when not in use)? Guess there is only one way to find out.

Thanks!

-------------------------------------------------------------

mix your upw with delta's textile additive. it comes in 8oz bottles and it can be found at michael's stores as well.

it is designed to be used with delta acrylic paints to make them textile friendly.
according to delta by adding the textile additive you are supposed to be able to make your t-shirts, hand bags, etc, machine wash friendly.

now that's a new concept...

"MACHINE WASHABLE PROJECTION SCREEN"!!!!

Anyone get the 16' wide screen over a double-wide garage door rear projection setup going? They are finishing up my garage next week and I'm ready to get going.
Specifically:
What material did you use for rear projection?
How did you suspend it?

Anyone get the 16' wide screen over a double-wide garage door rear projection setup going? They are finishing up my garage next week and I'm ready to get going.
Specifically:
What material did you use for rear projection?
How did you suspend it?

I haven't tried it yet but using 6mil clear plastic tarp from Home Depot might work. At least, that's what the Rhodes did for their rp garage ht

Victor

great thread...I've been doing backyard cinema for a couple of years but nothing fancy, just projecting onto a sheet or my white garage with lots of beer. This thread has definately inspired me to go bigger and better. This year we've done KingKong which was great and then a pixar night for the kiddos. Here's a shot of a party we had where we showed Jackass...great fun!

http://www.ellaweb.com/moovienight.jpg

Tom, how'd the weekend go? Did the weather hold up? - I think we missed your synopsis... Any pics? I'm sure the kids had blast!

Sorry I didn't answer sooner...been busy.

Yes, weather was great...until about the last 15 minutes of the movie when it started to get COLD. Other than that, PERFECT! Kids all enjoyed it. I hadn't seen it either and it made me laugh a couple times. Mostly the David Spade lines.

One of the funny things that happened during the movie....

There's a scene where the David Spade character of the horse fly lands in a pile of horse, uhh...droppings. FRESH droppings. The fly dives in to the VERY fresh dropings and says he's died and it must heaven. He dives in and comes up dripping in, the, uh, droppings. A little kid says out loud...."Is that ICE CREAM?!" THAT cracked us up more than the scene.

I did get some pics, just haven't gotten them out of the camera yet!

FWIW, you can check out a few older ones at my site. Just click on OUTDOOR THEATER on the menu.

http://members.cavtel.net/thomaslogan

Tom

We are all set for our first movie night of the year on Saturday night. The weather is set to be hot (90 deg. in Crystal Lake, IL) We are showing the Emperor's New Groove--one of me and my wife's favorites--we think it is quite underrated. It is very funny, good for adults and kids.

If anyone on these boards is in the area, you are welcome to stop by. Just pm me for directions, and I'll give you a tour of my setup.

Sounds like a volleyball net-like setup. We have one (a volleyball net) and it is easy to store all rolled up.

Have you considered a stretch fabric like Trapeze? It won't work well if you have a backlighting problem but with (maybe) a thin cable across the top and possibly the bottom you would have a nice taught screen. You would need something on the bottom though, or it will naturally pucker upwards. It's also more forgiving in the wind.

My first material I ever though about using was a stretch material--like spandex, that I found at walmart for $1.00 / yd on clearance (in fact, I just saw a couple huge rolls of it there a few days ago, also on clearance). My original screen last year, which was fairly rigid, 2x2s, the spandex was to be stretched over. Turns out that once stretched, the material is much much too thin, and ran like crazy (like nylons). The other day at Walmart, I did notice a a thicker spandex-like material (seemed to only stretch in one direction, as opposed to both directions like the other material), but to get it to stretch to about 90-96 inches, I would need to start with a much wider material than 54". In reality, I would only need a little bit of stretch--just something to make it taut. But I never found the right material...

As it stands, the canvas material works really well, even if a bit heavy, even with the wrinkles. We'll try it this weekend, and I'll be sure to post some pictures.

You are right about the volleyball net idea. The concept for my screen came from a friend of mine, who used "volleyball net" a lot as he was describing the concept to me.

I ran into this material today which looks promising. It seems to have a 13oz scrim that might help with the wind. Unfortunately it looks like it only comes in 72" and would need a few people to go in on a roll of 30 yrds.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=681710

Other light reading:
I read through this thread and it seems bud has some interesting concepts on framing techniques and some thoughts on painting canvas.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=635968

I also wanted to pass along this link as I have not seen it mentioned here. I may try this material in the future - looking to get a size closer to rsante's (6'x14'). It seems they can do a 6' width without a seam - I am going to do a little more searching on vinyl banner blanks to see what turns up...

There has been a lot of discussion on this subject (modest cost screen cloth over 54" wide) in the DIY Screen Forum ( http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=110 ). One option, which I used, is 110" (9' 2") blackout cloth, available from a number of places such as:

http://www.rosebrand.com/A_Com/showdetl.cfm?&DID=6&Product_ID=3060&CatID=1&ObjectGroup_ID=134

They are in NY and cater to theatrical and commercial drapery customers but will sell it to individuals too. Paid $15 a yard plus a small shipping charge.

From it we made a 16' x 7'9" screen on a 1x3 wood frame following some ideas from the DIY Screen group, but set it up to hang like a picture over a frame made of 1 1/4" PVC schedule 40 pipe.

Hope that helps...

Mike

Wow--we had our first movie night on Saturday night, but it almost didn't happen. The movie was scheduled to start at 9pm, and we had about 60 people say they were coming, but at about 5pm, we got hit with a very strange thunderstorm out of the blue--In fact, during the storm, weather.com listed our current conditions and forecast as sunny and 0% chance of precipitation.

We first got hit with torrential downpour that turned into a steady rain for about 1 1/2 hours. We then got hit with extremely windy conditions (one such burst of wind was so strong that it blew our grill from one end of our deck to the other!) We waited and waited--we could actually see, in the western sky, the break in the clouds--and sun behind it, but it took SO LONG to actually get to our house. Anyway, at about 7pm, with the end of the storm in sight, we decided to take a risk and tell everyone (at least in our neighborhood) that the movie was still on. By screening time, no wind, our grass was dry, and the stars were out!

Unfortunately, we had about half the number of people there that originally said they were going to attend. But it was a fun movie, and those that came had a really good time.

Anyway, I managed to take some pictures of the set up. An interesting thing about the pictures, they show a little bit of sag across the top--I actually had a solution to that from my previous set up of the screen (bungee balls attached to a grommet on the top stretched the screen outwards), but forgot to add those to the screen. They would have eliminated the slight sagginess.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c90/Etienne_72772/P1000527.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c90/Etienne_72772/P1000522.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c90/Etienne_72772/P1000530.jpg

From it we made a 16' x 7'9" screen on a 1x3 wood frame following some ideas from the DIY Screen group, but set it up to hang like a picture over a frame made of 1 1/4" PVC schedule 40 pipe.


Mike


DO you have any picts?????

Still looking for some advice on setting up a rear projection screen. We did our first screening party over the weekend and shot the SP4805 (front projection) onto some light gray canvas painter's drop cloth. Picture was GREAT!
During the movies, I went back behind the screen to see how it would work for rear projection. Aside from a pretty grisly hotspot from the camera lens itself, the picture looked remarkably good for some cheap canvas. Anyone care to comment about what other material we should try?
They're finishing up our garage in the next couple of weeks and then we'll be ready to set up the RP system...

Check item number 9731650696 on everyone's favorite auction site.

That is the type of material to look for. I use Dazian rear-projection screen material which is grey and you cannot see through it. This eliminates the hot-spot. The image it provides is amazing.

Check it out chaps.
I was messin around to see if I really wanted to get into DIY outdoor movies.
So much info, so many frames, so much yadda yadda yadda.

My neighbor had a 5 x 8 tarp and let me borrow it for a look-see.

The posts I put this tarp on are 14 feet apart.

After my set up took all of 10 minutes I can safetly say I will be going to a much much larger scale.

I want to project a true 9' x 16' outdoor screen.

I have posts at the other end of the yard 18' feet apart.

I am having a hard time finding seamless material large enough with or without grommets.
Your help would be greatly appreciated.

I would prefer a canvas or cloth to anything poly.
I know there is seamless poly out there but I am hesitant to buy it.
I'm worried it won't project a "smooth" picture.

Thanks

We first got hit with torrential downpour that turned into a steady rain for about 1 1/2 hours. We then got hit with extremely windy conditions (one such burst of wind was so strong that it blew our grill from one end of our deck to the other!) We waited and waited--we could actually see, in the western sky, the break in the clouds--and sun behind it, but it took SO LONG to actually get to our house.

YES! That was incredible. In Elgin, we had hail, high winds, 2" rain. When I got home to Algonquin, not a drop!

Glad to hear the movie night was a success. Thanks for the pics and sorry I couldn't make it over.

Scott

Tdubbs- Home Depot has a painters canvas that's 9X15. You'd lose a foot in height and width to keep the aspect but it's way bigger than that 5x8. I think it's only like $27 too. Harbor Freight used to sell all kinds of huge canvas stuff that people used to build DIY tents.

DO you have any picts?????
Our next showing is scheduled for Sunday, June 4; we're doing Spiderman 2. I usually set up the night before to check focus and framing etc, so I should be able to take some photos and then post some on the 4th or shortly thereafter. Right now the screen is stowed in the garage.

Mike

We're having another showing this Saturday night--Ice Age. Will try to take a few more pictures of the table that the gear is set up on, and some of the people attending. We're getting the message out late, so hopefully there will be a few that can make it.

My show this past Saturday night went off without a hitch. The cement base held the 2x4 and HomoDepot Painter's Cloth up just perfectly. Had full on surround sound with Polk Sub out there. Everything was powered by XBOX using XBMC and a Sony DTS Receiver. Couldn't complain a bit.

Going to show something over the post July 4th w/e. Most likely Incredibles.

What other mixed company movies would you suggest? I showed ET and would like to try to stay away from Pixar (yes, I know Incredibles is breaking that).

Any thoughts?

My "DJ Captain Video" lineup was:

"Let's Get it Started" by the Black Eyed peas w/ the Milkdrop Screen Saver on XBMC to get the kids up and dancing

then

A short bugs bunny looney tunes "Canned Monster" episode - to get the kids sitting back down

then

Bitstream's CERT customized home theatre intro with the 2 old commericals of "Let's go out to the lobby" and the hot dog and bun scene - to get the adults interested

then

Roller Coaster Pop Corn "FEATURE PRESENTATION" short clip

then

E.T.

Started everything about dusk and after the 12 minutes of intros incl cartoon finished, it was perfectly dark for the main movie.

All pre-queued up on XBMC and I didn't have to touch a thing after firing it off.

My show this past Saturday night went off without a hitch. The cement base held the 2x4 and HomoDepot Painter's Cloth up just perfectly. Had full on surround sound with Polk Sub out there. Everything was powered by XBOX using XBMC and a Sony DTS Receiver. Couldn't complain a bit.

Going to show something over the post July 4th w/e. Most likely Incredibles.

What other mixed company movies would you suggest? I showed ET and would like to try to stay away from Pixar (yes, I know Incredibles is breaking that).

Any thoughts?

My "DJ Captain Video" lineup was:

"Let's Get it Started" by the Black Eyed peas w/ the Milkdrop Screen Saver on XBMC to get the kids up and dancing

then

A short bugs bunny looney tunes "Canned Monster" episode - to get the kids sitting back down

then

Bitstream's CERT customized home theatre intro with the 2 old commericals of "Let's go out to the lobby" and the hot dog and bun scene - to get the adults interested

then

Roller Coaster Pop Corn "FEATURE PRESENTATION" short clip

then

E.T.

Started everything about dusk and after the 12 minutes of intros incl cartoon finished, it was perfectly dark for the main movie.

All pre-queued up on XBMC and I didn't have to touch a thing after firing it off.

I would love to do some intros like you have! Where'd you get them?

If your average age is on the youngish side (like the kids at my outdoor movie events), then any animated movie would do--Disney is always a winner for that age group. Personally, I wish the kids around me would grow up some already so we could get to some good stuff!

For older kids, I think the Star Wars movies would be good, Indiana Jones, Spiderman I & II, LOTR? Just some ideas...

Canned Monster can be gotten at any video store

The CERT Bitstream into will give you the opp to add whatever "welcome to my theatre" message you want at order time PLUS automatically they give you those 2 old-time commercials - and a couple other cool video and surround sound thingies. Not to insult your intel, but, if you haven't checked out the other threads here on custom home theatre intros, do so. Also, google up "Custom Home Theatre Intros" and you'll find Bitstream among many others. If you can part with about $60 - that Bitstream thing is the way to go for the time being.

Along with Bitstream, there are a few others out there that do some custom work -- most of which have actual demos that have nothing customized. You can download them at a low resolution, but are perfectly playable, in my case, from the XBOX and XBMC at a slight blur cost since I did blow it up to about 8 gazillion pixels more than the original! But it's definitely worth the coolness "wow" factor from the audience.

There are plenty of intros out there, including the countdown one where #2 and #1 are never shown..WHY IS THAT??!!

I'm sure if we looked hard enough, we could find some of those old time funny black and whites where the folks are doing crazy high wire stunts, etc from the 20s and 30s. That would be a great attention grabber for the first few minutes for all ages! I'll let you know if I find them as my search begins....

Tddubs:


What about using a tarp type system [ http://www.tarpusa.com/category.asp?CATEGORY=4 ], w/ gromets ,(adding your own) very close together, like say every 6" and building something sort of like this.... [ http://www.digitaldummies.com/projects/outdoor2.asp ] Maybe there someway to strecth it out tight enough to prevent the sags. Then spraying over a coating or several of some type that would reduce the poly reflection and absord light. Or am I just dreaming. The digital dummies idea looks good though w/ some minor adjustments.


Jonathan
Cali

Did Ice Age this past weekend. Perfect weather, lots of people. No pictures--sorry!

But I am really getting everything down to a science. The screen takes about 10 minutes to set up (with help). To setup and wire everything takes a bit longer, but I can do it all fairly quickly. Still don't have surround sound up, but maybe next time.

Won't have a movie for a while, since the rest of June is likely to be too busy for us. Come July, we should probably have a few! (Still need some good ideas for kids movies...)

We are showing "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" this weekend, weather permitting of course. So far we have about 40 people who have RSVP'ed but most don't let us know ahead of time and just show up.

I hope for a really big turn-out after last months disappointing showing for "King Kong."

Our next showing is scheduled for Sunday, June 4; we're doing Spiderman 2. I usually set up the night before to check focus and framing etc, so I should be able to take some photos and then post some on the 4th or shortly thereafter. Right now the screen is stowed in the garage.

Mike

Here's an overview of the screen mounted for Sunday's movie. I'll put more in my gallery for anyone who is interested.

Mike

Won't have a movie for a while, since the rest of June is likely to be too busy for us. Come July, we should probably have a few! (Still need some good ideas for kids movies...)

Here are a few ideas, though most commonly used:

Could always go with Independence Day for July (teens / adults)

Older Classics:
Homeward Bound
Mary Poppins
The Goonies
Babe (that pig movie)
The NeverEnding Story
The Wizard of Oz

Older Animated:
Brother Bear
Lady and Tramp
A Bug's Life
Chicken Run
The Lion King
The Secret of NIMH
Sinbad

Don't forget Vincent Gallo's "Brown Bunny"! That's a great kid's movie...

I just ordered the parts to assemble a 10' x 20' screen. I have been researching the heck out of projectors but I am really stuck. What level of lumens should one have to get a good picture of this size? Will a business class dlp machine with a 2x color wheel suffice or will the dreaded rainbow effect kick in? I can't seem to find a reasonably priced home theater level machine with a high lumen output. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! Also, I would like to be able to use this same unit in my basement when not in use outdoors if that has any bearing on choices.

I just ordered the parts to assemble a 10' x 20' screen. I have been researching the heck out of projectors but I am really stuck. What level of lumens should one have to get a good picture of this size? Will a business class dlp machine with a 2x color wheel suffice or will the dreaded rainbow effect kick in? I can't seem to find a reasonably priced home theater level machine with a high lumen output. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! Also, I would like to be able to use this same unit in my basement when not in use outdoors if that has any bearing on choices.

Practically any projector, HT or business, will be fine for outdoor ht use. I have tried lowly Sony crts to my NEC 820 and in both cases the image is fine. The concerns of rainbow or lumen is not really the case as is visual impact. Since you are concerned with lumens, remember that the material will dictate how much of it you see on the screen. Consider lighter fare movies like animation or outdoor-based movies and rely less of movies based in space or dark areas. As to rainbows and such, I don't think anyone will take notice since the fact that you are projecting a 275-300" screen as to be so overwhelming that such concerns will probably never surface.

http://backyardtheater.com

Victor

I think the "dreaded rainbow effect" is a bit overblown. My projector ownership goes back a number of years, and both projectors I have owned have had 2x color wheels. I know what the rainbow effect is--and I can see it on occasion (I saw it a lot more at the beginning, and within a few days, my eyes adjusted, and I rarely see it anymore). Having said that, I have never seen the rainbow effect on my outdoor screen, which is 16 feet wide, for whatever reason.

I use a Benq PB6100, which is plenty bright (rated at 1700 lumens, but I am probably 1/3 to 1/2 way through the bulb life, so the bulb, I'm sure, has dimmed a bit. (Plus, I don't think bulbs ever perform to the peak of their rating...)

My projector is also 600x800 (SVGA) and people cannot believe that I get such a sharp image from it. Even HDTV looks phenomenal. Granted, if you were to put an XGA or WXGA image next to it, I'm sure you would see a huge difference, but without the comparison, it looks stunning.

At this time, I am perfectly satisfied with my projector. I figure on upgrading in about two years time, so I'm sure I will go with something with more resolution, and a higher speed color wheel, because prices will have come down so much...

But if price is a factor, and you are looking for an entry-level projector, don't get scared off from the cheaper projectors. You won't be disappointed by the image.

I just ordered the parts to assemble a 10' x 20' screen. I have been researching the heck out of projectors but I am really stuck. What level of lumens should one have to get a good picture of this size? Will a business class dlp machine with a 2x color wheel suffice or will the dreaded rainbow effect kick in? I can't seem to find a reasonably priced home theater level machine with a high lumen output. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! Also, I would like to be able to use this same unit in my basement when not in use outdoors if that has any bearing on choices.

Get you an InFocus 4805 off eBay for around $5-600. You will be pleased both inside and out. At 700ish lumens that should be fine especially if you dont have much ambient light around. My next screen will be in the neighborhood of 20'. I currently use a 1100 (rated) projector when showing outdoors and recenly moved it back some on my current screen to get an idea of the size/brightness and it still looked acceptable - granted, I couldn't see the edges, but based on normal light loss I think it will be OK.

Here's my version of the outdoor screens. Its primarily made of three 48"x85" 1" thick cardboard sheets. These sheets are found as packaging reinforcement material since their honeycomb structure minimizes flex in moving fragile but large panels like foamboard. The panels are held in place by velcro from the back and strips of white tape in the front to cover the gaps between the panels.

Its entirely designed to be setup by one person (me) and its extremely light weight (each panel weighs about 5lbs) allows it to be quickly and safely stored indoors.

Anyways, I still need to paint the panels but you get the general idea. The panels were throwaway from my company and the velcro and tape was just sitting around. Total cost of the 165" screen: $0.00 :D

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid207/p9190eb749c5169cff0500c4b6d9f83b3/ee8878d3.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid207/pfd0d591b8c65c4836ecd4a3facf0a854/ee8877d5.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid207/p6ba245fc80ebe35c087064797d953586/ee88769e.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid207/p535eee8b693b560c611f3ec86e02f7ec/ee87a73b.jpg

victor-eyd -

Looks great and free is always a GREAT price! You might want to consider finding a way to raise the screen up a couple of feet or people in front will always be blocking the view.

Tom

I considered it but because I have a fairly large driveway, I can arrange the seating around the projector. Also, if I raise the screen I won't have as much fence to secure the panels from the rear. At most I could only raise it about two feet, which isn't really worth it in my opinion.

Victor

For those that are interested, I ran across this a minute ago.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=679233

Well I am embarking on my outdor theater project. I am planning a showing for my family on Saturday night. I will most likely be showing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I was considering doing an animated film but decided against it. I think that movie is about the darkest setting in black levels I have seen in a while so if it shows well I will be alright on most any film.

My screen will be constructed of 4 inch pvc frame with some intermedite stiffeners to keep the center from sagging with a painters tarp stretched over it using bungies and grommets. I plan on embedding some posts in the ground behind the house to slide the vertical pvc over for support with some guy wires out for stabilization. I will be able to roll up the whole screen when I am finished if I do

PJ will be a Sanyo PLV-Z4 (my new toy). A older Kenwood receiver will provide the sound to some Infinity RS-225 front speakers and a couple of Bose 401s for the surrounds. I will be purchasing a decent center channel speaker tonight as well as a cheap progressive scan DVD player.

Hopefully all will go well and I can have some pics to post on Sunday morning. We will be having some of the neighbors over but will not have many people, only about 10-15 counting my family. The plan is to do this for our neighborhood if Saturday night goes well. being in SC it does not really get cold until late Nov so we can have several showings this summer and fall. Since we have only lived here for a short time I feel it is a good way to meet a lot of my neighbors.

My sons are also pumped up about the ability to use their XBOX 360 with it. Right now all he has to play on is a 21" TV and they are both excited to play on it.

The PJ will eventually go in my basement HT once it is complete. I plan on starting that next week. I have to pull my permits before I can start on that.

Well, thanks to all for such good information in this thread.

thats really amazing work!

John Martin:

I was thinking of the EXACT same thing for my backyard. Please, do post some pics and let me know if you are satisfied with the stability. With my 2x4 setup now, it's a bear and a bitch to setup and take down. I'd rather just shove the PVC in some premade cement holes in the ground after I unroll it and be done w/ the screen part of setup w/in 15 mins of walking it out of the garage. Right now, I think I'm at an hour or more - just for the screen.

Are you going to leave the cement posts just below ground level and cover with some sort of grass looking artificial turf or something?

I am going to leave the post holes in the ground. I will use a base hole with a cap to keep grass from going into it. It will sit on a downslope away from the yard so you wont even see them at all. My house backs up to woods and a lake so I will place them right inside my property line. I will have pics to post on Sunday. Tonight I am setting it up inside for my boys to play XBOX360 on. I have a wall in my living room that can get me about a 100" diagonal image that will suffice for now.

John

Its done! Now onto the surround sound! :D

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid208/pb0a9484f0fd4a463a4b6ced336fcc1aa/ee7b3bf9.jpg

Victor

I designed, built, and tested mine yesterday.

materials list:
9x12 painters canvas $18
(2) 4x4x12
(3) 2x4 wall studs
(2) 2x4x12
box of 2.5" coarse thread drywall screws $4
T-nuts and bolts/washers $10

After tax everything ended up being about $68. I think my receipt may have gotten tossed.

Picture during the day and a blurry picture of my xbox 360 dashboard. I'll use the tripod next time :)

I can't adjust the shutter speed on this crappy camera so it'll probably look like crap anyway.

After reading thru this whole thread I've been inspired to move into the great outdoors of movie watching. I am an obsolute noob with Projectors and the building of the screen. I have some ideas in mind and also have the perfect spot to place the screen by my pool. What I would like to know before I start looking at projectors is I plan to us a 6'X14' screen size. What distance away from the screen does the PJ need to be. Can it say be 20' away and still give me the correct throw size for my planned dimensions. Can it be closer or further away without having the picture not fill the screen or overlap it. Again I know this is basic but if I put the screen where I want and the projector across the pool I could place it iniside my house which would be most convenient for me. Thanks for any help

Check the manual of the PJ. 20feet should be fine. I do about 30 feet now and project an 8 x 14 widescreen and it's just fine. A statement of the obvious here, but the closer, the brighter, but too close gets you smaller screen projection size at a certain point. Each PJ is different. Do like the wise do and test it out at night a weekend before the big show and get all the kinks out. Last thing you need is 25 guests booing you! I did that and it made a huge difference. Otherwise, I'm certain I wouldn't have started my first big show until 10p or 1030p - not good when it gets dark at 9p.

I had my first showing last night. I am using a 6x10 screen right now and I had the PJ about 25' from the screen which worked out well with just a touch of zoom. My PJ is a PLV-Z4 just in case on the living setting for output since we were watching Harry Potter 4 which is a pretty dark movie for the most part so I felt I needed to brighten it a bit to make it look its best. I could have placed it closer and used the zoom to make it larger. I plan on re-doing the screen to about 8x14 and keeping the same throw and should not have any problem. I am also going to raise the screen about 4 feet from its current height since it in on a bit of a down slope. I only spent 1 hour on the whole thihng but it worked wonderfully for my first test. Now that I know it works I can start having neighborhood movie nights.

BTW, never show a 2.5 hour movie starting at 9:30 if you can help it. We had a couple late shows and got a bit of a late start.

John

Here is a pic (http://web.comporium.net/~john_deanna/june2006153.jpg) of my setup

I had my first outdoor showing on Saturday, June 17. I used a 55 in. by 108 in blackout cloth, and it worked great. I showed some cartoons after sunset, and while still dusk, and then showed the Alfred Hitchcock classic: The Birds. It was a lot of fun to sit outside with family and friends watching the big screen. Using shower curtain hooks, I hooked the blackout cloth onto the hooks used for the 11 foot shade. This gave the screen more support too. My gear was the Optoma Movietime with the free subwoofer it came with, the free screen is inside my house. It was very bright, sharp, and colorful.

How did you like the Optoma?....Sound?.....How far from screen was projector?.....Where about near Philly, I'm in Bucks County?...

My wife, myself, and family memebers all like the Movietime projector. The picture is bright and colorful, and the images are clear, and sharp. This unit is designed for DVD use, and I guess that is why they look great. If this is how good an entry level device can look, I can only imagine how much better the advanced models can look. For us, we figure that this lets us test the room and the experience itself without investing a lot of money. Also, it is the right spec for DVD, and I can save money for a 1080P HDTV projector and skip the 720P altogether.

The built in sound was just right for night viewing, and I had turned up near max volume without distortion. The projector was about 12 feet from the screen, and we all sat either next to the projector or behind. At the road distance of 30 feet, the picture was spectacular, and I could just barely hear the audio. For indoor use, I use a 20 foot optical cable going into my Denon amp, and the sound is amazing. Indoors, we sit about 14 feet from the screen, and the projector is about 2 feet in front of us using the free 106 inch Greywolf screen.

We live in Langhorne, PA, Bucks county. This is my first front projector, and I thought it would be a good starter system. Now I have a screen, and can gain experience setting it up and adjusting the controls. I do not have HDTV yet in the house, but I have plenty of DVDs. This now gives me a big picture for my big sound instead of the tiny strip of video on the 55 inch TV. My wife and I are amazed at the great picture on this Optoma. When my Dad was over, he thought the image looked 3D and very colorful: he has a 26 inch TV.

Good stuff!....Remember when 26" WAS the BIG TV!! :D ......I am looking for something for outdoor movie nites/sporting events (GO EAGLES!) around the pool/backyard ....with the ease of operation, this sounds like it fits the bill.....I'm around the corner from you in Yardley PA

My wife, myself, and family memebers all like the Movietime projector. The picture is bright and colorful, and the images are clear, and sharp. This unit is designed for DVD use, and I guess that is why they look great. If this is how good an entry level device can look, I can only imagine how much better the advanced models can look. For us, we figure that this lets us test the room and the experience itself without investing a lot of money. Also, it is the right spec for DVD, and I can save money for a 1080P HDTV projector and skip the 720P altogether.

The built in sound was just right for night viewing, and I had turned up near max volume without distortion. The projector was about 12 feet from the screen, and we all sat either next to the projector or behind. At the road distance of 30 feet, the picture was spectacular, and I could just barely hear the audio. For indoor use, I use a 20 foot optical cable going into my Denon amp, and the sound is amazing. Indoors, we sit about 14 feet from the screen, and the projector is about 2 feet in front of us using the free 106 inch Greywolf screen.

We live in Langhorne, PA, Bucks county. This is my first front projector, and I thought it would be a good starter system. Now I have a screen, and can gain experience setting it up and adjusting the controls. I do not have HDTV yet in the house, but I have plenty of DVDs. This now gives me a big picture for my big sound instead of the tiny strip of video on the 55 inch TV. My wife and I are amazed at the great picture on this Optoma. When my Dad was over, he thought the image looked 3D and very colorful: he has a 26 inch TV.

Glad to see you get into the outdoor movies. It's a lot of fun, even if it is a bit of work.

A long time ago, when I was a kid, I lived in Yardley, which is near Langhorne, I believe. Anyway, I am quite familiar with Sesame Place, and have even taken my kids back there a couple of times.

I live right behind Shady Brook farm in Yardley.

It is like most people say, nobody cared about the sound system, it is really fun to sit outside watching a big screen. The Movietime just makes it really convenient, because of the built in sound and DVD player. When I do purchase an fixed projector, I can still use this for outdoors, family gatherings, etc. Also, you can get great computer speakers for a 2.1 or 5.1 outdoor setup with punch.

Also, this unit accepts HDTV inputs via component video. I thought about getting one of those LG DVD/HDTV tuner devices. Just connect an antenna, and you get the local HDTV channels and send the component outputs to the Optoma. It won't be true HD, but many people say HD looks slightly better than DVDs with this projector. I thought the same thing for Eagles games, World Series, etc.

I live right behind Shady Brook farm in Yardley.

It is like most people say, nobody cared about the sound system, it is really fun to sit outside watching a big screen. The Movietime just makes it really convenient, because of the built in sound and DVD player. When I do purchase an fixed projector, I can still use this for outdoors, family gatherings, etc. Also, you can get great computer speakers for a 2.1 or 5.1 outdoor setup with punch.

Also, this unit accepts HDTV inputs via component video. I thought about getting one of those LG DVD/HDTV tuner devices. Just connect an antenna, and you get the local HDTV channels and send the component outputs to the Optoma. It won't be true HD, but many people say HD looks slightly better than DVDs with this projector. I thought the same thing for Eagles games, World Series, etc.


I have a Benq 6100 SVGA projector, and HDTV looks stunning on it. It isn't true HDTV, but it really does look good.

For you outdoor movie buffs, what are the projector qualities that you prefer? I'm going to be having our first even in early Sept, and I was thinking of just getting a second projector for the outdoor stuff. Brightness? Contrast ratios? Resolutions?

Which projectors are you all using, and are you satisfied enough with them?

For a screen, I was planning on buying some material from b-adeals.com anyone here have any experience with them? I would be going with their largest size. :)

Just about any projector, whether lcd, dlp, crt, or diy, will work for outdoor. To me its all about price. I prefer my more expensive pj to sit in the ht room and use a cheaper craigslist or ebay pj for outdoor use.

As to specifics, it won't matter- size is everything and the fact that your showing a +150" screen outdoors no one is really gonna bother with lumens or cr or anything like that. Even hooking up to your pj on composite input will be just fine (for starters, at least)

BTW: I looked at b-adeals and the largest screen they seem to have is 54x108. That's puny for outdoor use but fine if showing on a deck or similar. :rolleyes:

True outdoor hts start at 12ft wide (like mine) :D

Victor

Just about any projector, whether lcd, dlp, crt, or diy, will work for outdoor. To me its all about price. I prefer my more expensive pj to sit in the ht room and use a cheaper craigslist or ebay pj for outdoor use.

As to specifics, it won't matter- size is everything and the fact that your showing a +150" screen outdoors no one is really gonna bother with lumens or cr or anything like that. Even hooking up to your pj on composite input will be just fine (for starters, at least)

BTW: I looked at b-adeals and the largest screen they seem to have is 54x108. That's puny for outdoor use but fine if showing on a deck or similar. :rolleyes:

True outdoor hts start at 12ft wide (like mine) :D

Victor

thanks for your thoughts. FYI, b-adeals.com has the bigger screen listed in a different section. I don't know why, but the bigger screens are only listed under the flame resistant section. The one I'm looking at is 110" x 196" for a 16 foot by 9 foot viewing surface. That should work... for now. ;)

I would agree with victor-eyd. I would not want to take a very expensive unit outside, and that's what I like about the Optoma Movietime. It is an all in one device, and the picture was very bright on a 9 ft screen at dusk with bright mode off. Plus, the blackout cloth screens do a very good job for color and contrast.

That is a nice looking seamless material. You might also check out some blackout cloth options which might save you a few bucks. I know there are some others that are cheaper but the only one I can think of now is Rose Brand - http://www.rosebrand.com/A_Com/showdetl.cfm?&DID=6&Product_ID=3060&CatID=1&ObjectGroup_ID=134 which would be like $90 for 6 yards (18 feet). I try and track down a cheaper location.

I bought my blackout cloth at Joann's Fabrics. It was a little less than $20 for 3 yards (9 feet) on a 55 inch width spool. I did take my wife with me, and that made finding this stuff easier.

I have an approx 8'X12' BO cloth screen. Cost something less than $100.00 I think I bought 10 yds of the 54" and had the wife seam it. I got mine at Jo-anns as well. They often run sales and coupons, so you may find it even cheaper. BTW - the seam is virtually invisible once the movie starts.

I'm using a Sharp Notevision XR-1S and it works great. It's a bright business class projector.

No one goes to outdoor movies for the picture or sound quality. They go to have good time.

Good luck,
Tom

I went with:

http://www.allseasonsuniforms.com/paintmu04b.htm

The largest one. Going 13feet diag. I called the guy and asked him to hold it, feel it, and love it. He said it's heavy like canvas and white like my ass. I think it will do the trick. Bought an $8 grommet kit from Home Depot yesterday and will begin the PVC pole construction (moving from 2x4s) and use screw hooks to keep this screen up.

I did another showing this past Sat. Did "The Mask" w/ Jim Carey. Sound was great, picture on a tan canvas was still sub par. I'm hoping my new Butyl White will put that one to bed.

Starting to get darker later out here in northern Virginia. 9:15p start now instead of 8:45p. If it weren't for neighbors, I'd stay out all night watching Star Wars, Terminator, Matrix, etc.

P.S.- I goto outdoor movies in my backyard for the quality AND sound. Having a good white screen and sub out there makes a big difference. You may not stun the kids, but you'll wow the adults! Gotta keep them interested (primarily with the setup) while they are watching Nemo for the 10th time!

Greetings everyone!

We are trying to set up our back yard for outdoor movies. I just purchased an InFocus SP5700 projector and I want to get everything set up for the 4th. I have a few questions to ask that I hope your guys can help me with.

While waiting for my projector to arrive I looked at the Infocus website to get an idea of what size screen I will need. For starters, the screen must be located at least 35' from the projector, 45' if I want the projector to be inside our house. The reason for this distance is because we have a built-in pool we have to shoot over and around. Not much room for compromising. Now I would have no problem building a screen to fit the throw. My question is, the Infocus calculator only allows me to enter in a distance of 32', am I limited to this distance? My back yard is pitch black at night time so I would have no problem with ambient light. The SP5700 has an output of 1000 lms and a contrast ratio of 1400:1. I understand that the Infocus 1000 lms has a considerably brighter image than other 1000 lms projectors.

Given the experience of everyone on this thread will I be able to successfully project a satisfactory image on a 14' screen with a 45' throw? Should I stick within the limits and only use a 10' screen at 25'? This would require positioning the screen in an unideal postion. I know the larger the screen and distance the less lumins per sq foot.

Help me here guys. I look forward to hear from you!

Mark Bialek

My suggestion is go w/ the larger screen. The WOW factor is a big piece of this. Also, does that PJ have zoom? If so, you can probably zoom out quite a bit so that it won't be too large for the distance and overpower the screen. If it is, it means you can go w/ a bigger screen! Bad weather rolling in today-Sun here in the Balt/Wash area so you may not get to test it. But def test it out next week and get the throws and zooms correct. Maybe you can spend this w/e indoors bldg a 14foot screen and then test it out during the week. In fact, just take the PJ outside and aim it at the house using the distance you want and mess w/ the zoom. I'll bet you'll be surprised.

I know my Sony zooms in and out quite a bit and I think the throw distance chart in the manual is the average and not there to scare you in to thinking the light won't be bright enough if you are 10feet further back.

Thanks for your help! The InFocus does have a manual zoom and focus and produces an incredible film-like picture. You are right, I will need to experiment and see how I like the results. My SP5700 also allows you to project at a low and high wattage (high wattage, of course, decreases lamp life from 3000 to 2000 hours)

Has anyone had any luck with the Gemmy outdoor inflatable screen? You can now get this screen on ebay for $189. I am considering it but I am also looking to save even more money and build my own screen. I have two gum trees at the rear of my property that are around 18' apart. The trees are perfectly straight.

I was thinking about running two cables between the two tress and hanging a white tarp with gromets. Does anyone know if you can get a 14' wide white tarp that is seamless? I may run out to Loews today and see what they have. Thanks!

Mark Bialek

Go check out my posts a few up from here. I just ordered a seamless white tarp from www.allseasonsuniforms.com or something like that. The Lowe's/HD stuff is beige and eats alot of the light -- something you don't want to do at 45 feet.

I also bought an $8 grommet set and grommet at Lowe's. Your trees sound like the perfect place to put a couple screw hooks in there and your tarp setup time should be something like 10 mins. And 5 of that will be bringing the ladder out from the garage!

I just checked the width between my two trees and I have about 16' to play with. The only problem I see is that when I visited the InFocus website and checked what screen size I would need for my throw of 44', I would need a screen between 16.8' to 23.4'. Not sure what I am going to do here. The screen would go beyond the space I have between the trees. I have a 3rd tree that may be inline that I wil have to check. My main concern is should I even bother trying to project on a 17' screen? Am I going far beyond my projector's limitations? Just what kind of projectors are being used in most outdoor home theatres? I was told that beside a projector's lumens that the contrast ratio is very important. The InFocus ScreenPlay 5700 has a contrast ratio of 1400:1. Thanks!!!

Mark Bialek
The "drive-In" guy who is trying to build his own Drive-In at home!

Well, as I said, I think that's average. That 16/8 figure might be calc based on 0 zoom. Now you've got me curious though. Go outside tonight, weather pending, and give it a shot on the wall and report back!

Ozoner -

You shouldn't have any problems projecting to that size. I've got a business class Sharp Notevision that I use on an approximately 8X12 screen from about 25 feet or so. I KNOW I can go way bigger.

If the trees don't work out for you, PM me and I can point you to a great resource for building an outdoor sceen frame.

Good luck,
Tom

I have a few quick questions regarding using a projector outdoors....

I am on a pretty limited budget/yard size... I live in a close residential area. My back yard is only about 25ft wide x 35-40ft long. I have a small 10x12 deck on the back face of my house and a fire pit area about 20-25ft from the back face of my house... I was considering buying a Viewsonic PJ458D 2000 lumen projector... I want to mount the screen on the back face of my house (being I have no windows on it). This limits my screen size to a 10ft width... the projector specs say 100" diag @ 10 feet (fairly SHORT throw lens, I believe) My backyard is fairly closed in (surrounded by a house on one side/garage on other/stockade fence along back length) The yard is pretty dark, no major lighting in the area. Would a 9-10ft screen be sufficient to view from a mere 20-25 ft back? also approx how far would I have to have the projector back from screen I'm thinking approx 15 ft? I just really wanna get the facts before investing the $699 on the projector, because outdoor viewing is my primary use... small house/small rooms. (no good room to mount indoors)

I also have no outdoor lighting (except my fire pit) would it be possible to sit around small fire in a closed (chimenea?) while watching a movie (probably 5-7ft behind where I think the projector will be mounted?)

Any help is MUCH appreciated... if I buy this and it is lame, my wife will KILL me (not literally, but I will never live it down!)

Thanks,
3matthew3

Using the www.projectorcentral.com Projection Calculator Pro (http://www.projectorcentral.com/ViewSonic-PJ458D-projection-calculator-pro.htm):
For a 10' wide screen, you can have that projector between 15.8' and 18.9' away.

I used to use a DLP based XGA projector and 1.5 the screen width was just barely far enough away to not see screen door and pixels. At 20-25 feet away, you are 2x-2.5x the screen width away. This should be fine.

The calculator tries to take calibration into account when it states you will get ~10 Ft/Lamberts on a 1.0 gain screen. If this is a substitute for an indoor theater (critical viewing, etc.) then this lumen count would be low for MY tastes. For an outdoor movie party, it is fine. :)

This projector that I am interested in buying has a 4:3 native res / 16:9 selectable.... I plan to watch mainly DVDs hooked up via component input (via RGB cable)... I will using a 16:9 screen (due to movies mainly being 16:9)... it being a 4:3 native res, does that affect the projection distance and quality of a 16:9 image? I know on a 4:3 tv you get the black bars, I'm assuming on a projector it is
just NON PROJECTED in those areas?

these are the basic specs of the Viewsonic PJ458D

Resolution
XGA (1024 x 768)

Brightness
2000 ANSI Lumens

Contrast Ratio
2000:1

No. of Colors
16.7 million

Aspect Ratio
4:3 Native/16:9 Selectable

Display Technology
DLP (0.55" DMD)
Compatibility

Video Signals
HDTV (480i/p, 576i/p, 720p, 1080i)
NTSCM
NTSC4.43
PAL
SECAM

Zoom
Manual focus
Manual Zoom

Image Size
31.2 - 312 inches diagonal

Throw Distance
46.8" - 393.6"

Keystone Correction
±15 Vertical

$699 til tomorrow @ noon after rebate...
----------------------------------------------------
Does this seem fairly suitable for a 10ft wide screen outdoors? would the throw distance compared to screen size be shorter for a 16:9 native res?

Also this is XGA, is there a noticable difference between XGA and SVGA for DVD or TV watching, or is that strictly for PC connection? I don't ever plan to use it for presentations ect...

if someone can get back to me ASAP it would be awesome... I wanna order this by noon tomorrow, if it suitable.

Thanks in advance,
Matthew

I posted this somewhere else in here but I seem to get lost here there seems to be three posts about outdoor movie screens ! Have any of you thought about the airblown screen? I have one and love it! I have also found the cheapest and best place to buy them here it is I'll leave a link on here for you all to check out!!

************** (http://affiliates.**************.com//idevaffiliate.php?id=395)

I have a 16' X 9' inflatable and love it.

Had my outdoor party last night. About 40 people made it (we had over 70 RSVP for the party two weeks ago, but storms forced us to postpone it to this weekend, but less people were able to make it this week).

We used the event to also raise some money for the Elf Foundation (www.elfsystems.org). In all we raised $323.

our wallmart just got the gemmy airblown movie screens in and I used it tonight for the first time and it was pretty good.The darker it got, the less wrinkles you could see. My outdoor speakers have to be placed somewhere else to hide the noise from the blower motors, havent figured out where yet but tonight was a trial and error night. I think I made a good choice and cant wait to get the neighbors over.I am new to this site and found you while searcing for the inflatable screen. Thanks for helping me make my decision on purchasing it.

3matthew3 -

The stuff I posted between your posts was meant for you.

The throw distance will determine the width of the image. Projecting a 16:9 image with a 4:3 projector will change the height of the image. The throw distance will not change based on 16:9 vs 4:3.

XGA vs SVGA: The higher resolution will let you sit closer and not see screen door. I don't know what type of video processing this projector includes so I don't know how it will look with DVDs and other NTSC (TV) sources. You may need a cheap de-interlacer/scaler to get better results with TV. Again, I don't know.

for $699, why don't you get the Optoma h27 from Costco? It's native display is 16x9 and the picture is really quite good. We just got ours last week and we love it!

Sorry, no link- not enough posts but it's on the costco website.

3matthew3 -

The stuff I posted between your posts was meant for you.

The throw distance will determine the width of the image. Projecting a 16:9 image with a 4:3 projector will change the height of the image. The throw distance will not change based on 16:9 vs 4:3.

XGA vs SVGA: The higher resolution will let you sit closer and not see screen door. I don't know what type of video processing this projector includes so I don't know how it will look with DVDs and other NTSC (TV) sources. You may need a cheap de-interlacer/scaler to get better results with TV. Again, I don't know.

Glad to hear the throw distance does not change... I have a REALLY tiny backyard.


*Advanced video features
Motion adaptive deinterlacer for superior video performance. 3:2 Pulldown option.

I ordered it... on vacation for 12 days after Wed.... should have the projector by Fri... Hope to watch my first movie sometime this weekend or next week.

I'll maybe post a picture with the results... price on this projector is typically $850+ ... thinking 699 was a pretty good deal. Figure it can't be to bad being I'm only planning on going 10' wide (I shouldn't be pushing it's limits...) Thanks for the
info... now on to the screen building process! Yippee! Shouldn't be too bad, being
it will be flush against the back wall of my house!

*** From Projectorcentral (review from March 31, 2006)

The PJ458D has a slightly longer zoom range than the Optoma EP719 (1.2:1 compared to 1.1:1) and a shorter throw distance. The PJ458D will display a 100" diagonal 4:3 image from 10.5' to 12.6', while the EP719 must sit farther back in the range of 12.9' to 14.2'. So, depending on your needs, the PJ458D's shorter throw distance may be an advantage. Lamp life in eco mode is 4,000 hours, compared to 3,000 hours on the EP719. While the EP719's DVI port adds the possibility of high quality video connections, the nearly noise-free video image of the PJ458D negates some concerns about analog to digital signal conversion, and in this regard it outperforms the EP719. As a final benefit, the PJ458D has a three year manufacturer's warranty, a full year longer than the EP719.

The PJ458D has some of the sharpest keystone adjustment scaling we've seen recently.

The PJ458D is capable of very good color performance. On our test unit, color needed some initial fine-tuning. Starting from "Mid" color temperature, the projector was biased towards red, and green was likewise overemphasized. We brought red and green down a few notches, raised blue levels, and boosted saturation. With data material, pictures were vibrant and well saturated. When projecting video, objects seemed lifelike, and color balance was superb.

Most importantly, the PJ458D has an almost noise-free video picture. While there is usually some image noise present in any digital projector's image - even home theater projectors - there is almost none present on the PJ458D. This is noteworthy in and of itself, and complements the already admirable video performance of this projector.

I liked the eco life of 4000 hours... they gave it really high marks for it's sub $1100 MSRP. I've also had some Viewsonic products in the past and their warranty/replacement is very good...

I liked the eco life of 4000 hours...
"Eco life mode" reduces the light output. I don't know by how much or I'd try to estimate the lower image brightness on your planed screen size. It WILL be lower than 10 ft/lamberts on a 1.0 gain, 10' wide screen (after calibration). This may be fine, or not, depending on your preference.

3matthew3,

I think you're over thinking the whole projector choice. I'm using an old NEC MT820, which over half its lamp life used up already. And I'm getting great results on my diy 12ft wide white cardboard screen. The specs on my 820 are nowhere near as good as the viewsonic yet I'm still getting a more than great picture for what I do have.

The point is: Just get a projector- whether business or ht, commercial or diy. Specs and performance featurers count more for indoor viewing rather than outdoor viewing and ultimately, the goal is simply a massive, large image, plain and simple.

"I'm only planning on going 10' wide (I shouldn't be pushing it's limits...)"

Why not push its limits? What possible hurt could you do to the projector? Its just light.

Victor

3matthew3,

I think you're over thinking the whole projector choice. I'm using an old NEC MT820, which over half its lamp life used up already. And I'm getting great results on my diy 12ft wide white cardboard screen. The specs on my 820 are nowhere near as good as the viewsonic yet I'm still getting a more than great picture for what I do have.

The point is: Just get a projector- whether business or ht, commercial or diy. Specs and performance featurers count more for indoor viewing rather than outdoor viewing and ultimately, the goal is simply a massive, large image, plain and simple.
Victor

Basically... I WAS originally searching for a used projector to get into this on the cheap... but with bulb life (expense of new bulb)... I decided to get one that is RELATIVELY cheap ($699 is not too bad) and NEW (with a 3 year warranty)... plus I'm sure I will also get a mount, so in the winter time I can use in my spare bedroom or living room... If I'm WILLING to spend 700 bux, why not try to find a decent one with newer technology? (Can only IMPROVE my outdoor viewing experience, right?) I plan to pick up an upscaling DVD player (someone, somewhere mentioned one that will up scale and output COMPONENT rather than DVI) If I have a little money to work with, why not try to get the best possible results? If your getting a GREAT picture, I HOPE I'M BLOWN AWAY! I would just be pretty bummed out to have a washed out (non saturated) image... maybe I am over thinking it.... I've never owned a projector before... would rather make an investment that I'll be happy with a few years down the road, as technology gets more advanced... plus I will be changing over to HD service, when I mount it indoors.

I've read through the many pages here... here is my hypothetical screen design...

being the screen is gonna be flush with an exterior wall... I had hoped to find a material to attach to wood on top and bottom. Place to O-bolts in my wall with a steel tension line hung across... place a few hooks in the top runner of wood to easily hook to tension line... then maybe two (or three) O-bolts on bottom wood to bungie to O-bolts mounted to floor to keep "up/down tension"... I figure mounting to a wood runner on top and bottom will keep it tight "left/right". What is the best material to use, that I won't have to paint (BO cloth?), so I can just unhook bungies, lift off of tension line and roll up around the wood?

What do you think my luck would be for a fairly smooth screen?
Any ideas of a non-painted material choice? (not real easy to roll up painted canvas)

Just ran across this post by brucecan, thought it might be useful info for those needing to paint their outside screens.

===================================

http://www.snowroof.com/product_det...roduct_id=SR104

A VERY bright white paint. Actually the product has been updated to an even brighter white recently . You will not get a better product for painting an outside or roll up screen.

Or if you need a Grey/silver screen try this.
http://www.snowroof.com/product_det...roduct_id=SR103

The silver is an Oil based paint

Bruce

3mathew3

What is the best material to use, that I won't have to paint (BO cloth?),

Either the BOC or try looking for Dazian trapeze. I use the BOC and haven't thought I needed to paint it. The BOC had one side shiny and the other matte. Try experimenting with it. I used the shiny side, but didn't really notice a difference either way.

Good luck,
Tom

Yes, I use unpainted BOC as well and either side does the job.

Here is a source for larger BOC to use. I am still looking for some >or= to 110" wide for less than $10/yrd --- seem to only be able to get this if you buy a whole roll of like 100 yard or something, LOL.

http://www.rosebrand.com/A_Com/showdetl.cfm?&DID=6&Product_ID=3060&CatID=1&ObjectGroup_ID=134

Hello everyone!

Been gone a few days. Can't say that I was successful in trying my projector out since we've been getting rain here in the North East since thursday.

I've heard a lot of talk about buying a used projector and I'd like to share what I did. I wanted a projector so that I could use it to watch movies outdoors. I am still building a home theatre in the basement and plan on getting a better projector for that when the time comes. I have often heard how good InFocus projectors were. We use these projectors at work and I have a few friends that rave about them. I decided to check on ebay and see what I could find. I found a seller, named 2nd-turn, who was selling Infocus SP5700 projectors, along with other electronic items. The projector was listed as used in very good condition. To be honest, I thought I would be getting a projector that was used by a company which had been replaced. I also checked around and was shocked that a replacement bulb cost between $400 - $500! I bid on the projector anyway and won the auction for $450. When the projector arrived and I opened the box, there was an assessory box inside that had all of the assessories still sealed in their packages! The remote was still sealed and unused! I took the projector out of the box and it was virtually in mint condition. No sign that it was even turned on. When I finally did power up the projector and checked the lamp life, there were 0 hours on the lamp! I found out that this was a refurbished projector from InFocus. It even had a warranty card which I could register the projector. I did online. By the way, the picture quality of this projector is INCREDIBLE! If you are looking for a projector on a tight budget, this is the way to go!

To change the subject, I had mentioned earlier about building an outdoor screen. After much searching and contacting a number of places for tarps and screen building instructions I decided to check ebay again and look at the screens built by DA-LITE. Da-Lite has what they call Fast-Fold screens. They come in a number of sizes but the great thing about them is that they can be put up or taken down in no time at all. They are also very sturdy. This company has a great reputation for building home theatre screens. I found a Da-Lite Fast-Fold screen on ebay that measures 10'6" x 14' net picture 122" x 164". I got the screen on ebay for $600. More than what I was expecting to pay for a tarp and materials, but it would save a lot of aggravation when it's time to put up and take down the screen. The screen folds up and has its own storage case. I just thought I'd share this with everyone. The screen should arrive in a few days and hopefully the weather will be good this weekend. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Mark Bialek

just got my 12 foot by 15 foot "screen" in from www.allseasonuniforms.com. Completely white, can't see thru it. It's basically a GIGANTIC doctor's uniform. Going to string it up this w/e and check out the picture from the PJ. So far, so good. Going to go the PVC and grommet route also.

Stand by for pics sometime next week....

Hello jsloyer!

If you do decide to go with a PVC frame, in not sure if you want a permanent screen frame or one that you can take apart. If you do make a permanent screen, depending on what size pipe you are going to use, I would recommend that you put a piece of EMT (electrical metalic tubing) inside the main frame pieces. EMT is also called thinwall conduit, it is used by the electrical trade. It can be found in the electrical department of most home depot or loews stores. It is very ridged and much more lightweight that standard pipe. Just though I'd suggest that. If you are thinking about using PVC that is around 1 1/2" it will bend when you try to stretch you screen onto the hooks. That is why it wouldn't hurt to put the EMT inside the pipe.

Mark Bialek

Why not just skip the PVC altogether? It's going to decompose in the sun's UV anyway (PVC pipe is not designed for daylight). I would stick with EMT.

Just wanted to drop a line and say this Viewsonic 2000 lumen pj is working AWESOME thus far... I was PJing onto my back wall (no screen) which is mid brown bricks and I STILL had a beautifully saturated pic... just bought 9 yds of BO (for a 8' wide outdoor/7' wide indoor) screens with a 40% coupon for like 23$... can't beat that.... I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the picture... absolutely gorgeous from a S-Video line from a DVD... I also picked up a Uplscaling DVD player and a VGA Breakout Cable (VGA-to-Component), so I think that'll even tweak it a little more! Got the old Pioneer Elite amp and DCM tower Loudspeakers... can't wait for the double feature tomorrow evening, weather permitting... I'll post pics tomorrow.... quite impressed by the $699 pj w/3 yr warranty... would reccomend for outdoor use, ultra-portable, and super bright!

3Matthew3

I just received my Da-Lite 10' x 14' screen from Fedex the other day and tried it out in my back yard that night. The distance calculator that I used was very precise. I positioned my InFocus SP5700 around 35' away from the screen and waited for the sun to begin to set. To be honest, I kept thinking that at that distance the light would be a little dim. I was wrong! I had the light of the projector set at its low rating and after the projector warmed up the screen was completely filled with bright light! I really wonder how big I could have gone with this projector!

I purchased a Samsung DVD HD-860 and used the HDMI output of the DVD player and connected it to the M1 input of the InFocus projector I could not believe the picture quality! With the Samsung DVD Player, it upconverts the Digital signal to 720P and 1080I. The 1080I selection was so smooth that you could walk right up to the screen and not see any screendoor effect! This picture was BETTER than some of the pictures I have seen at an indoor theatre! I tested the movie The Incredibles and watched the coming attraction trailer for CARS. I tell you, we are going to be watching a lot of outdoor movies (besides going to our local Drive-In Theatre which we do every weekend).

Another note to the readers here. I hooked up the audio output of the DVD player to a Ramsey FM100 transmitter. This was done inside my house. I then used an old Pioneer receiver near my screen and ran two Infinity bookshelf speakers from it. I tuned in the receiver to the Ramsey transmitter selected frequency (FM 106.9) and the sound was INCREDIBLE! Now, whenever people come over to watch any movies, they can bring their own personal radios and tune into the movie sound! You can buy a Ramsey FM100 Transmitter as a kit for $269.95 at www.ramseyelectronics.com. It is also available assembled.

I will post some pictures when I set up again this week.

Mark Bialek
The Drive-In Guy

P.S. Regarding the PVC pipe surviving the outdoors. I built a cloths hanger outside our house which stood for nearly 12 years. The PVC was in direct sunlight all that time and never became brittle or cracked. Not sure if you plan on making a screen frame that will stand permanent or not. If not, you shouldn't have any problems. I think EMT frames would be a little easier to assemble and take apart though.

Just got my screen up...

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g205/3matthew3/theater/DSCN1481.jpg

Turned out really well... got one movie in before the rain last night, here in Pittsburgh. You can see a little pulling of the BO cloth in the pic... but was not at all noticable while projecting. I can also eliminate that buy changing the bungie cords anchoring it to the ground. I installed the BO cloth with a 1x2x8 of poplar on top and bottom. I put 4 O-bolts across top, with 4 hooks mounted in the brick. Just hang up and roll down/bungie... instant movie. I just roll it up when done and insert into a piece of PVC pipe with caps, and can leave it outside beside my shed...

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g205/3matthew3/theater/DSCN1482.jpg

not a bad setup... just got finished stretching my 7ft wide screen for my upstairs room... you can see the frame sitting on my deck in that pic.

My outdoor screen is 8ft wide, which is perfectly suited for my small "urban" style backyard.

Thanks for all the info guys... helps to get it 85% right on the first try...
3matthew3

I was making this frame to tear it down and store it in the garage. I just wanted it to be a 10 min process rather then 30. The EMT inside the small PVC is a great idea. I will check into that. I was going to use 3" Schedule 40 or Schedule 80 (super thick and WILL NOT bend) piping. Going with the 1.5" with EMT means much smaller holes to be dug! Fantastic in my lazy ass labor department!

The white screen I got from allseasonsuniform got a test run Saturday night. EXCELLENT! $35 later including shipping and we stayed out from 9p to 1a b/c we liked the colors, brightness, etc of it! Only complaint is that it is quite lightweight. I'm thinking that I will back it with my existing tan canvas drop cloth to give it some durability for grommeting and EMT mounting.

Hi all,
As you may remember, back on 9/21/04 I started this Outdoor Theater thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=448969&page=1&pp=60&highlight=outdoor+theater

For the past two years, I used a 15'x15' dropcloth from Home Depot with a thin wooden frame around it, hung from my 3rd floor gutters on bungy cords. It worked well and the movie nights have been a big success, with over 120 people attending last fall, but the shape was square and had two seams across it.

This year I want to make a new one that is 16x9 in shape and even bigger in size than the old one. Plus I demand that it not have any seams.

Now I know that it it is hard to find fabric that is huge and not have seams, but here is my new idea:

You know how billboards now are wrapped in a huge sheet of vinyl (or something material) instead of smaller sections of wallpaper-like paper that they used to use?

Well, since the the backside of the billboard sheet is white, I am thinking of contacting a local billboard company to see if they have any used or misprinted sheets that I could have or buy. That could be huge!

What do you all think of my idea?

Thanks,
~'kito

I always thought that billboard signs are usually in rolls, possibly only 48" in height, so you can store them in a van on your way to the billboard and bring them on the ladder

In any case, you'll certainly have to reinforce your frame since the vinyl will surely be heavier than the cloth.

Nothing ruins an outdoor viewing worse than the screen falling on the audience lol

Victor

Interesting discussion.

I just completed my deck/patio and now I'm thinking of getting my projector and screen some workout on the deck.

I have a Plus Piano (a bit concerned about that) already on a cart for moving in and out of our family room. I have an InFocus pull-down screen (76", I believe. I know it is 72" wide).

I could easily move these two devices out to my patio, but my big question is - how do I go about mounting an eye bolt to the soffit of my house so I can hang the InFocus underneath my eaves? And will it be worth it or will this type of pull-down screen blow with even the slightest breeze?

I already have outdoor speakers mounted for general music listening and I have wiring available, terminating externally on the side of my house, to send a co-ax digital audio feed to the receiver powering said speakers.

...You know how billboards now are wrapped in a huge sheet of vinyl (or something material) instead of smaller sections of wallpaper-like paper that they used to use?...

I have the same thought every time I see one of those vinyl billboards.

But rather than looking for misprinted ones, why not just ask for a used one?

Markito -

Plus I demand that it not have any seams.

Blackout cloth IS available in widths of 104". Also you may to look into the Dazien trapeze cloth. It is available in almost any size you want

Tom

You can get Blackout Cloth from Lumenlab in 110" width. http://www.lumenlab.com

See the attached photos to see what I used before and how big it was. Note the big seams.

tlogan6797 and quadmasta,
Thanks for the ideas on Blackout Cloth. I'm familiar with the stuff, but didn't know that it could get as big as 110".

So for a 16:9 widescreen, the 110" could be the shorter length (height), right? And the other measurement could be as long as I want, right?

So I could do a 16' (193.14") wide x 9' (109.89") high screen with that material, right?

That would make a 18.5' (222") diagonal widescreen.

I was hoping for a little bit bigger, but that would probably work just fine for me.

Does all that make sense and seem possible?

Here is another backyard screen story for you all to review. After seeing the outdoor movie thread resurrected, I decided it was time to have a go. Last year I tested the waters using an old slide screen, old work presentation LCD projector (600 lumens) and my trusty laptop. Other than the typical Bill Gates 3 finger salute everything went well and my showing of Pirates of the Caribbean was the talk of the subdivision. It was late in the year, and we only had time for one additional showing of Godzilla. Seemed to me that was a must watch outside.
http://www.comshark.com/screen%20debut%20003%20(Small).jpg
I began planning last month, which helped ease my wife into the idea of a more sizeable screen. My goals were keeping costs to a minimum, creating a structure I felt was safe and stable, and most importantly east to set-up, take down, and store. Based on these criteria I selected 1.5” PCV pipe for the frame. This would be broken into 4 separate stands, and 3 sections for the screen frame. Each section would be K or cross braced for stability and connected to each other using hitch pins. To stand the screen I opted to use 60lb tube sand bags which require no tent stakes, or rope. The screen fabric is 110” black out cloth with ½” grommets and tied to the screen frame using bungee cords every 24”.
http://www.comshark.com/IMG_0808%20(Small).JPG
As my project progressed my wife accepted the thought of a new brighter projector and realized there was no talking me out of it. I selected a new Dell 5.5lb 3000 lumen model which was available for 0% over 30 months. Of course there was the occasional “it will never work” which just drove me harder and at one point I wondered the same myself. It always amazes me how you can measure the same length 2 times and still have it off in the end. My neighbors got an ear full as I let the heat and PVC glue get the best of my temper while assembling the cross braces.
http://www.comshark.com/IMG_0807%20(Small).JPG
Finally last Wednesday we test fit sections together and placed the screen over the frame. Everything went flawlessly, other than letting go the bungee without fully hooking the grommet. Almost took out my friend who was helping on the opposite side of the screen. OOPS. Now came the critical moment. Could this large and heavy structure be lifted into place and withstand the load? Four of us began to lift and pivot the screen into place with no issues. It couldn’t have gone any better! The screen popped into place, and even stood without additional weight placed on the stands. We moved the sand bags onto the stands, and watched Roger Rabbit. The entire process took less than 30 min even our first time. The wife acceptance level, as I have seen it called here, is great now. She even decided we needed a popcorn cart.
http://www.comshark.com/IMG_0813%20(Small).JPG

Saturday was our grand opening and we selected Raiders of the lost Ark as the initial title. I purchased the Elite Drive-In DVDs so I could edit the classic commercials in, added some current Quicktime movie trailers and a Donald Duck cartoon. It was a great night. Our friends brought Junior Mints, Hot Tamales and other movie candy.
Now my only problem is deciding what to watch next.
http://www.comshark.com/IMG_0820%20(Small).JPG

markito -

NOW I remember seeing your set up!

You are correct...110" tall (minus any edge finishing you do to be able to attach to frame) and however long you want to make it.

I used the 54" wide sewn across the middle to get something about 100" tall and about 12 feet wide (roughly 16:9 - turns out it doesn't really matter as long you're close!). I don't have any problem with the seam. The key to sewing it is to pin it first. We took it outside, layed it out and pinned it (with a LOT of pins), and then took it in and sewed it. It looks to me like the problem you had was that the machine started to "gather" the cloth as you went along. That's what caused those big sags. Then we took it back out, layed it out over the frame and measured for pockets around the edges to slide the PVC frame though and get the final size. Fortunately, my wife is pretty good with a sewing machine and figured all this out BEFORE we started.

You are correct, a single piece simplifies everything, but I know where to go to get material in case of a disaster.

Tom

Fossed:

Excellent setup! There is quite a little pocket of outdoor movie enthusiasts in this area of the country that frequent these boards. As you can see from my info, I'm in Crystal Lake, and have my setup as well that you can see in some of the previous postings. (My signature shows an older version of my setup...)

The summer has been quite busy, but the next showing we are looking to do is in honor of my daughter who turns 1 on August 4th. So on August 5th, we are looking to do one of the girlie Disney movies (Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, Mulan, etc.) after her first party. By night time, she will be tucked away in bed, but the rest of us will enjoy it.

Good work, again!

If you hold off on Little Mermaid you can watch the new Platinum edition October 3rd. I don't know about you, but my current copy isn't everything it should be. http://www.ultimatedisney.com/littlemermaid-platinumedition-pressrelease.html

At this point the next show will be July 22nd, but I haven't picked the title yet. I'm leaning towards Back to the Future. Do you usually send tickets and other extras to your attendees, or just keep things simple? The 1st show was just close friends in the subdivision, but this next show will include friends of friends, etc... Although I am a summer person, I can't wait until fall when I can show Ghostbusters.

Who else do we have that is in the McHenry area? I noticed Algonquin, but are there even more locals? I heard the real McHenry drive-in backs up traffic for miles before a weekend show. Too bad it will be gone soon. Glad we are all here to keep the experience alive!

BTW...

110" Black Out Cloth http://www.rosebrand.com/A_Com/showdetl.cfm?&DID=6&Product_ID=3060&CATID=1&ObjectGroup_ID=134

Ordered it online, arrived in IL 3 days later ground. Very happy with the quality, with a quick hem and a few grommets you're ready to go. Just watch out for the birds! Anyone had that happen yet? How do you clean your screen?

If you hold off on Little Mermaid you can watch the new Platinum edition October 3rd. I don't know about you, but my current copy isn't everything it should be. http://www.ultimatedisney.com/littlemermaid-platinumedition-pressrelease.html

At this point the next show will be July 22nd, but I haven't picked the title yet. I'm leaning towards Back to the Future. Do you usually send tickets and other extras to your attendees, or just keep things simple? The 1st show was just close friends in the subdivision, but this next show will include friends of friends, etc... Although I am a summer person, I can't wait until fall when I can show Ghostbusters.

Who else do we have that is in the McHenry area? I noticed Algonquin, but are there even more locals? I heard the real McHenry drive-in backs up traffic for miles before a weekend show. Too bad it will be gone soon. Glad we are all here to keep the experience alive!


Last year, we printed out faux tickets, and passed them up and down the neighborhood and to our friends. This year, we have only had two movie nights, and for both, I just printed up little cards with the info on them--we are keeping it more and more simple. But there is a ticket making Excel spreadsheet floating around (I can e-mail it to you if you don't have it and want it). But it lets you design and print your own tickets in like five steps, including little images, etc. It's quite user-friendly, but a little buggy.

Thanks for the link on the BOC. Maybe I'll switch mine out--using artist's canvas right now.

I've gotten e-mails from LITH, Algonquin, and Woostock from this site.

Just checking in...

Anyone have any updates? We are planning another showing this weekend--not sure what, though.

What sort of updates would you like?

I've done 4 shows now. ET, The Mask, 16 Blocks, & The Incredibles.

Will probably do "Lucky # Slevin" this Fri night (as you see, some of these are, and will be, kidless).

Afterwards, I will probably take the month of August off as it is already African hot to stay outside and watch a movie comfortably. Was 85 degs last night here at 10p.

I'll probably pick up the show in early Sept with an HD presentation of Monday Night Football from ESPN. I just gotta run the satellite recvr RG6 cables outside for this one! Then on to the World Series and if the weather is OK in early February, I'd like to do the Super Bowl outside and then call it quites until next May.

I saw folks do some showings in 40 degs weather. I suppose for the Super Bowl, I could get some attendance, but for just a movie - not so sure about that!

What sort of updates would you like?

I've done 4 shows now. ET, The Mask, 16 Blocks, & The Incredibles.

Will probably do "Lucky # Slevin" this Fri night (as you see, some of these are, and will be, kidless).

Afterwards, I will probably take the month of August off as it is already African hot to stay outside and watch a movie comfortably. Was 85 degs last night here at 10p.

I'll probably pick up the show in early Sept with an HD presentation of Monday Night Football from ESPN. I just gotta run the satellite recvr RG6 cables outside for this one! Then on to the World Series and if the weather is OK in early February, I'd like to do the Super Bowl outside and then call it quites until next May.

I saw folks do some showings in 40 degs weather. I suppose for the Super Bowl, I could get some attendance, but for just a movie - not so sure about that!

That update will do...

I'm just curious what people are showing, if anyone has had any further ideas for materials, etc. Anyone with pictures? I like the ideas generated by this thread, and wanted to resuscitate it before it slipped down to AVS Heck.

Did King Kong this past Saturday and it WAS hot in NOVA! Doing one more in August (Music Man) and one in Sept (don't know yet) and BIG HALLOWEEN TRIPLE FEATURE.

Tom

As far as outdoor screenings go...

We had about ten people over two Fridays ago, to watch the first Pirates of the Caribbean... everyone followed up the next night @ the local drive-in for the sequel.

Also screened "Idle Hands", "SLC Punk" and "Permanant Midnight"...

I don't have any kids, so most of the movies I show, will be alittle off the beaten path.

Just got my Comcast HD service installed... Gonna run a cable out to my deck, so that I can bring my HD receiver out for some Pittsburgh Steelers Football later in the season.

So far I have not printed up tickets, (most of my friends are on Myspace) so I just send a bulletin around with the movie cover art and IMDB info... a little easier than printing everything out... Also my screenings so far have only been on a couple of days notice...

Matt

The 1080i image from Comcast HD is quite superb of this Viewsonic DLP Projector.
Can't wait for a Steeler game!

I'm also gonna plan a Halloween weekend, with Rocky Horror Picture Show, among others.

Hey guys I am getting my projector probably this week or next and was wondering do you use you PJ that you have in you theater or do you have a seperate one for just outdoor? Also I see on ebay they have 150 inch gemmy outdoor screens that self inflate for like 200 shipped which seems like a great deal. ANyone use these?

I use my NEC for outdoors and my Sharp stays in the ht

Victor

Hey guys I am getting my projector probably this week or next and was wondering do you use you PJ that you have in you theater or do you have a seperate one for just outdoor? Also I see on ebay they have 150 inch gemmy outdoor screens that self inflate for like 200 shipped which seems like a great deal. ANyone use these?

I use the same one outdoors and indoors, although I do have an older NEC lt85 sitting in my basement collecting dust...

Also I see on ebay they have 150 inch gemmy outdoor screens that self inflate for like 200 shipped which seems like a great deal. ANyone use these?

http://backyardtheater.com/forums/index.php/topic,306.0.html

Thanks for the review. that thing is sweet I am probably gonna get one :cool:

I've got an outdoor show setup for early September. I'll be posting a thread here with screen build and so on when we get closer. I've been into HT for a long long time, but this will be the first venture outside.

I'm looking forward to it, so thanks to everyone here for ideas, suggestions, photos, etc... I'll try to post a buch of stuff in that thread.

BTW - I'm also in the Chicago suburbs, seems to be quite a few around here!

We've been showing once a month to our neighbors all summer, with additional films for the family on our patio, just for the joy of watching outside.

http://www.nmia.com/~vrbass/images/CHDT2006Calendar.jpg

Our screen is 6x8' painter's gessoed canvas stretched on a frame of 3/4" aluminum angle (which is not really stiff enough in the 8-foot dimension). I'm thinking of going to Dazian Trapeze, though, because I have to carefully roll up the canvas to prevent it from wrinkling or bulging. The gesso is very reflective, but it also retains bumps and folds, which have to be ironed out. The Trapeze can reportedly just be thrown in the equipment box when you're done and the wrinkles just stretch out and disappear when you mount it on the frame.

Someone mentioned using a Da-Lite Fast-Fold screen earlier. I've been told that these don't do well in the wind. I don't know details, but suspect that the aluminum latches are too soft to withstand the leverage put on them when a wind comes up. Maybe the truss frames handle this better? Maybe it's possible to strengthen the hinged joints? Dunno, but I really like the system and would like to hear from anyone successfully using one outdoors.

Hey guys I am getting my projector probably this week or next and was wondering do you use you PJ that you have in you theater or do you have a seperate one for just outdoor?

I think having a separate one for outdoors makes sense, if you can afford it. The business projectors are made with high lumen output (though many suffer from low contrast) and are built very ruggedly, since they're made to be dragged around to meetings and presentations in bright rooms. You can get 1500 or 2000 lumens for $600-750. While the picture quality might not be as good as your PLV-Z4, it's perfectly fine outdoors, where the audience will be unfairly influenced by the cool breeze, the sound of crickets in the grass, etc.

Interested in everyone's thoughts on this:

I actually don't get PPV very often (can't actually think of a time that I ordered it...), and don't have premium channels on my D* like HBO or Showtime.

But this involves the ethics of showing movies recorded from ppv or premium channels. Is it possible to order movies on PPV or premium channels anymore that are not out on video yet? And if so, what is to stop people from recording a movie not out on video yet, then showing it at a movie night (whether outdoor or indoors--I don't differentiate, since I am comfortable that what I am doing in my backyard with invite-only guests does not constitute a "public viewing" of copyrighted material.

But what about recording PPV or premium channels that you can't get on video, then showing them to a crowd?

The license for your service is for home use. You do not have a commercial account from your cable/sat provider. Sports bars have higher fees they have to pay, for example.

The same limitations that apply to DVD will apply to the movie channels. I think the only thing you would be safe showing would be broadcast TV if somebody tried to take you to court. I seriously doubt any shows with commercial advertisements would be an issue where they would try to enforce something by claiming loss of revenue. Show the Sopranos and HBO could claim people won't sub since they can see it for free at an outdoor event and therefore they have loss of revenue, aka damages.

We showed "Hoodwinked" last night after a bbq (the rain stopped just in time...)

Funny movie--lots of references to other movies, lots of more "adult" type humor that flies over the heads of children. Kids and adults seemed to like it. The animation was kind of poor, though, in this "Pixar" age.

You can show anything you want without any license limitations in your own home or yard to your family and immediate circle of friends.

You will start getting into trouble if you show any licensed material for the public without paying for it.

Glad someone in my area was able to pull off a Saturday show. I had a mixture of no shows and its too wet outside guests. Carted out the screen, edited a showing of National Lampoon's Vacation and set-up the popcorn popper for nothing. We wound up with War of the Worlds inside. Not what I had prepared for, nor wanted. I know not to count in the weather, but I rushed home from a family vacation in Myrtle Beach for this and hoped for the best.

Glad someone in my area was able to pull off a Saturday show. I had a mixture of no shows and its too wet outside guests. Carted out the screen, edited a showing of National Lampoon's Vacation and set-up the popcorn popper for nothing. We wound up with War of the Worlds inside. Not what I had prepared for, nor wanted. I know not to count in the weather, but I rushed home from a family vacation in Myrtle Beach for this and hoped for the best.

Actually, we did ours on Friday night, and the rain stopped at about 6pm. We had the bbq from about 6 to 9, then showed the movie. After raining all day, there wasn't a cloud in the sky at 9pm for the move. Our yard was a bit soggy, though.

Saturday would have been terrible--the rain started at about 6pm, and it rained so hard, it was almost biblical. We were eating dinner on our screened in section of our deck (which is a round screen house on a octagonal deck portion that juts out from the corner of our deck), and when the rain started, I said to my wife--no problem, we won't get wet in here. After a few minutes, I actually was a bit scared for the kids, as the deluge came down, and lightning flashed EVERYWHERE. Then the hail came. We quickly gathered our dinners and ducked inside--but the few feet from the screen room to the back door made us soaked!

Better luck next time. Sorry you had to cut your vacation short. Our next showing is August 5th for my daughter's birthday--we'll show The Little Mermaid (my wife wanted a "chick flick" in honor of my daughter's birthday--she's only one, she doesn't know the difference!)

We are looking to get BO cloth this weekend and the one who knows how to sew in this household will take care of the screen making. I did a dry run inside on a cheapie portable elite screen and it blew me away for a dvd quality projector- Mitsubishi HC100, by the way. (And in full day light with no way to get rid of all the light.)

Question; how the heck do you guys level the projector? I plan to have the dvd player, receiver and projector on an A/V business cart, but, even inside, the projector was uneven. I expect it to be much worse outside.

Also, this thing gets HOT in an air conditioned room. Do I need to make sure to only have a movie night planned when it is going to be much cooler in the evening?

I don't worry about the temp of the PJ outside - I guess I should - but what am I going to do about it anyway?

As for leveling - sounds cheesy, but I use those door jamb sticks from home depot. The ones that you use during the construction phase of putting a pre-hung door in the opening. They are usually next to the doors or in the wood sections - just ask - they know. They are referred to as "shimmies". Works great for me.

Thanks for your input. I wondered if something simple would do the trick. I'll try it!

Question; how the heck do you guys level the projector? I plan to have the dvd player, receiver and projector on an A/V business cart, but, even inside, the projector was uneven. I expect it to be much worse outside.

Also, this thing gets HOT in an air conditioned room. Do I need to make sure to only have a movie night planned when it is going to be much cooler in the evening?

I use some books and folded magazines to level :D

If the pj gets hot, is it normal or have you cleaned out all of the filters. If its going to be hot in a regular room, its going to be hot outside as well, regardless of outside temp.

Victor

I use a 6' step ladder and the shims and anything else I can find. Mine has leveling feet, too. I use those first, then the shims, then anything else I can find laying around (dirt, twigs, old mushed up paper cups, etc).


OK, I'm kidding about that last part.

Tom

PJ sits on the hottub cover with paint stirrers for leveling. Not the best for looks, but it sure gets the job done. I just hope no one expected movie night from in the tub, or I guess my setup will need to be reevaluated.

I use some books and folded magazines to level :D

If the pj gets hot, is it normal or have you cleaned out all of the filters. If its going to be hot in a regular room, its going to be hot outside as well, regardless of outside temp.

Victor

Victor, Yor right, todays projectors do run hot under normal conditions. However, the keywords here are "Under Normal Conditions". I personally wouldn't recommend running a projector in a hot room or outdoors on a hot night. I have central air conditoning in my house and it's very cool inside the house yet my projector still runs hot. I can't imagine how hot it would get if I ran it in a hot room or even worse outdoors on a hot and humid night. I personally think if you do that your definitely playing Russian Roulette and eventually your going to drastically decrease the life of the bulb if not burn it out completely one day.

How level are your screens?

Hey folks, I've got an outdoor showing planned for Sept 8th, the whole family is looking forward to it. Our backyard has a pretty nice location where the hill slopes down to a flat area. This will allow people to sit on the hillside, and there is plenty of room for lots of people.

My question is about how level to make the screen. I'm going with the free-standing PVC frame plan, and the place where the screen is going is mostly level, but not perfectly flat. So, how do you fine folks deal with the levelling of the screen? To level the projector is pretty easy with shims and other items as discussed, but I'm curious your thoughts and experience with the screen.

Thanks! -Warren

ps - I've read alot of what you all showed as your opening night, and would love some current suggestions or movies that recently went over really well. There isn't anything new that is a family film coming out between now and then. (It is a family showing, so G or PG is required) I'd rather not do Finding Nemo for the billionth time!

My yard slopes a bit to the point where a 2x4 layed flat does the trick for a near perfect vertically level screen. Ideally, you want the screen to be perfectly level and about a perpendicular as you can get it to the PJ. If not - you'll have keystoning - or worse yet - try to do keystone compensation or side shotting (in Sony terms) with near success but not without wasting some valuable movie watching time and a bit of frustration.

I assume you are sticking the PVC in some sort of base. All you need to worry about is getting the base straight up and down, and assuming you built the PVC frame for the screen in somewhat of a flat surface, it should be vertical. a 2x4 or 2 on the backend of the base depending on your slope should do just fine as it does for me.

If you think you're gonna stick w/ these events - do as I am and dig a small hole about 24 inches deep and fill it 1/2 with cement and 1/2 dirt while centering and levelling a tube that is 1/4" bigger then your PVC that you are building the screen with. Ensuring that it is level will get you a super fast setup time and level all the time.

I just completed construction of my screen using 3/4" EMT pipe, so eyebolts, and S hooks as suggested by some members on this thread, and I'm going to dig into the ground and shove a 1" EMT pipe in it with cement around it. I'm envisioning the hole will be about 4" in diameter and must be 24" deep to get below the frost line here in Northern Virginia. I'm hoping to decrease my screen construction/setup time from 30 mins to 5 mins. A huge plus!

How level are your screens?

Hey folks, I've got an outdoor showing planned for Sept 8th, the whole family is looking forward to it. Our backyard has a pretty nice location where the hill slopes down to a flat area. This will allow people to sit on the hillside, and there is plenty of room for lots of people.

My question is about how level to make the screen. I'm going with the free-standing PVC frame plan, and the place where the screen is going is mostly level, but not perfectly flat. So, how do you fine folks deal with the levelling of the screen? To level the projector is pretty easy with shims and other items as discussed, but I'm curious your thoughts and experience with the screen.

Thanks! -Warren

ps - I've read alot of what you all showed as your opening night, and would love some current suggestions or movies that recently went over really well. There isn't anything new that is a family film coming out between now and then. (It is a family showing, so G or PG is required) I'd rather not do Finding Nemo for the billionth time!

I don't have to worry about leveling my screen, as my screen consists of fabric tautly stretched between two poles that sit within eyelets that are bolted to my fence. The whole thing stands straight up and down, and is quite easy to set up.

As for movies, this is the age old question. We always are looking for something new to show, that the kids haven't seen a million times before. I think the best one we have shown that nobody saw before was "The Iron Giant"--we had a ton of neighborhood families at the showing, and a number came up to me after (moreso than any other movie we have done) and told me how much they enjoyed it, and how they didn't remember it ever coming out.

Others we have done: Most of the Pixars (The Incredibles being the best, IMHO)--they look so good on a projector, Emperor's New Groove (one of the more underrated Disney movies, I think). We just saw "Hoodwinked" which was another that the kids seemed to like, and the adults really thought was very funny, especially the Wolf--which was voiced by Putty from Seinfeld (or Kronk from Emperor's New Groove), and was a great Fletch-type character. The animation was kind of poor, but the humor was very good.

We are doing The Little Mermaid on Saturday night after my daughter's first birthday party, if we can find the damn movie on DVD anywhere.

For outdoor movies with a crowd we try to stay away from movies that are too deep or require too much attention. We prefer lighter movies that if you miss a line or two it will have no impact on your total enjoyment of the film.

If it is a much smaller crowd (2-6 people) we just ask everyone what they'd like to watch.

Our favorite for first-time viewers is "A Knight's Tale". Light and funny. You can talk over it, get up to get another drink, etc. and you can still enjoy it.

Now I'm going to go against convention here and make a suggestion that some here would consider heresy, and it depends on the shape of your screen. One night my wife picked up a rental and it was a fullscreen version. I wasn't pleased, but once the movie started I realized that the image was MUCH bigger. This ended up being a real crowd pleaser. Again, it depends on the shape of your screen, but if yours can take it I suggest you give a fullscreen version a try to see how it looks.

Now I'm going to go against convention here and make a suggestion that some here would consider heresy, and it depends on the shape of your screen. One night my wife picked up a rental and it was a fullscreen version. I wasn't pleased, but once the movie started I realized that the image was MUCH bigger. This ended up being a real crowd pleaser. Again, it depends on the shape of your screen, but if yours can take it I suggest you give a fullscreen version a try to see how it looks.


HERETIC! Just kidding. This is the age old question. I made a 2.35:1 screen, because I like the effect of a bigger picture with a cinemascope movie (we just zoom to the edges). The other movies have to stay somewhat in the middle with pillars on the sides, but that is ok by me. I'd also rather to have what is going on on the sides part of the movie as well--it appears more immersive to me. Plus, some movies have some great shots that take great advantage of the full cinemascope aspect ratio that I wouldn't want to miss it. But hey, I am a purist in that way, I guess.

To each his own, though.

Steve,

I agree with you, and widescreen is my preference. But if your screen is of a size/shape that will allow it you might be pleasantly surprised. It also depends a lot on the film itself. In the end, it is merely a suggestion. :)

On a separate matter, we are having my daughter's first birthday party on Saturday, and in her honor, we are showing The Little Mermaid. There is a ticket making program floating around (if someone wants it, I can copy it for them), that allows you to print up custom tickets. I started with the program, came up with a base look, copied it out of the program to expand it, and came up with this for my invitation:

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c90/Etienne_72772/littlemermaid.jpg

There is someone on separate thread that is designing custom tickets for people, and he can add a partially transparent image underneath the text of the center section of the ticket--looks really cool. Anyone know how to do that?

The ticket is made in Excel, but has been copied and saved in Paint as a Jpeg. Do I have to get something like Paint Shop Pro to do this, or can I do it in Paint, Excel, Word or even Power Point?

By the way, the Little Mermaid is a big pain to get on DVD... Finally found it at the 6th video store I went to. (Couldn't trust calling--one video store told me that had it, but it turned out to the Hans Christian Anderson cartoon version, and not the Disney version--even though I had specified "Disney")

Steve,

You need a program that can work in layers and transparency. Paint is a bitmap program and only uses a single layer. I recommend Photoshop.

A bit of inspiration has come upon me--You can do it in Excel, Word and Paint:

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c90/Etienne_72772/littlemermaid2-1.jpg

I set up the ticket, then copied the center out and pasted to Paint, which converted it to a bitmap (there may be another way to do this--I don't know).

I then found a picture of the Little Mermaid off the internet, copied it, and imported into Word (but I think it can be done in Excel as well). Under the picture format, I set the brightness to 75 and contrast to 25 and it gave the image a "washed out" look (but not as washed out as the selection "wash out". I then copied the image, pasted it over the center section of the Excel ticket, then pasted the center section of the ticket (as a bitmap) over the image. I then went pulled up the picture toolbar, and picked "set transparent color" of the bitmap, clicked on any of the whitespace on the bitmapped center section of the bitmap, and voila--the center section went transparent except for the black text, which then showed the washed out image underneath.

Maybe this will be helpful to others...

OK, this might sound odd, but I'm guessing those of you who have done bigger outdoor events have had to deal with this. Do you open your home for the bathroom during your outdoor movie nights?

OK, this might sound odd, but I'm guessing those of you who have done bigger outdoor events have had to deal with this. Do you open your home for the bathroom during your outdoor movie nights?


Yup, we did. Just make sure your door doesn't squeek like ours did the first movie we showed. Oy, was that distracting!

So the weather was great for our show this weekend, how did it go for everyone else? Did the Little Mermaid get legs?

We had a strong turnout and so far the noise level has been kept within the yard. Now our local Chicago Bears fans want a 20' wide HDTV preseason game Friday at 9:00. A rare chance for football outdoors in Chicago. Hope the weather is clear.

So the weather was great for our show this weekend, how did it go for everyone else? Did the Little Mermaid get legs?

We had a strong turnout and so far the noise level has been kept within the yard. Now our local Chicago Bears fans want a 20' wide HDTV preseason game Friday at 9:00. A rare chance for football outdoors in Chicago. Hope the weather is clear.

The Little Mermaid did, indeed have "legs"! (Funny...) We had a ton of people over for our daughter's first birthday party, and then followed up at night with the movie. We also went to the dollar store and picked up glow sticks (15 for $1!) that we passed out to all the kids. So during the movie, all these kids are sitting and watching, twirling their glow sticks in the air. It was pretty cool!

The next day, one of our neighbors told us that her son told her that "yesterday was the best day of his life!" Can't beat that...


Would love to do HDTV out there. Have to figure out a way to pull the HD signal to the projector (Do I have a long enough cable for that?...)

Would love to do HDTV out there. Have to figure out a way to pull the HD signal to the projector (Do I have a long enough cable for that?...)

Hi Steve-

Don't know it it would work for you, but we are set up to feed our backyard PJ HD this way: We ran a split off the house cable feed to the "projection booth", which was fairly easy since we had structured wiring in multiple places around the house.

The plan is to temporarily move the TWC set top PVR box (SA 8300HD) to that location and then connect its component video and digital audio outputs to the receiver video 2 input, so we can select either the DVD player or the 8300 as the video source for the PJ and the digital audio for the Dolby surround decoder. We could then show either live TV events, or shows saved on the PVR hard drive. Waiting for a good nighttime event (maybe Sunday/Monday night football?) before it gets too cool to try this out.

Mike

Hi Steve-

Don't know it it would work for you, but we are set up to feed our backyard PJ HD this way: We ran a split off the house cable feed to the "projection booth", which was fairly easy since we had structured wiring in multiple places around the house.

The plan is to temporarily move the TWC set top PVR box (SA 8300HD) to that location and then connect its component video and digital audio outputs to the receiver video 2 input, so we can select either the DVD player or the 8300 as the video source for the PJ and the digital audio for the Dolby surround decoder. We could then show either live TV events, or shows saved on the PVR hard drive. Waiting for a good nighttime event (maybe Sunday/Monday night football?) before it gets too cool to try this out.

Mike

Awesome idea--I was thinking about running a component cable out to my projector (mucho dinero), when in reality, I could just run coax (much cheaper, and I have a ton of it anyway) from my basement (where the satellite feeds come in) out to the projector--then pull the HD DVR out to the projector. Duh...

Anyone ever check this material out for a screen:

http://www.allenscanvas.com/primed%20canvas.htm

Think it's worth it?

Is Gesso a problem when you fold the stuff up? Do you have to iron it out or when I fold the screen up and store it? Or will the wrinkles comes out when I mount it up for viewing and stretch it?

I ran 3 Coax feeds through the basement and out to a weatherproof electric box for HD. RadioShack stocks a Coax to RCA adaptor and RCA wall jack to finish the connection.

Friday I had our usual group of friends over for a true HD experience. We BBQd ribs and amazed everyone by having actual food, not popcorn for dinner. For a preshow I viewed the CBS game until the 9:00 Bears (I guess it could be called) game. HD Football 20' wide is the most amazing thing I have seen! Even the non sports fans thought the picture was incredible. Unfortunately the Bears game was a disappointment for two reasons. First they lost, and second it was not filmed in HD. What a joke! Don't you all think that by now all the football games should be filmed in HD?

An important note on Coax wiring for HD signals...

Make sure the cables are the exact same length. I heard it could cause issues after I crimped the ends and decided not to correct the uneven lengths since the DVD pictures were fine. Apparently as the signal changes from commercial to commercial the uneven lengths become apparent. We had several brief picture outages with my PJ displaying the lost signal icon. Better to occur in preseason than post. Guess I will be fixing that today.