$700-800 outdoors movie projector for some rather weird scenarios

Not sure if he wants to carry this around but it's one of the best 720p portable projectors with a built in dvd player.

Epson MovieMate 85HD

dlp have sealed light path.. might be useful for those conditions.

acer h5360 is solid 720p DLP for 100 less@amzn. very small, travel case and mounts on a tripod.

plain sheets are the worst screens. spend the difference on elite portable screen or make your own. this stuff is washable . they sell smaller sizes. it would hold up ok if you had a 3" pvc tube to carry it. have to improvise a mount tho. ebay sells lots of "outdoor projector screens" with grommets, but i think most are black out cloth. i used that on a deployment to egypt and it was quickly smudged and dirty - not recommended.

gt750 is a little brighter, and very short throw.. no zoom tho

search this forum for outdoor projectors. lots of good info and maybe some that match your requirements.

good luck, sounds like a cool trip

I wouldn't equate light sealing with weather sealing.

Who said anything about weather? Do you think he's using the projector in the rain? But 1000s of miles of south american roads, multiple outdoor setups.. yeah dust could be an issue. Dust blobs might be an issue. An outdoor venue isn't critical viewing, so might not matter. I'd still recommend DLP for higher lumens, better convergence and lower price.

Thanks for your contribution.

It's just a design necessity of protecting millions of moving mirrors too small to see. Dustblobs aren't the end of the world for LCD, just a hassle to clean.

Hopefully the conditions are better than Egypt. We moved bases every 3 weeks, and even in sealed bags and cases, electronics got dirty and dusty when used (most of the time indoors).

the screen material is nice - i use it for 7x12 outdoor screen but framing is the issue. They sell screens with grommets attached you can string up anywhere, but a moving screen is very distracting. if you go the PVC pipe with endcap route for storage, you could sew pockets in the top and bottom of the screen for the pvc . If you don;t want to go the DIY route, you can find cheap manual screens. Just make sure it's clean before rolling up. a bit of grit in a bouncing bus would chew up a screen quickly.

Also, not sure of the quality of power you plan on feeding, or even what plugs and adapters might be needed. I know SA isn't BFE, but a broken cord or missing plug can cost a day easy. Good luck with the planning - should be an adventure.

btw, what is the projector for? midnight screenings of the incredibles.. having slideshows of the vacation while still on the vacation...entertainment or education?

here's a pic of some of the gear i carried. it all fit in the contico storage locker you can see under the bed

yeah, the Army is picky about things like that. Cold water and a dusty razor had me hating life, so i took the easy way out on the OPs, saved the blades for main camp.

it's odd, i see tons of 800x1280 or even 768 recommended, but for movies and non-PC games, why not go with the 720p for 1:1? I don;t understand why 3-D is included on svga or xga projectors, except the DLp chips are pretty much the same and it's easy to include, but not exactly a priority for "business" projectors.. tho straddling the markets might mean compromises. Just a guess, i've never demo'd them.

That's why i recommend the h5360. i use it as my backup/outdoor/3D travel/wedding slideshow projector and it does everything i could want except play from USB. I've used it at 102" with dinner lighting, 146" 3D theater (dimmer) and 170 outdoors with good color modes. as long as you can control light, it will work fine but theres no reaons for a 14' screen unless you have 30 people watching

http://www.projectorcentral.com/Acer-H5360-projection-calculator-pro.htm this will givce you better idea. 20fl is fine.

Keep looking at other projectors but if you decide on the 5360 and it fits the timeline, watch newegg for sales sometimes it drops to 420 range. it is discontinued now but that doesn;t make the picture any worse.. i doubt you'll find a better Ht projector under 500.

if you are near this guy maybe even cheaper

Must be my lack of sleep. I could have sworn I saw something about withstanding the elements.

I would guess that you've never actually seen a DLP chip up close. Those "millions of moving mirrors" are sealed behind glass when the DLP chip is manufactured. There is no way for any dust or anything else for that matter to get on the mirrors. On the surface of the glass protecting the mirrors, yes, but not on the mirrors.

As for a so-called "sealed light path", no matter what the manufacturers claim, no projector is truly sealed, not even a DLP. There are multiple fans in all projectors, moving air inside. ANY crack or seam is a potential entry point for tiny dust particles. I should know, I've had to clean several DLP projectors over the years.

Thanks for the clarification. I've never had a DLP apart.. never needed to. I've disassmbled LCDs many times to reach stubborn dust. Major PITA. i've had 3 LCDs which all had multiple dust blobs over their lives, and 2 DLP which never have. I'm not sure what economics or other design factors result in DLPs have sealed light engines and no filter to mess with, while hardly any LCDs do. Probably the need to effectively cool all the heat-sensitive prisms and polarizers in the light path. DLPs are more dust resistant but it's WAY down on the list of reasons to choose one projector over another. Rainbows and poor convergence, for example.

Sonyad, no worries. Hope you get some rest (or glasses

Oh yeah, LCD projectors are far more vulnerable to dust blobs than DLP. LCD projectors have more than 3 times the optical parts of a DLP and they are not protected in any way, as you've discovered. I've cleaned more than my share of those, as well.

I found this link about DLP chips some time ago, you may find it interesting...

http://www.optics.rochester.edu/workgroups/cml/opt307/spr05/john/