PJ for the blimpscreen?

I'm speaking from a position of limited knowlege here, so take this response with a grain of salt. Outdoors with a big screen and less control of ambient light, I think you want a high-lumen projector for a good picture. In your home theater, you have a much smaller screen (probably), much shorter throw distance and if you have complete light control, then you can get by with a projector that has a much smaller lumen output.

From my limited shopping experience, the HD PJs don't seem to be nearly as bright as the SD PJs so I would be concerned about them being bright enough for outdoor use. Again, I could be completely wrong here so maybe someone with more experience will chime in.

My Epson Cinema Pro 800 is rated at up to 1600 lumens. It does a great job starting at 10 to 15 minutes after sunset on a street with house lights. My recomendation based on personal experience is to go with an Epson, I like the fact that the 400/800/810/1080 all have lens shift and a 1.4 -2x zoom this makes setup easy. I also like the reliability, warranty, and great design features that make them a joy to use.

I had asked for recomendations on a projector for my sons school that would like to do the same thing 1080p is not as important to them. You may want to think about a second projector as the mounting and un mountinng of a projector can be a bit of a pain. Here are the responses that I got in the other thread:

My recomendations
Epson 400 $9?? with the $500 rebate
Epson 800 or 810 around $1600

Other responses

Check out the Mitsubishi HC1500. It's a DLP, so placement isn't as flexible though.
The HC1500 has been tested at almost 2000 lumens by art at projectoreviews.com
Review: http://www.projectorreviews.com/mits...0/proscons.php

It can be had for under $900.

Unless they're in a rush to purchase, you might tell them to hold off a month or so for the new Epson Moviemate 72. From the pre-release info, it looks like an HC400 with a built in DVD player. Same brightness, zoom, and lens shift as the 400. Having one less piece of gear for outdoor setups would seem to me a real plus.

Jonathan

The Optoma Ep1690 is 2500 lumens $1000

I have a 12' Gremmy inflatable screen and a Mitsubishi HD1000u 720p projector. It has a brightness of 1500 lumens. At my first movie party last week, we used it after the sun went down and it was plenty bright. It looked really good! I don't know how 1000 lumens would be, but just for reference 1500 is great.

Maybe so. However, they may have screens smaller than 16' x 9'. Again, I don't know for sure. I will say this, for outdoor large screens, the more lumens the better. You may need to overcome streetlights, neighbors' otdoor lights, etc. Movies with dark scenes can be problematic unles the pj is bright enough. I would urge you to get the brightest projector that your budget allows.

I do have to cover the neighbors post light that is behind the screen. I throw an old towel over it during movie time.

J

Sanyo Z5 (my personal favorite for outdoors) or Optoma HD80 (of RBE is not a factor)...

Panasonic has a new projector, PT-AX200U.

2000 lumens
6000:1 contrast ratio
(2) HDMI inputs
1280x720 (native 16:9)
2.0x zoom
2 year warranty
Light Harmonizer (changes lumen output based on ambient light)
Horizontal/Vertical lens shift
Accepts a 1080p/24 signal (eliminates pulldown conversion)
Price: $1,299

From projectorcentral.com review:

"Quite honestly, the image at first glace looks as if it were coming from a 1080p projector."

This is the one and only projector I am looking into getting. I would seriously take a look at it.

Projectorcentral.com review

Doug

For reference, I use a Panasonic AE700u (1000 lumens) on a Sima screen (which is about 10' X 6'). I've used this in over 75 events, and for the most part it works good. Some movies will lose detail in dark scenes if there is too much ambient light. I do this as a business though, and I tell people ahead of time that the darker the better. If they choose to start a bonfire, or leave on their spot lights on, then there's not much I can do. If this is your own yard then you have more control.

Try to avoid direct light on the screen and I think 2000 lumens will work good for a 16' X 9' screen. But, screen material and front vs. rear projection play a roll as well. My Sima is noticeably brighter on the side being projected on. I use mostly rear projection, and the Sima has a white PVC (opaque) screen. So I am losing a light of light on the viewing side, yet it still looks pretty good. I don't know about the blimpscreen material though, maybe someone else can chime in. My other screens use a thinner stretchy screen material, so in those cases, there is not as much light lost using rear projection. But those screens typically have a hotspot (you can see the projector lens as a bright spot when looking at the screen).

I will be using the AX200 for a 15' X 9' screen and rear projection, so I think you will be ok at 16' X 9'. As others have said though, lumens are king when outside. If you like to have a bunch of lights on, then I would probably go higher lumens, but you will probably lose some features and/or resolution for the same price.

Doug

Its not just lumins, but also gamma settings are factors. I have a Panasonic 100e. 720p. 2000 lumins. Dark films on full moon nights are not an issue, simply select Dynamic mode and one can watch cartoons clearly before the sun sets (obviously the sun sets behind the blackout style of screen). Personally I like watching the dark cinema 1 setting most of the time.

I don't think you'll be disappointed. It's a highly capable projector, can't wait to get mine.