[Joemamad]

okay I am new to all this and I have a ton of questions so any help would be great!! I would like to put a projector on my patio close to my house and a screen on the outside of my patio. I want to watch movies in the pool with kids at night and maybe a ball game sometimes. I have only 9 feet from my back wall to where my screen would hang. What is the best projector with the shortest throw for around 1500 for an outdoor application like this? I could spend more if you all tell me I need to. I think a large image is more important to me then picture quality. How large an image will I be able to get? Will it be completly unwatchable during the day? What is the best retractable screen to project an image through?


Thank you for any suggestions.

 

[jrwhite]

Hi Joe,


I'm a bit confused by your setup. Do you want to use your screen for rear projection, where the audience sits on the opposite side of the screen from the projector, or standard front projection?


If you're not picky about absolute image quality and colour accuracy, a high brightness business projector might be a good fit for your installation.


The Optoma GT750 would throw a 177" diagonal image from 9', with about 35FL of brightness on a 1.0 gain screen. No zoom, so, your image size depends on how far your place the projector from the screen. About $750 street price.


Here's a link to projectorcentral with the serarch parameters 2000-3000 lumen, short throw, widescreen

http://www.projectorcentral.com/projectors.cfm?g=1&hide=0&st=1&mfg=&p=&w_m=&r=&br=3000-4000&ll=&t=&db=&dt=&c=&ar=Wide+%2816%3A9-10%29&dvi=&sp=14&td_m=&i=d&is_m=&sort=pop


BTW, forget daylight viewing. It's just not possible for projectors in this class. After dark, many have 'drive in' type theatres as you describe. There's even a dedicated forum area for it. You might check it out. The crowd that hangs out there would probably be able to give you better answers.

http://www.avsforum.com/f/159/outdoor-theaters


Hope this helps,


Jonathan