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Screen assistance

5K views 41 replies 3 participants last post by  EchoMike 
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#1 ·
Got a project for a customer who wants to setup a portable projector outside and have a screen mounted for veiwing of various programming (DVDs, sports, whatever). With this screen being outside, and obviously going anywhere from daylight to night time is there any type of screen that would work well in this situation? I'm pretty sure no matter what screen or projector (within reason) outdoors daylight viewing is not gonna be preferable, but I'd like to get soemthing that will work as well as it can.

Thanks
 
#2 ·
Just spit-balling here. If you used a tent and a rear projection screen in the doorway, with a fly over it, that would be like a huge RPTV with a sun visor. You would still need a bright pj and then we would have to find a good material for rear projection. I would chose a high output pj with moderate CR, so like 3000 Lumens and 1000:1 CR sort of ball park.

This is a tough one though, I think we should break up into groups. ;)
 
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#3 ·
LOL!!! RED TEAM GO!!!

I wish it were that simple. Custoemr has built an "outdoor kitchen" wants to set a portable projector on the couter top, and point it at a projector screen that we will mount in his patio ceiling. The area is open air.

I may try to see if we can't just convince him to go with a nice flat screen TV, but that will be a hard sell, unless I can show him that they cost about the same. But then agian it's easier to justify a small projector, rather than an entire TV.

He has good intentions, but I don't think he'll be happy with it except at night.
 
#4 ·
I may try to see if we can't just convince him to go with a nice flat screen TV, but that will be a hard sell, unless I can show him that they cost about the same. But then agian it's easier to justify a small projector, rather than an entire TV.

He has good intentions, but I don't think he'll be happy with it except at night.
A small projector is not capable of doing anything by itself. You will have to figure in the cost of a signal source etc.

A projector capable of producing anything worth the bother is probably going to cost as much as a nice 52" LCD HDTV. A **** brand TV will produce a better image then he will get in daylight conditions outside with a projector.

Maybe you need to show him what to expect.
 
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#8 ·
WBASSET, budget has not really been discussed yet. Tonight will be the first face to face meeting about it. The guy is a friend of mine, and we've talked about what he wants. But whne I ask about budget, he never really gices me an answer. Personally I know that at this point money is not a hurdle. The guy has plenty, but at the same time he doesn't seem to be excited about really exploring alot of options. Plus since he ddn;t bring us in until 3/4 of the way thru, I'm not sure how much flexibility we're gonna have.
You pretty much nailed it on the head though. Lets say football games during a cookout. Could be some nite time movie parties or something like that. I agree with the coax, not even my 3rd option to transmit video signal. Unless we could get him to call the satellit company, get another reciever, and run THAT coax to the counter and then lpug that in the sat box, and come out to a projector with whatever we want. But then again, by te tme you get all that done and paid for we might as well have just bout a TV.
It being outside, it's hard to sell him on a TV due to the weather and what not, and with the construction mostly finished we have just about zero options to get some kind of weatherproof cabiet built. My freind that I do this with is a better salesman than I am so hopefully he can communicate our concerns, and offer some creative solutions.
Even so, is there a length limitation on component, or even HDMI? I'm sure there has to be.
HDMI wouldn't work anyway, becaus eI'm posotive that his receiver, nor his TV has HDMI.
He has an idea in his head on what he wants, but he's not educated enuf to really understand the challenges. If I had my way, I'd get him a nice receiver, multi zones, and at least go with component.
Either way it's not gonna be easy. But I'm always up for a challenge
 
#12 ·
...You pretty much nailed it on the head though. Lets say football games during a cookout. Could be some nite time movie parties or something like that. I agree with the coax, not even my 3rd option to transmit video signal. Unless we could get him to call the satellit company, get another reciever, and run THAT coax to the counter and then lpug that in the sat box, and come out to a projector with whatever we want. But then again, by te tme you get all that done and paid for we might as well have just bout a TV.

Right now that sounds like a much more viable way to go. It will definitely give more flexibility for options for the entire project. Based on this information, the projector I found and mentioned in the other thread definitely isn't going to work.

It being outside, it's hard to sell him on a TV due to the weather and what not, and with the construction mostly finished we have just about zero options to get some kind of weatherproof cabiet built. My freind that I do this with is a better salesman than I am so hopefully he can communicate our concerns, and offer some creative solutions.

Also, a retractable screen can develop wave problems unless its a tab tensioned screen. Seeing that this will be outside and will draw moisture (dew, humidity, as well as other factors) the screen could get pretty wavy quick. This is doable, but sit down with him and explain the potential problems and that he is going to have to make some compromises, such as having an additional satellite box installed. That may be a pain, but in the end it opens up things for a better solution.

Even so, is there a length limitation on component, or even HDMI? I'm sure there has to be.
HDMI wouldn't work anyway, becaus eI'm posotive that his receiver, nor his TV has HDMI.
He has an idea in his head on what he wants, but he's not educated enuf to really understand the challenges. If I had my way, I'd get him a nice receiver, multi zones, and at least go with component.
Either way it's not gonna be easy. But I'm always up for a challenge.

You can get repeaters for HDMI cables, so you can get some pretty long runs. Definitely save yourself (and your buddy) some money and check out Monoprice or RiteAV for your cables. I bought a bunch of HDMI cables and Toslink cables from RiteAV and had no problems with them at all.
As long as your buddy is reasonable and willing to make some small changes, this sounds like a fun project.
 
#9 ·
Is there a large picture window visible from the outside kitchen area?

If so you could have a retractible rear projection screen inside the house. The projector would also be inside the house. If there was an awning over the window this might work.

I have also seen people talking about using their garage as a huge RPTV. The projector is in the garage safe and the screen is pulled down in place of the garage door. Maybe you could do something similar with a garden shed or pool change house.
 
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#10 ·
And can I just say...

It's nice to be on a forum with ADULTS. So disheartening to be online, and have every question turn into a flame war with insults going back and forth.

How refreshing. LOL
 
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#13 ·
Maybe these will help (hopefully this works)

(tried to post a pic, but it didn't seem to work.)

Here's the link.
http://picasaweb.google.com/EchoMike03/BYProject/photo#5075212647138103666

This is from the "kitchen" counter pointing back towards the patio. you can see the windows that go into the dining room. Not sure if the distance from the window to the edge of the will be enuf room to project a big enuf picture.
 
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#15 ·
Thanks

It would be nice if I could get a sturdy swivel mount on that column, and put a good sized TV there. But then you gotta worry about taking up and down because you would not want to leave it there
 
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#17 ·
Right move it back as far as possible to get it out of the sun. I feel ya!

Of course, I'm sure his vision willbe that he wants everyone in the yard to have a good look at it. But that is also not a realistic goal for a projector.

I'm telling you this is gonna be a tricky one.

If I had the time, and he'd let me do it, I'd really love to put it on the Chimney wall that is basically in the middle of the yard. The auido wold come from both patios, and most people could see it. But that would include cabling around the chimney, and building an enlsure of some kind.

You can see the chimeny in one of the pics I took of the length of the yard. It has the big star on it to the left of the mini bar, and bar stools you can see
 
#20 ·
I just took another look throught the photos, and I am compeled to ask if your friend might be open to the idea of adopting a son?

I also could not help but look at the tent thing across from the chimney. Looks like the start of a huge RPTV doen't it? ;)

It also occurred to me that if we do break up into groups there are at least three patio areas and the beach. So we will be limited to four groups. So far there is you, me, and wbassett participating in this problem solving question. It seems we need at least one more participant to break up into the maximum number of problem solving groups. :rofl:

OK, maybe it's not quite that funny. :neener:
 
#22 ·
I have no problem with too many vehicles, therefore the offer still stands. I'm pretty handy and not so good looking. Now some may think that is not a selling point but think about it, if an ugly guy is standing next to a regular looking guy, suddenly he's not so regular looking. It's kinda like having a black boarder on the screen makes the whites look whiter.

I think that may be a swing set with a shade over it, right. Oh well.
 
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#24 ·
I tell you what would be PIMP-TABULOUS would be to build a "bar", off that column in the picture above that is almost stoned in, leave the inside hollow, and rig the top to flip open, and have a 60" plasma/LCD come out of it, and be on a swivel so you could turn it at least 90 degrees in any direction. That way when it's not in use, people have an extra place to congregate, and sit drinks. Put some nice stools around it. Great picture i's out of the way, people can sit around the fireplace, or even be over by the pool and still have a good picture.
 
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#28 ·
Looks like it will be do-able, but I'm not so sure how happy he'll be if he tries to watch anything during the day. The back patio does get most of it's direct sunlight blocked by a huge shade tree so hopefully that will help it a little. He wants something pretty low budget. So much so that since we came in on the project late and did not have a chance to lay any conduit in the "kitchen" itself, he is actually opting to just drape cable and extension cord over the kitchen counter. I'm nt gonna let him do that though. I'll do what I can to make sure the install looks clean. I don't want to do a half *** job.
But if we can make it work, I think we'll definately have somethng fun. :)
 
#31 ·
Todd I would have suggested GS, but his friend sounds like he wants to cut costs and corners as much as possible, and seeing Gray Screen is around $42 a gallon and you can't just get a quart, it sounds like that's more than he wants to spend.
 
#30 ·
I thought you were going with a retractable screen?

Anyway, I am assuming there will be some sort of hinge and it will fold up to the ceiling? If there is any way to do a swivel mount so the Do-Able panel can be flipped, go to True Value and get a can of 1982 Winter Mountain. A quart should do and is between $7-$9. Prime the back side of the Do-Able panel with Kilz2, and then paint it with Winter Mountain. For some added protection as well as additional gain, you can also put a coat of Behr Crystal Clear Water Based Polyurethane, N0. 780 Clear Matte. Then he will have a good night time screen as well as something that will work with some light.

Why such a small screen for an outdoor theater? Most outdoor theaters are larger to accommodate bigger groups that tend to be at further distances and angles.

One concern as far as Do-Able for an outdoor screen is moisture. In the long haul I'm not sure how well it will hold up to the elements. The good thing is if you have access to Do-Able, if anything happens you can get another sheet. That's fine for yourself, but this guy seems rather difficult. Skyman knows I have the utmost respect for Do-Able, so this isn't meant negative toward it as a screen... but this guy owns a Viper and a Hummer and wants to go cheap (not that the performance of Do-able is cheap by any means, rather his whole mentality seems cheap and slip shot) Do-Able is fantastic as a indoor screen, but again I'm not so sure it will last a season outside exposed to the elements... who knows though maybe it will.

What projector is he getting?
 
#32 ·
I wonder if the Behr UPW Enamel in a matte finish would be similar. A quart tint of 0 6 0 LB + 0 2 0 YO would be reasonably neutral. The Behr enamels are supposed to be washable and more durable. I just know the white Do-able is not going to workout very well in this setup.

Actually another approach would be to go with the Do-able and when the guy realizes it aint so good Mike saves the day with a couple of coats of Behr Matte Poly with Delta Silver Metallic. I should have tried some variations with matte poly, faux glaze and silver metallic that may be even better.

I know some of you may recognize the use of Faux Glaze and Silver Metallic, and no this is not my creation and I take no credit for the use of this combination of paint products. I am however going to do some experimenting with these type of clear, tinted, and frosting like top coats. I will present my observations in the Clear Coat Experimentation thread.
 
#36 ·
Yeah it might be similar but at this point I really don't know and can't say with certainty. I know Winter Mountain is extremely neutral (believe it or not it came in more neutral than GTI N8, and that was from the numbers provided directly from GTI's lab), plus for under $10 it's pretty hard to deviate from a known right now for this situation. If EchoMike were doing this for himself and not a friend, I'd say do some experimenting/testing, but I don't think he has that leeway.

I am still concerned about how well Do-able is going to stand up to being outside all the time. If it turns out it can handle the elements that's great news. Personally if I were using Do-able, I'd keep the white side as is for night viewing, and then paint the back side for daytime viewing. I know someone that did exactly that for a flippable screen and they are very happy with it, but it is also being used indoors and not outside exposed to the weather.
 
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