Our Outdoor Movie Setup
For Bart’s 40th birthday last year, we got an outdoor movie projector and screen.
He LOVES movies, plus we wanted more fun ways to spend time together as a family at home, so it felt like a really fun investment.
And it was FANTASTIC.
We had the best time using it all summer long; we had Bart’s whole family over for an end-of-summer movie night, we moved several of our weekly Friday movie nights outside, and Ella invited a few friends over for a birthday movie evening.
We even took it to Bear Lake for my family reunion and set it up in the backyard after the kids went to bed!
It takes a movie from being a fairly run-of-the-mill activity to a truly fun and memorable experience.
Now that the weather is finally warming up, we’re thrilled to be able to start using it again!
If you’re in the market for an outdoor movie projector and screen, here’s a rundown of what we have:
Our Outdoor Movie Projector and screen Setup
VANKYO projector. This is our primary outdoor project – it’s brighter so we can start a bit earlier (but to be honest, almost any projector that doesn’t cost a fortune is going to require a fair amount of dimness). You’ll also need to hook it up to a speaker system and a DVD player or laptop or phone. (The exact projector that we have is currently unavailable, but the one that is linked is similar and has excellent reviews.)
Inflatable Projection Screen. We have the bigger one and there is also a 14 foot one. They fold up amazingly small and are super easy to set up. The fan needs to stay on the whole time, so you’ll need an electricity source (e.g. an extension cord). The fan is quiet and we didn’t notice it at all.
Bluetooth Speaker. The first time we did an outdoor movie, we used our Bose bluetooth speaker and it just wasn’t loud enough. We ordered the 15 inch ones and it makes for a much more enjoyable audio experience. (We always face them away from our neighbors’ house and they’ve never complained about it).
Google Chromecast. We have one of these for each of our TVs and we LOVE it – it makes it so easy to cast anything from your phone to your TV.
Folding table. You’ll definitely want a table to set the project on (and a small speaker if you’re using one). We just have an inexpensive one and it’s great to have a central spot to hold not only the projector but also snacks, bug spray, water, and other miscellaneous items.
Any questions about our outdoor movie project and setup? I’m happy to answer!
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I have much more to say to express my gratitude for the endless inspiration you bring with your super-informative posts that you manage to put in such simple words and make so relative to my daily life, but not to loose myself in the lengthy speech of praise for your work, here are my questions regarding this article:
1. I have just looked at CINEMOOD. They talk about subscriptions there. Do you have to have one? I am assuming you still could use the device without one, but what do you then get with it, other than what you upload onto it manually?
2. Is it possible to easily remove the LTE SIM to take the device offline and use it in that mode or does it always have to stay online?
3. Have you found any clear disadvantages of this device? Anything that disappointed you?
Thank you in advance for your help! It looks like a wonderful Christmas present idea!