A backyard movie theater is an amazing way to bring family and friends together or to bring the neighborhood together for a fun and relaxing evening. It is something that can be a spur of the moment idea for the evening, or something planned out for a big weekend event. You don’t need to have a huge yard to have an outdoor movie theater. A deck, balcony, side of a house, a yard, and/or even the street can all work for places to have the outdoor movie theater.
Things needed
There isn’t much that you will need to make the outdoor movie theater happen. The material you will need can be as inexpensive or expensive as you want to go with your movie theater. You can either make some of the items for the theater or buy everything. The items that you will need are as follows:
- Projector
- Screen/ Stand
- Speakers (Optional)
With these items you can make any area outside into a movie theater and have a fun filled evening. These are just the basic items you will need to get everything going for the theater, but you can go even further and add different items to make the movie theater as elaborate as you would like.
The Projector
The projector is one of the main things that makes your outdoor movie theater even possible. There are many types and varieties of projectors out there. Doing your research and finding one that will best fit your space or entertaining purpose is a huge thing that needs to be done. Personally, I prefer the Vankyo projectors as they give a good clear picture no matter the size of screen it is used on. They are very easy to use and setup with ROKU devices or DVD players. You can even Bluetooth items to your projector to be able to watch movies. And movies are not the only thing that can be played on projector. Playing a gaming system on the projector is another option you can do and make a huge game night. You just have to make sure that the gaming system has a cord that will plug into the projector. But if your gaming system can plug into the TV, and as long as your projector has the same port, then you will be able to play it on the projector.
The Screen
The screen can be anything from a white sheet or an actual projector screen sheet. A store-bought screen can even be gotten as a bundle that includes the stand for the screen, or you can opt for just the screen itself and get creative making your own stand. Screen holders out of PVC pipe, wood, or even metal pipes with
hook and eye clips to hold the screen to the stand. You could also just attach the screen to a fence or hang it on the side of a house, shed or some other building you may have available. If you buy a bundle, you just have to make sure the area you’re going to watch the movie will be able to handle the screen stand and size. All screens come in different sizes, so choosing one that fits the area you are planning to use as an outdoor theater is something to keep in mind.
Other Optional Items
There can be other items that can be added to your home theater to make your experience better. One of these could be speakers. The speakers that I would recommend would be some type of outdoor speaker. This
way they are waterproof in case of that unsuspected rainstorm that comes up during your movie. The speakers just need to be able to have a plug that will be able to plug into the projector you’re using. Another item that can be very useful in your outdoor theater can be a stand for your projector to sit on that puts it in a good line of sight for the screen. Maybe you already have a ledge, a chair, or something to use already but with a stand you can now take your outdoor projector to other locations or even different parts of your yard. A blowup screen is something extra you can purchase to take your outdoor theater to the next level. With a blowup screen you need to make sure you have plenty of room to set it up and then also sit back and watch. This is something you can also setup for the neighborhood or a big group of friends and have a movie night for a group of people. With all these different optional items and your projector, you need to make sure you have plenty of extension cords and extra plugs for all the items. An addition option I recommend are covers for you plugs to protect them from that unexpected rainstorm.
Conclusion
As you can see, this can be a great investment for your family that can bring everyone together for many evenings and can last for years. This is just a start to what you can make your outdoor theatre. You can go as simple and cheap as you want, or you can go all out and spend as much as you want. Either way it is going to be your outdoor theater and you can always improve it as time goes by and you think of something different you want for it.
If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below and I will get back to you as soon as I can. I am always here to improve and help everyone else improve.