Projector recommendations for 'small movie theatre'?

[Will B Good]

Looking to set up a movie night, Fridays and Saturdays, to draw in the locals.

 

The venue is outside, but covered, it should be quite dark, there are no street lights. Back wall to screen will be about 8m, but I guess the projector can go anywhere.

 

I've looked on Lazada, but there are about a million projectors from which to choose and the price range is phenomenal......... I now have analysis paralysis.

 

Can anyone who has gone down this route of projection rather than TV's, suggest what might be a good/decent/reasonable buy (or what to avoid like the plague?).

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

 

 

[Dan O]

use Bing AI copilot and ask and you'll get a list, then you can read the reviews on them. unless you have access to movies and an extremely high quality projector with the ability to stream from the internet a large screen TV would be the better route to go.  

[Will B Good]

43 minutes ago, Dan O said:

use Bing AI copilot and ask and you'll get a list, then you can read the reviews on them. unless you have access to movies and an extremely high quality projector with the ability to stream from the internet a large screen TV would be the better route to go.  

 

WOW!!!

 

Just been sitting here looking at our living room TV (75" I think?)......which we never use....and thought......why not use that?

 

Pure genius.

 

Cheers

[OneMoreFarang]

This guy made over the years many videos about projectors. He explains the differences.

I.e. if you only watch at night then you don't need a very bright projector, things like that.

I suggest watch a couple of his videos and you will know a lot better what you want/need.

 

 

 

[Will B Good]

24 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

This guy made over the years many videos about projectors. He explains the differences.

I.e. if you only watch at night then you don't need a very bright projector, things like that.

I suggest watch a couple of his videos and you will know a lot better what you want/need.

 

 

 

 

Really good..... thanks......Paris Rhone....looks a good choice...for me....if I go that way......but then I see the next one up......555

[AustinRacing]

I did that inside the house. In your case being outdoors aim for the brightest as you can’t control external lighting as well. Also the screen is important. In my case I painted the wall with a recommended paint for projection.  Finally the sound. I assume you will hook it up to external speakers. Wireless connection would be good. In my case I had the laptop connected to Bluetooth speakers. Sound from projectors is usually inadequate. 

[FritsSikkink]

You might get hassle from the police asking for an entertainment license.

[Dr B]

Last year, when in Australia, my step-daughter had a device that looked like a reasonable sized biscuit barrel on their bedside table. When she turned it on it porjected an image onto the wall at the foot of the bed. Very bright and sharp, and automatically adjusted for focus and to be recatangular. Very smart bit of technology. They do not have a TV screen in their house! I could find out what brand etc if you need it.

[DTL2014]

short throw projectors are relatively new concept too - just to add to our analysis paralysis lol. prices on tv's are coming down - now an 85 inch is relatively affordable . if u project - what size screen do you want? The correct way to measure that is THE VIEWING DISTANCE IS OPTIMAL AT 2.5 TIMES THE DIAGONAL MEASUREMENT OF THE SCREEN.work out if you need 100 inch or 150 inch for example - if not use the 75 incher or buy new 85inch TV. it will succumb to the humidity in time but so will a projector bulb deteriorate..there are some outdoor tv's on the market with additional weatherproofing..

[Ralf001]

On 2/6/2025 at 10:24 AM, Will B Good said:

Looking to set up a movie night, Fridays and Saturdays, to draw in the locals.

 

The venue is outside, but covered, it should be quite dark, there are no street lights. Back wall to screen will be about 8m, but I guess the projector can go anywhere.

 

I've looked on Lazada, but there are about a million projectors from which to choose and the price range is phenomenal......... I now have analysis paralysis.

 

Can anyone who has gone down this route of projection rather than TV's, suggest what might be a good/decent/reasonable buy (or what to avoid like the plague?).

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

 

 

 

What are you doing for sound ?

[Ralf001]

2 hours ago, Dr B said:

Last year, when in Australia, my step-daughter had a device that looked like a reasonable sized biscuit barrel on their bedside table. When she turned it on it porjected an image onto the wall at the foot of the bed. Very bright and sharp, and automatically adjusted for focus and to be recatangular. Very smart bit of technology. They do not have a TV screen in their house! I could find out what brand etc if you need it.

 

I got one of these in the bedroom.. works great.

 

 

 

[JBChiangRai]

My living room doubles as a home cinema, one wall is painted in the recommended screen paint, there is an Appotronics D30 ultra short throw laser projector with 4000 Ansi lumens and a 150" picture. It's bright enough to watch in daylight (2 of my walls are floor to ceiling glass).

 

Denon X-8500HA 13.2 Receiver, 2 Wharfedale EVO 4.4 as front floor speakers, 4 tower Polk speakers 7 Polk bookshelf speakers wall mounted high, a Polk Ceiling VoG speaker (Voice of God) and 2 of 15" Klipsch subwoofers and a Polk center speaker rounds it off.

 

I particularly like music in Auro 3D which needs the VoG speaker.  If anyone wants to see photos, let me know and I'll post them.

[Dan O]

4 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

You might get hassle from the police asking for an entertainment license.

You actually may be correct if they wanted to pursue it. You actually are " supposed" to have  license to play music of any kind even radio or YouTube  outside a business.  I've gone around in circles at my cafe about this as I have speakers outside on the patio

[JBChiangRai]

There is a well-known police scam where they come around, asking for money for an entertainment license, because you don’t have one, and then they give you some bull<deleted> sticker that they’ve invented

[Ralf001]

2 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

My living room doubles as a home cinema, one wall is painted in the recommended screen paint, there is an Appotronics D30 ultra short throw laser projector with 4000 Ansi lumens and a 150" picture. It's bright enough to watch in daylight (2 of my walls are floor to ceiling glass).

 

Denon X-8500HA 13.2 Receiver, 2 Wharfedale EVO 4.4 as front floor speakers, 4 tower Polk speakers 7 Polk bookshelf speakers wall mounted high, a Polk Ceiling VoG speaker (Voice of God) and 2 of 15" Klipsch subwoofers and a Polk center speaker rounds it off.

 

I particularly like music in Auro 3D which needs the VoG speaker.  If anyone wants to see photos, let me know and I'll post them.

 

Throw up some pics, am thinking of similar for my gaff.

[JBChiangRai]

Here you go, update 5 Polk bookshelf’s and 3 Polk ceiling speakers.

 

 

[recom273]

20 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

Here you go, update 5 Polk bookshelf’s and 3 Polk ceiling speakers.

 

 

Nice .. do you really benefit from two subs? 
 

I have a Polk 5.1 system, i have the capability to add a second sub but not the floorspace, just wondering if I am

missing out. Do you have neighbours btw? 

[JBChiangRai]

I don’t have neighbors.  I think a 2nd sub is overkill, I think any sub is overkill with good speakers.

 

My system is 13.1.2 but it’s wired up 15.1.2 as Auro 3D uses different speaker positions and a relay in the amp changes which 13 speakers it uses.

 

I think anything over 5.1 is overkill.

 

I use my system less than 6 times a year, mostly I watch a TV in my kitchen/diner/family room with stereo speakers or a Dolby Atmos 7.1 system on the sofa in my bedroom.

 

The projector is where I think you need to spend your money.

[blaze master]

But you already do such a wonderful job of projecting yourself.