this post was submitted on 20 Jun 2023
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HomeTheater
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I'm about to set up an outdoor entertainment area. Do you think a TV or a projector would be better? I'm weighing up the extra size from a projector versus the clarity of a TV.
How much space do you have? Do you intend to use it mainly after sunset (which could be 9pm+ in the summer depending on where you are)? By outdoors, do you mean a sheltered area (do you need the equipment to be portable)?
The space is only large enough for one of those stereotypical school projector screens, but that's still much larger than a tv. The intention is to use it after sunset in an area lit by fairy lights. Do you think that would adversely affect the viewing? The area would be exposed to the elements, so I'd have to move and store the tv/ projector when not in use.
If there are fairy lights, it might affect the color a little bit, depending on the brightness of the projector. This depends on your budget - anything decent should be fine, you just can't get the cheap $250 Chinese ones. It's also a solveable problem, since you can adjust the brightness/direction of the fairy lights.
Having to move and store it would be the biggest concern for me. A projector is easier to pack and unpack, but has the issue of a separate projector screen.
If you're able to, say, use one flat wall as a makeshift screen, I'd personally choose the projector.
Thanks so much!
As for your question, if it's my main screen, having the quality affected by lighting would be really inconvenient for me. That's something I could live with where having the projector out IS the activity, but if the activity is something else and the TV is just on then it's too much mucking around. P
Happy to help! I think it comes down to budget too. If you have $1000 to spend, you can get a 4K projector that can work even with dim lighting. But if you only have $300-400, then you're starting to look at slight tradeoffs - picture quality might be worse with a projector, but then the screen would be bigger and it would be easier to move around.
If you know anyone with projectors, you should go try one out and get a feel for the differences!