What's a cost-effective projector for across the street?
October 19, 2023 3:34 PM Subscribe
The building across the street from my study window is a huge, blank vinyl wall and (with permission) I'd like to project old-timey cartoons across the street for Hallowe'en.
I'd guess the distance is about 50' from my window to the opposing wall, and it'd be pretty much a straight shot from the window to where the projection needs to be.
We've talked about backyard movies in the past, so something that could have a second life for that would be great. Value is good; this isn't "lowest price is the only option," but not breaking the bank for decent is better than absolute premium cost/quality.
I'd guess the distance is about 50' from my window to the opposing wall, and it'd be pretty much a straight shot from the window to where the projection needs to be.
We've talked about backyard movies in the past, so something that could have a second life for that would be great. Value is good; this isn't "lowest price is the only option," but not breaking the bank for decent is better than absolute premium cost/quality.
Best answer: How much power you need is going to depend a lot on how well lit the space is and the wall you are projecting on.
If it is fairly dark and you have a nice white reflective surface you might be able to get away with a cheapish home theater projector, but 50' in a well lit area will probably require pretty high lumens.
You might have good luck looking used. You can often find something with some really good power but with outdated resolution/refresh rate/latency and other things that will not matter much for old cartoons.
They also tend to get cheaper as the bulb gets closer to wearing out. The bulbs have a limited lifetime and are expensive enough that they are not really worth replacing. So you might be able to find a good deal on something close to the end of its lifetime.
posted by St. Sorryass at 9:31 PM on October 19, 2023
If it is fairly dark and you have a nice white reflective surface you might be able to get away with a cheapish home theater projector, but 50' in a well lit area will probably require pretty high lumens.
You might have good luck looking used. You can often find something with some really good power but with outdated resolution/refresh rate/latency and other things that will not matter much for old cartoons.
They also tend to get cheaper as the bulb gets closer to wearing out. The bulbs have a limited lifetime and are expensive enough that they are not really worth replacing. So you might be able to find a good deal on something close to the end of its lifetime.
posted by St. Sorryass at 9:31 PM on October 19, 2023
Best answer: This Panasonic 5000-lumen model is a bestseller at B&H, is well-reviewed for your use case, and at $1300 is moderately priced. I don't have experience with this model, but I like its specs at its price.
The key specs you should look at:
--High throw ratio, so that your long throw doesn't make your image too huge. The 1.77:1 max throw ratio on this projector means your 50' throw will give you an image about 50/1.77 wide, or, about 28' wide. That's pretty big, but not too bad! I'd maybe want it smaller to make it easier to watch, but higher throw ratios might be harder to find in affordable projectors.
--Brightness, in lumens. Brighter is better, but as mentioned what you need will depend on a lot of variables: ambient light, color of wall surface, type of content, pickiness of audience.
--Resolution. Get at least Full HD 1920x1080. No need for 4k.
However, I would strongly suggest renting rather than buying in your situation. You should be able to find something similar from a local AV rental shop. Rental prices tend to start around 10% of purchase price. If you're only using it a few times a year, renting will work out better especially as technology advances and you are not then stuck with outdated gear.
Good luck, this sounds fun! For a long time I lived with a large blank wall across the street from the balcony of my apartment. I daydreamed about doing this, however, the wall belonged to the local police precinct and they didn't seem to have a great sense of humor.
posted by hovey at 5:27 AM on October 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
The key specs you should look at:
--High throw ratio, so that your long throw doesn't make your image too huge. The 1.77:1 max throw ratio on this projector means your 50' throw will give you an image about 50/1.77 wide, or, about 28' wide. That's pretty big, but not too bad! I'd maybe want it smaller to make it easier to watch, but higher throw ratios might be harder to find in affordable projectors.
--Brightness, in lumens. Brighter is better, but as mentioned what you need will depend on a lot of variables: ambient light, color of wall surface, type of content, pickiness of audience.
--Resolution. Get at least Full HD 1920x1080. No need for 4k.
However, I would strongly suggest renting rather than buying in your situation. You should be able to find something similar from a local AV rental shop. Rental prices tend to start around 10% of purchase price. If you're only using it a few times a year, renting will work out better especially as technology advances and you are not then stuck with outdated gear.
Good luck, this sounds fun! For a long time I lived with a large blank wall across the street from the balcony of my apartment. I daydreamed about doing this, however, the wall belonged to the local police precinct and they didn't seem to have a great sense of humor.
posted by hovey at 5:27 AM on October 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks for all the replies! Best answers all 'round. Unfortunately my town is the kind of size where any rental would have to come with a tech crew, and "affordable" is a sliding scale for the amount of use I'd get from the thing / amount of effort I'd be willing to put into finding a used one. I'll think of other ways to spook up the neighbourhood!
posted by Shepherd at 9:24 AM on October 23, 2023
posted by Shepherd at 9:24 AM on October 23, 2023
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50' is distant. you'll want to goog for projectors utilized in bombing.
posted by j_curiouser at 5:59 PM on October 19, 2023 [2 favorites]