Budget Outdoor Theater
EndersShadow
Posts: 17,593
So lately I’ve been slowly building up towards a very low budget outdoor theater.
For my 15 year work anniversary I was given a choice of various gifts. I choose a portable projector. Nothing super special but a good starting point.
I already have various sources lying unused (Xbox 360, laserdisc player, Roku) and a Stereo Receiver (Cambridge SR20) that was in my garage.
I bought a 100” pull down screen from Amazon but ended up having to return it as it was shattered upon arrival. I settled for a 120” foldable fabric screen that I mount onto my shed.
I scored a pair of Mackie CR200 speakers on Facebook marketplace (the new Craigslist). With that we started watching movies as often as the weather allowed.
Problem was that everything was in different places and not super easy to get setup.
Setting up and breaking down was about an hour process to pull out tables, set everything up, etc.
I started looking for a better solution. That solution came this weekend. I grabbed a dusty old rack with 3 2U shelves, and a 12U and 8U ABS cases with a Furman PL conditioner.
A bit of soap and water and the shelves looked brand new. The rack will be cleaned up as well and I will likely use it in a future project, or sell it.
Before
After
I took the shelves from the rack and installed them in the 12U case along with the other gear.
Top to bottom
Furman PL conditioner
Netgear switch
Roku (backup Plex/streaming source)
Xbox 360 (DVD player, games, Plex/streaming sources)
Cambridge SR-20 stereo receiver
Cables: 100 ft Ethernet cable, speaker cables (bananas one side, speakon on the other), Asus EA-N66 network bridge.
Projector rear mounted with room to tilt it up.
There is a platform with wheels under the case that helps make it easy to move around, at least in the garage and house. I will likely need to make a more “rugged” one with better wheels for the grass.
I am not totally done as I have lacing bars from the rack to install to clean up the wiring, and I need to adhere the equipment to the shelves with some putty, and maybe get some ventilated blanks but it’s looking good so far.
I decided to keep the laserdisc player out of this rack as it got too tight and left me no room for the various cables I need to store. I will leave the one in my loft setup, and the other will be downstairs when I get that custom build done. I will be hooking up a Chromecast audio as well to this system.
I will be eventually upgrading to a receiver with HDMI and I plan to pickup additional shelves when I find them at good prices. For now I’m using the headphone out of the projector to the Cambridge.
The extra 8U case will store some extra gear I have lying around.
When not in use outdoor this case will be in my garage where I will eventually get a small TV. The speakers also will be mounted in my garage, replacing the Mission bookshelf speakers I have in there now.
Overall not bad for what I’ve put into it and my kids ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. If they had a choose we’d do movie night every night lol.
Not many more nights left before it’s too cold, but we plan to invite some friends and family over to grill out and just enjoy the fun.
For my 15 year work anniversary I was given a choice of various gifts. I choose a portable projector. Nothing super special but a good starting point.
I already have various sources lying unused (Xbox 360, laserdisc player, Roku) and a Stereo Receiver (Cambridge SR20) that was in my garage.
I bought a 100” pull down screen from Amazon but ended up having to return it as it was shattered upon arrival. I settled for a 120” foldable fabric screen that I mount onto my shed.
I scored a pair of Mackie CR200 speakers on Facebook marketplace (the new Craigslist). With that we started watching movies as often as the weather allowed.
Problem was that everything was in different places and not super easy to get setup.
Setting up and breaking down was about an hour process to pull out tables, set everything up, etc.
I started looking for a better solution. That solution came this weekend. I grabbed a dusty old rack with 3 2U shelves, and a 12U and 8U ABS cases with a Furman PL conditioner.
A bit of soap and water and the shelves looked brand new. The rack will be cleaned up as well and I will likely use it in a future project, or sell it.
Before
After
I took the shelves from the rack and installed them in the 12U case along with the other gear.
Top to bottom
Furman PL conditioner
Netgear switch
Roku (backup Plex/streaming source)
Xbox 360 (DVD player, games, Plex/streaming sources)
Cambridge SR-20 stereo receiver
Cables: 100 ft Ethernet cable, speaker cables (bananas one side, speakon on the other), Asus EA-N66 network bridge.
Projector rear mounted with room to tilt it up.
There is a platform with wheels under the case that helps make it easy to move around, at least in the garage and house. I will likely need to make a more “rugged” one with better wheels for the grass.
I am not totally done as I have lacing bars from the rack to install to clean up the wiring, and I need to adhere the equipment to the shelves with some putty, and maybe get some ventilated blanks but it’s looking good so far.
I decided to keep the laserdisc player out of this rack as it got too tight and left me no room for the various cables I need to store. I will leave the one in my loft setup, and the other will be downstairs when I get that custom build done. I will be hooking up a Chromecast audio as well to this system.
I will be eventually upgrading to a receiver with HDMI and I plan to pickup additional shelves when I find them at good prices. For now I’m using the headphone out of the projector to the Cambridge.
The extra 8U case will store some extra gear I have lying around.
When not in use outdoor this case will be in my garage where I will eventually get a small TV. The speakers also will be mounted in my garage, replacing the Mission bookshelf speakers I have in there now.
Overall not bad for what I’ve put into it and my kids ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. If they had a choose we’d do movie night every night lol.
Not many more nights left before it’s too cold, but we plan to invite some friends and family over to grill out and just enjoy the fun.
"....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
Comments
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Cool.
Used to set up something similar for the kids back in the day. Good times indeed.
Cheap pull down screen, projector, receiver and some speakers and tons of bug spray.
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Looking good Dan. Priceless family time! Enjoy while the weather holds out.
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awesome...plus you don't have to sweep the floors2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC
erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a -
Love it Dan! That’s a great family setup. Enjoy!Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
Game Room 5.1.4: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
Bedroom 2.1 Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
