After choosing the projector itself, the next most important task is the screen for it. It must be suitable for the chosen location and the rest of the equipment.
It is always tempting to use a blank wall or even a sheet, but it is important to understand that in terms of image quality, they are not comparable to a special screen, any of which reflects light and gives a much more pleasing picture to the eye. We highly recommend budgeting for it in your party budget.
Fence or wall?
Ideally, the location of the screen should be protected from the wind; for example, it can be hung on a high fence or on a wall.
With suitable support, it’s easy to use any retractable roll-up screen, and if you put a table near the wall, a tension one will find useful, too. We recommend attaching them with something to the fence or wall in case of wind gusts.
More important factors to be sure to consider are image size and gain. Think about how far away from the screen you are going to sit. Find out the projection ratio of the projector and, by doing some simple math, figure out the largest possible picture size.
The gain ratio refers to the reflectivity of the screen; it has a significant effect on the image, depending on the brightness of the projector and environmental conditions. Outdoors, it is important to choose a screen with a higher gain – it is likely to be quite bright, and portable projectors are generally not very bright.
A gain value of 1.0 indicates that the screen reflects all the light that hits it; at a higher value, the screen will be brighter when viewed straight on and less impressive when viewed at an angle.
Free-standing screen for an outdoor projector
In an open space, even a slight breeze can be a disaster. Projector screens are like sails – very light and with a large surface area – and they will behave the same way at any opportunity. Be sure to anchor the base of the screen to the ground. In the case of moderately bad weather, it’s worth considering rescheduling your viewing for another day.
As with the previously discussed cases, you should pay attention to the size and gain; however, you have fewer options. There are essentially only two: an inflatable design and a free-standing frame. Inflatable models often turn out to be very bulky and heavy, plus they can be blown around by the wind. Keeping them inflated requires a constant supply of air from a pump, which requires a power source and creates a lot of noise. In this case, your sound system must be very loud to “scream” over the compressor screen.
An inflatable outdoor screen is a great option for British and European buyers. It comes with a compressor, cables, and a carrying bag to pack it all in. For that price, you get a 140″ screen, a decent level of gain, and a 120-degree viewing angle.
Folding frame screens are assembled from sets of metal poles and packaged in smaller, more convenient bags than their inflatable counterparts. They don’t require compressors, but they are more fragile and can be expensive – another argument for choosing a fence or wall-mounted screen.
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