Home theatre in the backyard is becoming very popular, particularly in warmer climates where you spend a lot of your time outdoors. Sitting outside at night watching movies or a sports event is a great experience and is quite novel. An outdoor movie screen is a great alternative to a dedicated indoor home theatre room, and it is a lot cheaper!

Compared to the traditional ‘indoor home theatre’, outdoor screenings provide much more memorable evenings with friends and family as entertaining usually forms part of the overall movie theatre experience. You may have friends over for a live sports evening which will include a BBQ, or have your outdoor cinema playing music videos to liven up a birthday party or function. If you have a swimming pool, an outdoor projector screen suitable for front and rear projection will allow you to watch a movie while in the pool on that hot summer night.

Most home theatre projectors are suitable for outdoor projection, as long as they are protected and not exposed to the weather. If you already have a home theatre projector your investment to create a backyard theatre will be minimal, you will find a purpose made screen for outdoor viewing is not expensive and will compliment your existing equipment.

The choice of projector screen for outdoor projection does require some consideration; indoor pull down projector screens are obviously not suitable as the screen materials are not designed to withstand the outdoor elements, they also have casings and components that should not be exposed to the weather.

People with large undercover outdoor areas may be tempted to fix an indoor projector screen to a wall and place the projector at the opposing side. This does have a downside compared to projecting directly into the garden onto a dedicated outdoor projector screen; having the screen out in the garden you will retain your undercover area for what it was intended, entertaining and seating. Sitting at the edge of a verandah to watch a football game on the opposite wall does not have the impact of a screen set up out in the backyard.

Another advantage of a screen in the garden is you can have a much bigger screen and position it further away to achieve the big movie experience.

What to buy?

You will find that you have a choice between an ‘Inflatable Outdoor Projection Screen’ and a ‘Stretch Fabric Outdoor Projection Screen’ both have advantages and disadvantages.

Part 2 of this series discusses both options and will help you decide what projection screen to buy.