Projector, projecting from my garage window....need talked into or out of.

B

Blk69

New member
Hello. Have one of those possible good/bad ideas, looking for some guidance. Thinking of adding to my Christmas Holiday display this year with some video. Would be nice to include Halloween too.

My garage is set up so there are windows that face the front lawn (where I'm thinking of putting a screen for video). Could put a projector in my garage and project thru the window. Couple of plus's here are the garage will keep projector weather proof and secure. If window is clean should pass light thru ok. My biggest concern is the screen outdoors. I get a lot of windy days and fear my screen will not be able to stand up to the wind (it would basically be a big sail on windy days). Was thinking of making screen out of Plexiglas and put a opaque screen/cover on it to catch the light. Maybe could put some springs and such on things to act as shock absorbers for the frame.

Anyways, thinking about things, not sure end results would be worth my time, effort and money. Could really use some feedback on other who have had success with outdoor rear projection setups. My display if a healthy distance off the road and video just in the garage windows will not be able to be seen (from road). My screen would have to be 8' min tall to work.
 
I did it in a corner bedroom and it worked pretty well. I just used a cheap frosted shower curtain liner inside the window. I used some scrap wood to hold it in place.
virtual_santa.jpg
 
I did just this in my garage and it worked fine. Just make sure that there is no other lights on in the garage, they will dim the image. I used the screen that came with my projector and installed it on the inside of the garage.
 
your screen doesn't need to be a solid piece. You can use a fabric that allows wind to pass thru it. There's various scrim materials available designed for this. But you can DIY and use something like a gauze or mesh fabric. the biggest thing to keep in mind with this when you're rear projecting though Is that the projector will likely be pointing directly at the viewers. If the screen isn't solid enough, It'll be just like a flashlight in their eyes. For this reason, outdoor projection onto scrims is usually done with front projection. However, if you can manage your projection angles well, you could make it work by making sure the light spill goes into the sky or into the ground, and not straight at the viewers.
 
To touch on his point of the "shining flashlight" theory, you can help avoid this by using a projector with a good "keystone" adjustment. When one side, or top/bottom is larger than another because of projector angle. You place the projector as low/high as you can, and adjust the keystoning on the projector to even out the picture. This helps eliminate the direct light. Now, for wind resistance, that is always an issue, however like it was mentioned, scrim can help with that. Lot of places sell outdoor screen material, or will custom make to size.
 
My backyard theater screen is a 16x9 rear projection from Carl's place (carlofet.com). You WILL will have wind problems with an 8 foot screen. You'll need to tie it down with some guy wires and earth anchors. Scrims aren't very wind transparent either. Less than a solid screen, but they'll get blown around too.

What I might do is mount a large rear projection screen inside your garage behind the garage door and put the projector at the back of the garage. Then open the garage door to expose the screen for the display, and close it after your show is done. You'll get a massive image that may suit your needs. Some of the guys doing Halloween displays do something similar to create dynamic content for their mausoleum facades, and it looks good. Unless the wind is blowing straight at the front of the house, your screen will be more protected than if it were out on the lawn.
 
I've been doing a similar thing for the last 3 years for halloween. I used fabric across the whole garage and the projector inside the garage. Creates larger than life effects. Has been a big hit.
 
Go to JoAnn Fabric and get grey or silver Tulle. It works well, it's cheap and the wind blows through it . You can see it at about :33
 
Everyone displays look great. playing around with screen materials. Will let everyone know which works best for me. Thank you for all the suggestions.
 
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