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[HuskyFan]

Hey...I'm new to this forum, but have been showing outdoor movies for a couple years now.  It's been absolutely great reading about many of your experiences.  I wish I had found this site before building my first screen!

Here's a quick rundown of my set-up:
- 9' x 12' canvas painters drop cloth
- 1" galvanized steel tube frame
- InFocus LP850 (4500 lumens)
- Onkyo TX-SR500 receiver
- Bose 301 speakers
- $29 Coby DVD player

I first set this up for my neighborhood back in 2005.  The attached picture was a showing in 2006...had about 50 neighbors that time.  Also in 2006 I set up in a public greenspace near my home which was a blast.

Nothing special about the setup...the bright projector does help.  I work for InFocus, so I have a slight advantage there.  So far I've tried out the LP850, IN72, IN76, and SP7210.  Although resolution plays a big difference in my inside home theatre...I've had the best results outside with super bright XGA business class projectors.  I'm guessing a big issue is my rudimentary screen...when I upgrade my screen, 720p might make a bigger difference.  The next projector I test will be a 4000 lm XGA product.

For 2007 I'm thinking about a few things...and have picked up some great ideas from this forum.

This time I'll probably switch to PVC for my screen frame, based on many of the stories on this site.  Certainly going to 16:9 aspect ratio, but haven't figured out the best material yet.  I'll probably try BlueRay this go around, and certainly want to try the setup with a Wii.

One reason I went with steel the first time was for the ability to completely tear down and throw in the SUV...with PVC I'm assuming I'll need to glue up at least portions of the frame.  So I'd love to hear thoughts about the trade-offs between structural strength and portability.

Again…I’m greatly enjoying reading about your theaters.  Thanks for sharing your experiences.

-Tim Anderson

[hiredpower]

- InFocus LP850 (4500 lumens)

Holy Crap!

Welcome to the party Husky Fan.

[iowawing]

4500 lumens!
Back Yard Theater with a noon starting time for the feature?

Welcome to the forum.

iowawing

[Backyard Paradise]

Great set up. Love the screen. It looks like a hollywood squares with the cast of shrek  Any employee deals you want to pass along?
Kevin

[tlogan6797]

HuskyFan -

I can highly recommend PVC. And Blackout cloth for the screen. My big screen is portable and I set up and take down for every show. I did not glue ANY of my connectors, but I kept my measurements down to about 9X12. I have two 10ft back supports, 4 ~9ft supports and everything else is 4ft. Everything holds up extremely well connected hand tight. It withstood some pretty good gusts two Halloweens ago.  ALL my gear fits in my SUV, I just leave the 6 longest poles hanging out the back window,. But then again, I usually only have to drive them up the street to set up. I would suggest that even cutting down the longest poles and using connectors should work out. Maybe drill a couple of holes and run some lag bolts through just to be sure.

Good luck,
Tom

[Biotron2000]

I love my PVC frame, too. I glued the connector pieces down on one side to keep the number of mis-placeable parts to a minimum. My screen is 12'x7' and it breaks down enough to get in my small SUV along with the plastic tubs containing the rest of my gear.
I'm still working on a good portable base system for it--not that it's very heavy, but the screen catches the wind like a sail. I'm going to build two stands from 4x4s this weekend and test them out.


Patrick

[mailmandan]

HuskyFan -

<<snippage>>
 I would suggest that even cutting down the longest poles and using connectors should work out. Maybe drill a couple of holes and run some lag bolts through just to be sure.

A trick I borrowed from some older tent poles has worked well for other PVC projects. I would think it should work here as well.

Drill a hole near the end of each piece to be connected. Then knot some thin bungee cord, string it through the hole in one piece, throught the connecting point, and out the hole in the other piece. Put the pieces together and knot the remaining end so the cord is taut but still loose enough that you can pull the pieces apart.

In addition to helping hold the connection together during use, it will also keep the pieces together as a unit during storage and helps one remember which end of which piece connects where.

Hope that helps. And I hope even more so that I get to put into use some of the great info I'm seeing on this site (I just got here today <g>).