Outdoor Living Rooms
Creating great outdoor home theaters
You don’t have to plan an expensive vacation or spend loads of cash to provide memorable entertainment for family and friends. While entertaining at home may seem limiting, it is easy to enhance simple backyard gatherings and barbecues by equipping an outdoor space with the same electronic devices that you use indoors. Setting up an outdoor living room furnished with theater and music capabilities is a quick and convenient way to utilize the space you have and enjoy entertainment on a larger scale.
Inflatable Screens & Outdoor Projectors: Maximizing Your Viewing Experience
Going to a drive-in isn’t the only way to get an outdoor theater experience. Nowadays, there are various products available for designing personal outdoor home theaters. Inflatable screens are commonly sold in convenient, collapsible cases or zippered bags, along with ropes, stakes and tethers for stabilization. These screens are offered in a variety of sizes, can be set up in minutes and maintain their inflated state by way of internal high pressure blowers. The blowers for a larger screen can be noisy and may overpower the audio, so you must pair your screen with an adequate sound system.
In addition to inflatable screens, basic outdoor projection screens are available in portable or stationary format. For smaller budgets, a wall-mounted retractable screen can be purchased, or you can improvise with white sheeting. When buying a commercial screen, make sure that the product is made of weatherproof material and check to see what components are included. In most cases, LCD projectors and outdoor speakers must be bought separately.
Since lighting conditions outdoors are not as stable as indoors, buying a projector that produces a clear image is essential. Projectors with a higher light output (measured in lumens) will allow you to use your outdoor screen even while there is still light outside. Screen size will also determine projector strength (or vice versa). For example, a screen with a 9-foot width will operate best with at least 1500 lumens.
Some outdoor projectors are specifically designed to withstand weather conditions, but if you choose to use a regular machine, the projector can be housed in a simple cabinet and mounted under the deck or above a shed. To prevent overheating, filters on all outdoor projectors must be cleaned regularly.
Outdoor Stereos: Maximizing Your Audio Experience
Whether for showing movies and playing video games on the big screen or for just playing music in the backyard, high-quality outdoor stereo systems are crucial elements of outdoor living rooms. Many weatherproof stereo systems are available and can be installed in areas that are not noticeable to onlookers. Such systems are usually accompanied by all-purpose, wireless outdoor speakers that can be connected to all electronic devices requiring audio.
Outdoor speakers feature a range of designs and capabilities, including floating pool speakers, speakers camouflaged as rocks and mountable speakers. To expand your media selection, look for a stereo system with a USB input for MP3 players and other connections based on your needs. When you’re done combining the right features to design your personal backyard entertainment center, pull out the lawn chairs for a larger-than-life experience.
