LCD projectors (see the links in my previous post) use a combination of three monochromatic LCD screens, combine that with the bulb which costs $100+, and it’s pretty easy to see why.
You probably want to make sure you have the neighbour’s permission, too.
I’d suggest renting a projector of similar spec to the best you can afford. Some models can’t zoom narrowly enough to project a great distance without it broadening into a huge, pale image.
You should really just rent a projecter, see how it works, maybe rent a couple if the first one doesn’t work very well, and then after you’ve tested them out, think about buying.
Oops, not sure how I missed that comment; I did go back and look for it several times. Ah well. I still say rent one first.
Definitely rent! Usually, office rental places will credit the rental towards a purchase.
I’ve had a used LCD “presentation projector” for years. It was pretty darn fancy in 2000 and though it’s hardly a powerhouse or feature-filled by today’s standards, it works, indoor or outdoor, just fine. Mine has composite, S-video and RGB inputs, so you’ll have no difficulty finding one that interfaces with video gear
I concede that you’re going to have significant degradation at 20+ ft, but you know what? It really doesn’t matter! As a kid, I gratefully watched much worse, on TV, in run-down drive-ins, cartoons projected each night on a brick wall abutting an outdoor cafe in Ottowa, etc. The whole sense of event makes up for everything
However, I think the logistics of the audio will be tougher than vieo quality issues: you don’t want to wake the neighborhood (hey, invite them over!0 and sound dissipates quickly outdorrs. With video, you can always adjust distance and size to get a compromise you can live with. With audio, if it ain’t there, it ain’t there, and you’ll be stuck huddling near the speakers – why bother?
Though I recently bought a bulb for it on eBay ($150 vs $400 retail) "just in case, I consider it an incredible bargain compared to my friends who bought rear projection CRTs (and paid $100 each year for to have it retuned until the CRTs got burned in and they had to buy a new one) or plasmas and other screens. They spent much more than I did (admittedly I got an incredible deal) and got a fraction of the screen area.
To me -and it’s a personal call- the difference in contrast indoors is minimal, and other minor disadvantages have been barely worth mentioning. The eye adapts – or even the best broadcast TV 15-20 years ago would have driven us mad and blind. To my father, who has medical conditions that impact his vision and ability to comfortably position his body, it’s been more than a godsend.
Give it a try and see for yourself. Maybe I’m an idiot, but I’ve heard/read so many naysayers on so many forums, yet I’ve personally had nothing but enjoyment.
For the past 5 years, I’ve run the AV for the annual meeting of mosquito people here in NJ. We’ve used a variety of laptop projectors, generally within the 1200 lumen range to project onto a 12 or 15x15 ft screen in a large ballroom. The picture shows up best, of course, if the room is darkened, but it is quite acceptable under dim lighting as well. The last on we’ve used was the Infocus LP250 ((1300 lumens). The bulb replacement costs are horrendous, but the projectors are also used for lectures and seminars, and we’ve rarely had to replace the bulb.
I can’t see why it wouldn’t work, but I also go along with the suggestion of renting one to see the results. One thing that I’ve noticed is that the color output varies considerably among models (but this may be something to do with the interplay of Powerpoint presentations and drivers - video tape seems to be more consistent).