Greetings from Kansas (and some questions) (1 Viewer)

[jackalope]

Hi, guys (and ladies)!
My name is Dean, and it's nice to meet you.
Came here due to lack of experience, since this is a whole new territory to me.

I was tossing around the idea of setting up a projector, screen, and some speakers in the backyard at the end of the pool opposite from the house. What would do the trick as far as luminosity goes? I would need to find something bright enough that should a game start during dusk we could still see the screen. From some very, very brief research I suppose I should be looking for something with at least 2000 lumen, 1080p, and an HDMI connector (although we'll most likely be streaming movies and games from our laptop, not connecting to a blu-ray player).
I also checked the wirecutter, but their "cheapest" outdoor options just don't fit my budget. As for now, I'm choosing between Apeman Mini and Elephas-YG600, since I have 300$ for a projector (400$ at max, but then I'd need to go cheap on speakers, which is not great). As I know, to buy a used one is not an option. But maybe you have any other recommendations?

I also realize it's not an entirely cheap endeavor, but if I can do things on the cheaper end of the spectrum that would be awesome.

Also, how complicated is it to run cable outside? We would probably have to get an additional cover box for the projector, so here comes another question. Is it better to make a DIY or buy a branded one from your experience?

Thanks again for letting me join, and I really appreciate any feedback on this!

 

[Sam Posten]

Welcome Dean. Your specific use case isn't something I'm super familiar with sorry. As far as projectors go the cheapest I recommend is the BenQ 1070a or 3050

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016LEAIJG/ref=emc_b_5_t

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075XSCDS8/ref=emc_b_5_t

Maybe some of our other members can give you better options..

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

You didn't say how large you expect to project, but neither of those two projectors will give you any usable brightness with a picture larger than, maybe 50" or so. And neither is 1080p HD.

You'd be better off stretching your budget a bit if at all possible and getting something like the BenQ 2050A, which can be had for around $500 from the BenQ outlet, or the Optomoa HD143X.