Summer Movie Night Essentials: How to Host a Backyard Movie Night

Warm August (and September) nights are perfect for taking the projector out back and having an intimate summer movie night with the family. Whether you’re looking to get in that last bit of fun before the kids go back to school, or take advantage of the good weather on Saturday nights, we’ve got a list of all the essentials you’ll need to make your backyard movie night a fun experience for the whole family.

To host your backyard movie night, you’ll need:

• A Projector
• A Screen Surface & Projector Surface
• A Video Source
• A Sound System (Optional)
• A Power Source
• Comfy Seating
• Snacks (Optional if You Want Cranky People)
• The Movie!

Chances are, if you’re planning on hosting a backyard movie night this summer, you’ve already got a projector, or at least have a projector in mind. If not, here are a few projectors we’ve reviewed that would be great for outdoor viewing at night, all under $1,000:

AAXA M6 ($599 List Price) – The AAXA M6 is a 1,200 lumen DLP pocket projector with an LED light engine. It has full HD resolution (1080p) and can even run on battery power for approximately 90 minutes (500 lumens when on battery power). It has good color and built in 2-watt stereo speakers that will be loud enough for an intimate summer movie night. It also has respectable input lag for gaming, in case you want to do an outdoor gaming night!

Acer K138ST ($599 List Price) – The Acer K138ST is, first and foremost, a portable gaming machine. It has the lowest input lag of any projector we’ve reviewed recently, at just over 16ms. That’s about as fast as they come! It has WXGA resolution (1280x800), making it comparable to 720p. It claims 800 lumens, which is plenty bright for nighttime viewing. It has decent color and two 3-watt speakers built in.

Epson Home Cinema 2100 ($849 List Price) – The Epson Home Cinema 2100 is one of my favorite home entertainment projectors for under $1,000. This 1080p, 2,500 lumen 3LCD projector is currently $699 on Epson’s website! What a deal! I reviewed the HC2150 and am happy to say this projector has excellent color, sharpness, and is bright enough to use during the day in a room with moderate ambient light.

The only real difference between the two is that the HC2150 has wireless and a slightly higher contrast ratio (currently $799 on Epson’s website). Both have a powerful 10-watt speaker, plenty loud for a larger outdoor movie night or one in a louder neighborhood. They both have lens shift as well, so you don’t have to perfectly position the projector to fit your screen – you can shift the image yourself!

If you've got the budget, I highly recommend getting either the Epson Home Cinema 2100 or HC2150 – it's well worth the price!

There’s no wrong way to project the film for your outdoor movie night. I’ve seen people project on the walls of their homes, or drape white sheets over fences, hang them from trees, or even rig up their own pole-system to tie the sheet to. The latter could easily be done with a few PVC pipes.

This is an easy one. If your computer has HDMI, you can use a laptop to project your movie. Just make sure you change the display settings so that the screensaver doesn’t interrupt the film. You can also use a DVD or Blu-ray player, or a gaming console such as a PlayStation or Xbox. If you’ve got a steaming stick that works with your projector (the Epsons mentioned above have MHL ports for streaming), you can use that, too.

The NVIDIA Shield (affiliate link) is also an option if you want to stream your movie from Netflix and have a super portable video source. I have a Shield that I’ve been using for some time, but haven’t gotten around to writing the review for it yet. I can tell you that I absolutely love the NVIDIA Shield as a portable streaming player and have taken it traveling many times. It’s smaller than a DVD case and as light as one, too.

Most projectors that are suitable for an outdoor movie night will have their own speakers built in. But, as with all built-in speakers, the sound just lacks that deep resonance you find with a proper speaker. Some options for external sound systems are:

• A Portable Speaker
• Computer Speakers
• A Guitar Amplifier that accepts a 1/8” input jack (or a 1/4” to 1/8” adapter)

Most projectors under $1,000 do not have Bluetooth capabilities (though some do) so if you’ve got one that you want to use, make sure it has an 1/8” input for an AUX cable, or you won’t be able to use it.

This is an easy one. If you’re hosting your movie night in your backyard, you can use an extension cord to run power from inside the house or one of your outdoor outlets. Plug a power strip into the extension cord, and your projector and sound system into the power strip, and you’re golden! I like to use surge protector power strips for projectors in case of random power outages.

What’s a movie experience without popcorn? The answer: Just a movie. Popcorn and jumbo-sized M&Ms, Dips, Sour Patch Kids, and drinks are a must have for your summer movie night. Bonus points if you get your own little popcorn maker or shaved ice machine! It’s also super fun for kids if you do a little movie-themed decorating for your snack table. There are tons of ideas on Pinterest for doing so, but I’ve included a few inspiration photos in the slider above for you!

This is the most important essential of the night! It is the reason you put this whole thing together, so pick a movie that you’ve been wanting to see or that the whole family already enjoys. I’ve made a list of family friendly movies to watch for your summer movie night below. A personal favorite that I watched only recently is Kubo. It was visually stunning and had a compelling storyline, but I wouldn’t recommend it for the littles. There are some rather freaky parts that I wouldn’t want to show anyone under 6 – but that’s just my opinion!

Got an epic setup for your summer movie night? Show us your photos! Post a comment on our Facebook with some photos of your backyard movie night for a chance to get featured on our blog.

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