Do you think it is necessary?

J

Jerry KT

Audiophyte
Hey everyone, I bought a new and not expensive projector last weekend for my back yard. I want to leave it outside, no need to move in and out. So I'd like to buy a enclosure to protect it from rain, bugs, if it can be anti-theft that will be very great. Can anyone please give me some advice? Or recommend the brand, online store. Thanks very much.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Hey everyone, I bought a new and not expensive projector last weekend for my back yard. I want to leave it outside, no need to move in and out. So I'd like to buy a enclosure to protect it from rain, bugs, if it can be anti-theft that will be very great. Can anyone please give me some advice? Or recommend the brand, online store. Thanks very much.
That was a really bad idea. Unless you have found a projector specifically designed for out door use that unit will soon fail.

Projectors are designed to be used in an indoor controlled environment that controls temperature in a relatively narrow range as well as humidity. That includes whether they are on or off.

Electronics designed for outdoor use is very different. For one thing the semiconductor devices are designed with a much greater temperature range tolerance. If you look at sites like Mouser you will see that devices of the same type with different prefixes that in their spec have a much wider temperature tolerance. In addition the boards are are completely covered in a soft rubbery plastic. I don't know if you have ever seen a board from a modern auto, such as an EAC board, but it is completely encased in this protection.

I have not searched to see if there is a projector warrantied and specked for outside use, but there may be. You certainly should not be using a device designed for indoor use outside, unless you shed has its own HVAC and environmental control.
 
J

Jerry KT

Audiophyte
That was a really bad idea. Unless you have found a projector specifically designed for out door use that unit will soon fail.

Projectors are designed to be used in an indoor controlled environment that controls temperature in a relatively narrow range as well as humidity. That includes whether they are on or off.

Electronics designed for outdoor use is very different. For one thing the semiconductor devices are designed with a much greater temperature range tolerance. If you look at sites like Mouser you will see that devices of the same type with different prefixes that in their spec have a much wider temperature tolerance. In addition the boards are are completely covered in a soft rubbery plastic. I don't know if you have ever seen a board from a modern auto, such as an EAC board, but it is completely encased in this protection.

I have not searched to see if there is a projector warrantied and specked for outside use, but there may be. You certainly should not be using a device designed for indoor use outside, unless you shed has its own HVAC and environmental control.
Hi,

Thank you so much.
There is no shed or shade at my back yard. I just want to mount it on a tripod. I have looked at some companies ( VIZBOX, DEERTV, etc.) which sell projector enclosures. It is waterproof, dust-free and has cooling system. But I'm not sure if it will overheat when the projector works.
 
TheWarrior

TheWarrior

Audioholic Ninja
Hi,

Thank you so much.
There is no shed or shade at my back yard. I just want to mount it on a tripod. I have looked at some companies ( VIZBOX, DEERTV, etc.) which sell projector enclosures. It is waterproof, dust-free and has cooling system. But I'm not sure if it will overheat when the projector works.
TLS explained it pretty thoroughly above. If you are using an indoor projector outdoors, and expect to be able to leave it outdoors in anything other than an Air Conditioned room, it will not serve you as long as it should.
 
J

Jerry KT

Audiophyte
TLS explained it pretty thoroughly above. If you are using an indoor projector outdoors, and expect to be able to leave it outdoors in anything other than an Air Conditioned room, it will not serve you as long as it should.
Thank you for your suggestion. Yes, I have read some articles this weekend. I will think about it.
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
I'm not sure what you bought, or why you didn't post the make/model of the projector which was purchased, but like buying a cheap laptop, and then putting it outside on a permanent basis, it just doesn't make sense.

A proper projector enclosure costs well over $1,000. You could maybe build something yourself for less, but you have both head, cold, and humidity that must be dealt with because projectors simply don't hold up, just like all electronics don't hold up, unless specifically designed for outdoor use.

I have seen very few actual prices on enclosures as they are extremely rare and very typically custom or highly specialized. But, I did find some here...
https://www.projectorenclosure.com/store/fan-cooled-projector-enclosures/
It's about $2,900 for a small outdoor rated fan cooled model and jumps to $4,000 for a small air conditioned unit.

If it were me, I would find a proper spot for a projector where I could easily install and remove it as necessary. For the money, it makes the most sense and certainly is a far more practical solution unless you are actually doing a very high end installation.
 
J

Jerry KT

Audiophyte
I'm not sure what you bought, or why you didn't post the make/model of the projector which was purchased, but like buying a cheap laptop, and then putting it outside on a permanent basis, it just doesn't make sense.

A proper projector enclosure costs well over $1,000. You could maybe build something yourself for less, but you have both head, cold, and humidity that must be dealt with because projectors simply don't hold up, just like all electronics don't hold up, unless specifically designed for outdoor use.

I have seen very few actual prices on enclosures as they are extremely rare and very typically custom or highly specialized. But, I did find some here...
It's about $2,900 for a small outdoor rated fan cooled model and jumps to $4,000 for a small air conditioned unit.

If it were me, I would find a proper spot for a projector where I could easily install and remove it as necessary. For the money, it makes the most sense and certainly is a far more practical solution unless you are actually doing a very high end installation.
Many thanks for your suggestion. I finally ordered a DEERTV projector enclosure and locate it at my garage with a tripod, it works great at least now.
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
Interesting product that you found. I haven't heard of them before.

I imagine that may work just fine for you for a while, depending on the projector you have. Long term it won't do much. While they claim it protects from humidity, I'm not sure how much it actually does so since it is open on the bottom and just moves unfiltered air in/out of the unit. Since this is not a cooled unit, it's just rain protection. But, it certainly is better than no protection at all. The fan in the back hopefully will play nicely with the projector in use. It depends on how the projector itself is moving air around.

Still, I can be overly critical of these types of things and I hope it works great for you for years to come.
 
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