Summer is here, which means many of us, myself included, have begun the annual ritual of gardening. Weeding, fighting that one fighting fox that keeps dispersing (not in the jazz sense) on the porch, and, of course, fixing the outdoor cinema.
In my case, that involved taking one of our portable projectors, along with an Anker SOLIX C300X power bank and a 70-inch Xgimi screen, which has become an essential item in my camping bag, out of our eaves storage area and set up outside, under our parasol.
What can I say, my wife and I enjoy the occasional movie night under the stars when it’s warm enough. And this year it is very intense as I was informed that we have volunteered by friends to hold viewing parties during the World Cup. I don’t even like football…
Editor’s note: Haloumi and slices of Fiorentina rank higher than nachos and popcorn as movie snacks. Trust me, I’ve done the research. Just make sure you invest floating party tray if you plan to enjoy them in a hot tub. I’ve also done that research and can personally attest that pizza and steaming, hot chlorinated water is not a good combination, especially if you’re the one who has to clean the tub.
But, if you want to really enjoy the experience and, like me, are limited to a portable, battery-powered unit, I have one key tip: invest in a Bluetooth receiver with dual-link support and a few pairs of wireless headphones (or earbuds).
Why do they do that when most portable projectors already have Bluetooth and a built-in audio system? The answer is surprisingly simple: to consider the people around me.
I’m a night owl, and my wife is someone who doesn’t need much sleep. So we often enjoy watching movies in the garden, or when we leave the camp, until late at night. And we, as evidenced by my recent ode to Hokumenjoy horror movies.
Which is great, but if you live in a Victorian terraced house in London’s third arrondissement and have neighbors with young children, you have a blast speaker. Tuesday the 13th at full volume at 11pm is not a smart move – especially if you’ve already accidentally injured said children during your last BBQ when a “friend” decided Gwar was a good choice for background music. Never let Gerald Lynch, from our sister site, The Shortlist, near your Bluetooth speaker…
Therefore, having the option to continue enjoying our films, without keeping the whole area up, by switching to our headphones or earbuds after dark, is a game changer.
It’s the same when you’re camping. Even if there aren’t people around, a little noise pollution can go a surprisingly long way for a good outdoors, so it’s worth trying to keep things reasonably contained after dark. Even with headphones on, I could avoid watching Evil Dead while he is actually camping in the woods. I still haven’t figured that out after my wife caught me off guard with an advanced real-world jump scare a few years ago.
I haven’t used enough receivers to say which is best. But for now I’m rocking the AirFly Pro 2, which works great, for these purposes. Connect it to your beamer with a 3.5mm aux input, and it will connect two pairs of wireless speakers without conflict, and offer aptX HD Adaptive streaming.
Sure, the sound isn’t perfect, but considering what we watch while outside, it’s good enough and delivers the main thing I care about about outdoor cinema – a fun night under the stars.
I can’t ask for more than that, really.
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