Nebula’s Handy DIY Projector Screen Guide

Hey, Nebula fans!

When buying a projector, the next item to land in your shopping cart, more often than not, is a projector screen. It’s a commonly held belief that you absolutely MUST buy a professional-grade projector screen when using a projector.

In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. It’s possible to create your own projector screen at home or even when out adventuring in the great outdoors. All it takes is a little DIY to transform almost any surface into your own projection screen.

At Home

Did you know that your house comes pre-installed with several possible projector screens? That’s right! If the conditions are right, you can convert that simple household wall into an awesome home movie theater.

All it takes is 3 easy steps:

  • Paint it White: Make sure your wall is painted in a plain white color. This helps increase light reflecting off its surface, resulting in a bright image. To really get the best picture from your wall, you can also paint it with a specialized screen paint.
  • Keep it Smooth: Ensure that your wall’s surface is as smooth as Michael Bublé’s voice. Bumps, cracks, and uneven textures can cast shadows that might distract you from the movie.
  • Frame it: Further enhance your movies by adding a black border around your new projection wall. It might sound outrageous, but the black outline helps you focus on the image, improving its quality.

Outdoors

The home may be where the heart is, but with the Nebula Capsule series, you can take your home theater with you.

However, while the Capsule series is small and light enough to carry in your bag or backpack, the same cannot be said for traditional projector screens. They’re far too bulky and heavy. Just imagine trying to hike up a mountain with a 120-inch screen strapped to your hiking bag!

Thankfully, the great outdoors has plenty of potential DIY projector screens. Whether you’re camping in the deep woods or setting up for movie night in the backyard, all you need is a flat white sheet or canvas cloth. Just hang the sheet from a tree, secure it against the wind, and you’re good for go for a night of breathtaking action under the stars.

And if you love exploring the wonders of the world in style, the sides of an RV also make a great surface for playing your favorite movies and shows. As with the walls in your house, a light white RV is ideal.

So Many Ideas
From the sides of a cave to a simple garden fence, there are hundreds of DIY projector screens out there for you to find. We’d love to hear from you if you’re planning on building your own DIY projector screen. Just comment down below and share with others how you intend to transform the world into your own personal projector screen.

But of course, you can’t create an awesome DIY screen without a projector to enjoy it with. For one day only, we’re offering deals on several of our most popular projectors. Don’t miss this awesome opportunity, as it’ll be gone forever in only 24 hours.

Capsule II: Was $579.99, Now $412.49, Get 28% OFF

Capsule: Was $349.99, Now $223.99, Get 36% OFF

Prizm II: Was $229.99, Now $172.99, Get 24% OFF

Valid on Sept 6, 2019, for 24 hours only.

8 Likes

The fire next to the projector will harm this of course.
I would not suggest to set up it like the foto shows.

REALLY SILLY!

5 Likes

Using my Prizm II (received as a gift last year) I have tried multiple different surfaces and places to project. Here’s my experience so far.

Best choice: Projector screen/ photography backdrop. A completely flat paper, vinyl or fabric sheet works very well to project on. Contrast comes out well, and the colors are bright. (Note: reflective/glossy backdrops and screens do not make for a good time. That will blind everyone in the room. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:)

Secondary choice: Blank wall. As this post itself says, a smooth white wall is a good screen in itself. My house has the “bumpy” Orange peel-like walls, which doesn’t affect the picture as much as I thought it would. It is easy to notice each bump on a blank white screen, but for the majority of tasks, a wall would work excellently.

Outside stuff: I have used stucco, garage doors, the ground (from a treehouse, no idea what I was thinking) and a large dirt pile with a white sheet draped over top.
Stucco doesn’t look terrible. The picture becomes more “grainy” (see what I did there) and adds some artifacts to whatever you’re viewing. Garage doors work well, as long as they don’t have large protrusions or fancy details. The folding door (a la suburban midwest neighborhood) entice people driving or walking by. Excellent on Halloween or another night where many people see your house.
As for projecting straight down from a treehouse… Yeah, don’t do this. My Prizm II didn’t fall, but looking straight down to watch a movie didn’t make for a good experience.
And of course, the classic “drape a white sheet over any large object.” It’s good enough for a quick movie or video, but I would not recommend it for those who expect movie-theater levels of quality.

This is just my basic experience from 4-5 months of random usage with my Projector. I am by no means an expert, I just have fun watching movies with my family and friends.

Note: to those wanting to make a DIY projector screen, materials such as PVC pipe and photography paper/ white sheets are cheap and readily available. Here are some easy directions I found online. https://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/resource-center/diy-pvc-outside-movie-theater/
https://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/diy-outdoor-movie.html

-paperairplaneguru

3 Likes

Thanks for sharing you experience with us! Garage door is absolutely a good choice, makes it more like a drive-in theater. So much fun! :laughing:

Curently without power, but thanks to the Nebula Mars II and it’s amazing 4 hour battery life we are still able to watch movies during this huricane.

3 Likes

How’s everything? Make sure to take care of you and your family! :hugs:

What did you use as the projector screen? Did you just project directly on a white wall? The image looks great haha! :wink:

Looks like it’s on an actual screen, since you can see the stand below it :wink:

I thought that was the stand of the projector. :joy:

I have a screen that’s hanging from the bay window curtain rod. The stand you see is actually the tripod I have the nebula Mars II on.

And yes we are doing ok, I have a generator running to keep the fridge and freezer running. Were all sitting here watching The Grinch

2 Likes

Indeed it is the stand the projector is on

2 Likes

You were correct :bowing_man:

1 Like

Maybe when the weather is nice, you can try to build a DIY screen while taking the projector for an outside theater. Right now, just be sure to stay safe. :grin:

I actually have plans to add a solid frame to this screen so I can work out all the wrinkles and mount it anywhere. I did use it outdoors with two extended monopods, but that was more of a pain because the wind kept trying to blow it over.
I’ll figure something out for our outdoor adventures

I have a similar plan for a screen that I’ll hopefully put together soon.

Thats AWESOME! never weighed the benefits of it being battery powered.
Stay safe in that storm.

Nice a battery powered Projector :film_projector:

I love the fact the battery in the Mars II last for 4 hours. We was able to get 2 movies in before everyone went to bed. I stayed up to man the generator and make sure if anything happened I was ready to spring into action. Power came back on around 5 this morning

Forget the projector. That fire is really close to the humans. It’ll burn off their legs before it gets to the projector!!!

Or maybe that is the latest Soundcore LED fireplace speaker.
:grin:

2 Likes