This post was most recently updated on December 27th, 2020
Indoor vs Outdoor Projector Use – Location and Application Matters
Congratulations! Now that you own that cool projector that’s going to project your movies, home movies, and video games on the big screen, you’re going to need a sound system to complement the whole setup to bring the entire experience together.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when selecting a home theater stereo system to match your new projector.
Where will you be using the projector? How many people will be watching? These are all the things you have to ask yourself and take into consideration.
Many of the surround sound wireless systems will be adequate( and as far as price goes) for this type of situation, you probably have the most options as far as range and budget. It is not as specialized as say an outdoor movie event, where there could be hundreds of people.
Not only may wireless not be the perfect setup but often times when you have huge crowds, there’s too much open space and distance. That outdoor sound system would have to be able to crank out lots of and lots of volume. This always involves a separate amp with wattage along with matching speakers that can handle the high volume.
In almost every situation, a good quality projector will be able to interface with both types of settings: Indoor home movie theaters or outdoor movies.
Which One is Better Indoor Sound Systems or Outdoor Sound Systems?
They both have their strengths and weaknesses. Wireless connections generally are better for indoor systems. This is very convenient. Why? Because sometimes you, your family or friends will have all sorts of different devices.
You have a laptop, your relative has an iPhone, your kids have an android tablet. Now if you want to stream say home movies or video content from your tablet(whatever type it is) you’ll need to have specific adapters if you don’t have a wireless connection.
This is very tedious, and even if you get the adapters, sometimes there are quirks and technical problems you’ll run into and it still won’t work.
With outdoor venues where you’re showing Outdoor movies, again, there could be interference, weather-related issues, just a bad wireless signal in general where you’re just better off using a reliable wired connection.
That’s the downside of outdoor sound systems, you don’t always have that wireless convenience.
The other likely downside of having just an outdoor sound system is cost.
An amplifier, preamp and heavy-duty speakers are not only more expensive, this setup has to be put together separately. There are more technical details that have to be considered, less of the plug and play, all in one aspect that the indoor sound systems usually already have in place right out of the box.
Bluetooth vs WiFi – Be careful not to confuse the two
Both technologies allow you to connect devices wirelessly. This includes streaming music and transferring files, but Bluetooth is not designed to cover large areas and distances.
A Bluetooth signal will significantly weaken and degrade with increased distance, or if many obstacles like walls and objects block the signals path.
Between the two Bluetooth or WiFi, WiFi should always be the preferred method for both if a distance between two devices is a factor. Bluetooth should be fine for shorter distances and a few feet and within the areas of a standard room size.
The Outdoor Sound System Advantage
- As you would expect from what we just mentioned. In a nutshell what the outdoor sound system gives you is, Volume. You need more volume being outdoors so naturally, it’s a given that the big amp you have and the heavier duty speakers will crank out the volume.
- Indoor use. You can easily use an outdoor sound system indoors, even in a huge ballroom, or large gymnasium. There is almost no limit or restriction for the outdoor sound system, not the case for the Indoor sound system This is exactly why you need to know where you want to use the projector and how often you’ll be using it in that particular location when you select your sound system. Indoor sound systems will have their limits, though they’ll have some of their advantages, like wireless, and portability.
Home Theater Stereo System Simplified
Ok so we’ve discussed the complexities of choosing the correct home movie theatre system. The important thing to remember if this is your first projector is you’re going to need a separate sound system.
In a small office where a projector is just being used for presentations, a Home Theater Stereo System may not be absolutely necessary.
A simple sound bar-style speaker is a low-cost option for many projector owners who want to get a decent quality sound for their indoor home theatre setup.
