Home Entertainment

How to set up a "Home Cinema" in your back yard! /  by PIGSY

Have you ever wanted to watch Movies in the Garden?

Here’s how you can set up your own home movie theatre in your backyard in a few easy steps!

When I lived in Ireland I always thought that having a home cinema in your back garden was something very cool. However with good weather being fairly unreliable I never went ahead and set up one in my garden.

However, when I moved to Malaga in Spain I figured that it would be the perfect opportunity to go ahead with my plan and set up a home movie theatre on my balcony - or as a balcony is called in Spain, my “terrace”. During these covid times I am not venturing to the cinema and so having a home movie screen means that I am not missing out on watching films but I am also social distancing at home and therefore keeping my circle of contacts very small. Home entertainment definitely seems like a wise choice at this time. Also here in Malaga the weather is perfect for sitting outside in late at night. It is September now and still very warm.

Malga apartment wall for projecting movies on to

The terrace in my apartment is perfect for a home cinema set up. We live on the top floor (atico) and there is a gable wall of the apartment next to us, that is in a perfect position for us to use to project movies on to.

Home Cinema Location Choice

The terrace in my apartment is perfect for a home cinema set up. We live on the top floor (atico) and there is a gable wall of the apartment next to us, that is in a perfect

Look how the projection looks like when the sun goes down!

image of what it looks like when I projected an episode of “Narcos” up on to the side gable of my house so I could enjoy a home cinema experience outside on my terrace here in Malaga, Spain

We are currently watching “Narcos” and the outdoor projector is definitely giving us that “big screen” experience at home.

Here’s how I set up home cinema experience on my terrace and the steps you can take in order to set up your home movie theatre (indoors or outdoors).

Follow through the steps I outline below to set up your own outdoor movie theatre in your garden or on your terrace!

5 Steps to Set Up your Home Cinema

  1. Scope out where is the best place to project on to. You are going to need a large blank wall (preferably white), but if you don’t have a blank wall you can buy a projector screen and use that.

  2. Consider how you are going to power your projector and laptop set up. If you don’t have an outside plug you are going to need to use an extension lead or power strip with a long cable.

  3. Buy a projector. I bought mine on Amazon and it was delivered ridiculously fast. I ordered it about 3pm on Friday and it arrived the next day at 9.30am. Projectors can be really pricy but I budgeted about 100 euro and decided upon the Vamvo Full HD 1080P Mini L4200 Projector with Dolby.

  4. Think about speakers. The projector I purchased has built in speakers which worked perfectly. However, my apartment is above a really busy street with bars and restaurants below so it is NOISY! I am going to try using an additional blue tooth portable speaker that I have and look at connecting it by cable to the projector. Depending on your situation, you may not need additional speakers and the built in ones on the projector may suffice.

  5. Set up is very easy. Firstly it is a matter of plugging in your laptop and projector and then connecting them together with an HDMI cable.

  6. You will then need to look at positioning the projector in order to have the screen the size you need on the wall.

  7. Finally once you have something up on the screen you can use the manual lens focus to get the screen in to focus.

Choose snacks and wait for the sun to go down!

It’s that easy to set up your own home movie entertainment system - all you have to do now is decide on what chairs to use (I like a lounger with a light blanket), what snacks to eat and then wait for the sun to go down!

Benefits of a Home Cinema

If I haven’t sold you already on the Home Cinema concept, here’s a list of some of the benefits

  1. You can watch what you like when you like (although if you have set up outside, you will need to wait until it gets dark. If you went for an indoor set up you can just pull the curtains!)

  2. You can make your own snacks and just pause the movie when you go for a refill of popcorn in the kitchen

  3. The family pet can enjoy the film too!

  4. You don’t need to get a babysitter if you have little ones in the house - just pop them to bed promptly and set up the cinema in the front room

  5. You can watch a film over two nights if you get tired halfway through it

  6. You can have a beer or wine or even a cocktail while watching your movie…….a signature cocktail could be created for when you are showing a film or you could even create a specialty cocktail while watching particular films eg. 1920’s cocktails for The Great Gatsby

  7. You can lounge and wear your pyjamas and get cosy under a blanket

  8. You can talk during the film

Have I missed out on any other benefits to watching movies at home? Let me know in the comments section below!