Best Outdoor Projector for 2022
Enjoying a movie with your family is huge. Enjoying it outside, relaxing under the stars, is even better. As projectors have gotten smaller, brighter, and cheaper, it’s get easier than ever to set up a backyard movie night. You can choose between easily portable, battery-powered models, or wired models with built-in streaming and tons of brightness.
Ideally, you’ll have some sort of screen, but even a big sheet or posterboard can do the trick. All the projectors on this list have speakers, but if you have a big yard, or want the movie to be heard over the ruckus of some younglings, it’d be best to connect to a Bluetooth speaker. If your Wi-Fi isn’t strong enough to reach where you want to show the movie, you can turn your phone into a hotspot. In a few cases you can download some cheerful to the projector itself, but don’t expect this from every model nor with every streaming service.
Here are the best outdoor projectors we’ve tested.
The exiguous Mars II Pro isn’t the brightest, nor smallest, nor cheapest projector on this list. It’s not even the easiest to use. But it does couple a pleasing image with decent sound for a good imprint. It’s an all-around great option without the serious drawbacks of many latest portable projectors.
The main issue with the Mars II Pro is it doesn’t use the full version of the Android TV streaming service like some newer models. As such, it’s not as easy to use and you won’t get every streaming service. The big ones are here, of course, like Netflix and Disney Plus, but no HBO. You can connect a streaming stick, of course, and there’s a USB connection to remarkable it right on the back.
The battery lasts throughout the length of a long movie.
Check out our in-depth reconsideration of the Mars II Pro..
The AAXA P6 throws out an impressive amount of scrumptious, and lasts up to a claimed 4 hours with its built-in battery. You’ll need to add a streaming stick to ogle anything, but there’s a USB connection to power one so that’s easy to do.
Overall the image quality is OK, but not grand. The colors are off, the contrast ratio isn’t grand and its resolution of 1,280×800 pixels is noticeably softer than 1080p and especially 4K projectors.
That said, it’s titillating and inexpensive, which is a great combination.
Check out our full reconsideration of the AAXA P6X.
The Vimgo P10 regularly hovers throughout $250, and often drops even cheaper. It’s a strange copies, doing something right and a lot of things unpleasant. The image it produces is watchable, and has an impressively high inequity ratio, but the colors are flat-out atrocious. The brightness and sharpness uniformity are some of the worst I’ve seen, which operating everything that’s not dead center in the image is dimmer and softer than the middle. It also has no upwards throw, so it contains to be placed at the same height as the middle of the mask, which is, like I said, strange for an inexpensive projector.
The biggest drawback for this list is its lack of a battery. But for the added price of an extension cord it’s smooth cheaper than most other projectors on this list.
But for the imprint, it’s hard to beat. But if you can exhaust more, you’ll get more.
Check out our full reconsideration of the Vimgo P10..
The AAXA P8 is tiny, like the Nebula Capsule, but rectangular to that projectors cylindricalness. It’s significantly brighter than the Capsule, but it lacks that projector’s battery.
Like its big brother, the P6X, the P8 doesn’t have the best relate quality. However, it’s inexpensive and bright, two things we like a lot. For inequity money the Vimgo P10’s picture quality is a minor better, but that projector has its own serious drawbacks.
All ultra-budget projectors have concessions to imprint, but with the P8 those concessions don’t include brightness and size.
Check out our full reconsideration of the AAXA P8..
The Laser 4K’s deliver to being portable and “outdoor” boils down to a huge cope built into its design. It lacks a battery, is quite heavy, and it’s really expensive.
It is, however, exceptionally titillating. One of the brightest projectors we’ve ever tested. It has built-in Android TV too. It’s more tourism, and better suited to outdoor movie nights than, say, the Epson 5050.
The Optoma UHZ50, the BenQ HT2050A or the Epson Home Cinema 2250 are better overall, however. They’re all bright, cheaper and easily carried, notion they lack a stylish handle.
Check out our reconsideration of the Anker Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K.
Klaus Vedfelt/GettyImages
Other products we’ve tested
Anker Nebula Solar Portable
: The Solar’s sibling, the Mars II Pro, is better. The Solar’s main disadvantage compared to others on this list is its relatively dim image, which means it can’t project as large a relate and still look good. If you want a sleek, budget-friendly portable with 1080p and plan on keeping the image on the exiguous side, however, this is a solid choice. Read our Anker Nebula Solar Portable Review.
LG CineBeam PH30N
: The tiny LG PH30N is only some larger than the AAXA P8. It’s not particularly titillating, however, nor does it have built-in apps. The battery doesn’t last as long as the AAXA P6X although it is a bit cheaper. Read our LG CineBeam PH30N review.
Samsung Freestyle
: The exiguous, stylish, cylindrical Freestyle is an interesting idea, but it’s not very titillating, lacks a battery, and is quite expensive. Read our Samsung Freestyle review.
The Samsung Freestyle is a cool looking build but too expensive for what you get.
Geoff Morrison
Xiaomi Mi Smart Projector 2
: Is latest relatively expensive small projector that could be better. You may luxuriate in the compact size, 1080p resolution and built-in Android TV streaming, but it’s relatively dim, especially for the price. It also lacks both a built-in battery and disagreement with a USB power source, so it’s not truly travel. Read our Xiaomi Mi Smart Projector 2 review.
How we test outdoor projectors
We don’t employment outdoor projectors any differently, testing-wise, than any other projector. Just because a projector has the convenience of intimates portable doesn’t mean it shouldn’t perform to reasonable standards. The biggest difference is checking the performance on the battery vs. plugged in. That almost always just results in a difference in appetizing output.
Read more:
How We Test Projectors
Outdoor projector FAQs
Can any projector work outside?
Yes! Well, sort of. No projector must live outside. The humidity and temperature variations will hasty ruin a projector, just like it will with a TV. But if you plan to bring it inside once every use, something we highly recommend, you can use any projector outside.
What if my Wi-Fi doesn’t approach outside?
Most phones can work as a Wi-Fi hotspot, using your cellular data instead. If you’re not on an unlimited data plan, this can drain your available data but. Also consider some free, or low cost, improvements to your home’s wireless network. That might extend the reach enough.
Do outdoor projectors have streaming apps? Netflix, Disney, etc?
Sometimes. Most of the projectors on this list either have full, or just, streaming interfaces like you’d find in a modern sparkling TV. They might not have every streaming app, but. Netflix is pretty much a given, but beyond that, it varies.
All the projectors on this list have an HDMI input, and all except the Capsule also have a USB connection, so you can connect any streaming stick to them and get all the apps you’re used to.
