Why not rent a DVD projector for a couple of days? The cost is more affordable than you might think, and just take a look at all the ways you could use a rental projector for a summer camp or kids’ activity program:

1. Host a film festival featuring family favorites such as “The Goonies,” “Escape from Witch Mountain” or “Bedtime Stories.” Or you can rent new releases from Netflix – either way, with the cost of the projector and the movie rental, it’s still far less expensive than taking a big group of kids to the movie theater.

2. Teach the children how to use digital cameras, allow them to explore, and showcase a slide show of their best shots at the end of the day.

3. Create a gaming tournament – an LCD projector can easily hook up to your Wii, XBOX 360, or other gaming system.

4. Let the kids create skits, make props and act them out, then film them and display the video with the projector. Or have the counselors act them out and let the kids film. Or use a game show theme. Whichever way you choose, it’s sure to be hilarious!

5. Film a field trip, excursion or outdoor field day and project the video on the next day.

Plus, with a rental from Projector123.com, you’re not limited to just one of these activities – a one-day rental actually lasts for two days, so you can choose multiple activities from this list, or invent your own!  And Projector123.com will ship your rental projector to any location you specify, so there’s no worries about inconvenient pick up or drop off – we take the hassle out of renting a projector.

Click here to reserve an LCD projector rental from Projector123.com today.

Planning a Back Yard Movie Night

It’s easy to plan a backyard movie night — just rent a projector from Projector123.com, request some movies through your Netflix membership or pick up a flick on your way home from work, throw out some oversized pillows or lawn chairs, pop some popcorn and let the fun begin! As the sun goes down and the temperature cools off a bit, you’ll love being outside in the fresh air with an outdoor movie night.

Netflix is easy to use because you won’t have to worry about missing “all the good ones” at the movie rental store — you can browse and select movies online 24/7, place movies into your queue so there’s always something good to watch, and even pre-reserve your copy of the newest releases. Best of all, when you drop your rental projector into the FedEx box for return to Projector123.com, you just drop your Netflix rentals into a mailbox and your next movie will be en route to your home.

Taking Movie Nights to the Next Level

Instead of keeping the fun all to yourself, why not gather a few neighbors and share the fun? Find 3 other families who want to play and you can rotate the location of movie night from house to house. That way, each family gets a month’s worth of weekend fun for just the cost of the $99 projector rental.

You might even consider picking a different theme each week, and preparing snacks to fit that theme. For example, “Western movie night” can feature favorite western flicks, complete with an outdoor cookout.

However you decide to spend the summer, remember to include Projector123.com for all your rental projector needs. Click here to learn more or to get started. Click here to check out the Netflix free trial offer.

Why let drive-in movie theaters get all the credit for outdoor movie-viewing? Get your pals out of the minivan and on to a picnic blanket by creating your own outdoor movie night right at home. It’s an inexpensive way to avoid the frigid movie theater A/C and enjoy the summer weather.

Find a venue

And by “venue,” we mean your backyard. Making your outdoor movie theater is mainly a factor of space.

If you want a really big screen, remember that you’ll need to move the projector farther back to increase the “throw distance.” Your throw distance can be anywhere from 10 to 30 feet, depending on the projector’s specifications. Also factor in space to sit comfortably.

If you’re using our 2000 Lumen projector, 10 feet will get you a 76” screen, 20 will get you 151” and 30 feet will provide a 226” screen (diagonally). If you’re using our 3000 Lumen projector, 10 feet will get you 62”, 20 feet will get you 124”, 30 feet will get you 185” and — because of the extra light power — the 3000 Lumen projector can sit 39 feet away and fill a 243” screen.

If you can’t fit the show in your backyard (or you don’t have one), remember that you can’t just set up on the roof or in a park. You need access to power — a very important element. Between a projector, player and sound system, you’ll need plenty of it.

The screen

If you’ve got the cash for a projector screen, more power to you. We prefer to take the DIY approach to save a little cash. Affix the right surface to a wall (or just use the wall) and you have an instant screen.

The Wall

There aren’t many outdoor walls that are ideal for projecting against. Textures can cause a lot of distortion, so garage doors and cinderblocks are out. But a smooth white wall — even a slightly grey one — will work excellently.

The Bed Sheet

What’s the one largest white item you own? A bed sheet. Indeed, it’s a frequently utilized item for an impromptu projector screen. That’s because it works.

Make sure you measure in advance. You could need as many as two king-sized sheets sewn together.

The Fabric Store

If you’re going to the trouble of making your own screen at a fabric store, there’s one material that’s perfect. Look for “black-out fabric.” It’s designed for blocking light from coming through dainty window treatments, but its white vynil surface is very similar to an actual projector screen. Some devout DIY-ers make their own home theater screens from this stuff. It’s on the pricey side, but worth it.

Or, you can also read our article with additional tips for creating a simple projection surface.

Handling the actual A/V

Connecting your computer or DVD player is the same outdoors as it is inside — your projector should come with everything you need, including the instructions to walk you through it.

Handling audio in the backyard is a little more difficult. While many projectors (including Projector123’s) have built-in speakers, that won’t cut it in the great outdoors. Instead, you’ll need to run audio from your player to some external speakers. You have two options without calling in an over-priced sound pro:

Computer speakers

Computer speakers are ideal because they have an amplifier built right in. That means your outlet boosts the sound coming from your source (the laptop or DVD player), which makes the sound big enough to reach a small crowd.

IPod speakers will also do the trick.

Your indoor speakers

If you’re entertaining more than 15 people, you’ll probably need a beefier audio set-up and your indoor system will probably do the trick, even if the speakers look small.

Unlike your computer speakers, the ones on your home system don’t work by themselves. They need the help of an external receiver or amplifier. That’s also what makes them more powerful.

Using your indoor system is a much bigger commitment to wiring outside and disassembly inside, but it’ll make all the difference for a large group trying to enjoy an awesome explosion.

Between your speakers, source and the projector itself, you’ll be pulling a lot of power. Have a surge-protector in play as well.

The finishing touches

On the big day, plan on having everything ready before sunset. You’ll need the light to see what you’re plugging in where. And it’ll help you see the final checklist better. (You have a checklist, right?)

As the sun begins to dim, it’s advantageous to make other tweaks. You’ll be able to see how the image looks on the screen. First, make size adjustments, which might mean moving your whole arrangement. And as you loose more light, begin playing with the color, tint and brightness.

Once everything is tested and ready to go, find a nice patch of grass, some popcorn and a date. Enjoy the show — and the first movie theater you’ve ever been to without painful seats, over-priced snacks and those intimacy-hindering arm rests.

Images via Creative Commons 2.0 license courtesy of Flickr users Symic and Jetheriot.

We recently ran across this great article from Lorie on busymommy.us and wanted to share it with you. (You can see the full article by clicking here.)

My kids love pizza and love to watch movies, so why not do both in one night? This summer my kids made a list of fun things they wanted to do this summer and Pizza and a Movie night was one of those. I really like to do these nights because it’s a time for my family to spend together doing something fun. We usually get our movie from the Redbox, which cost $1.00, but we have also gotten movies from the library for FREE. I don’t cost the count of the pizza because I make it homemade and we would have had dinner anyways. So, I think this is a pretty frugal summer activity.

Here are the recipes that I used to make our pizza, pizza sauce cheesy breadticks, and Monkey Munch (our movie snack):

Pizza Hut Style Pizza Dough or Cheesy Breadsticks

* 1 1/3 cups water
* 2 tsp sugar
* 1 1/4 tsp salt
* 2 Tbsp olive oil
* 2 Tbsp cornmeal
* 3 1/4 cups flour
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 1/4 tsp garlic powder
* 1/4 tsp onion powder
* 1 1/2 tsp yeast

Add ingredients to bread machine, according to manufacturer’s settings, and run dough setting. After the machine beeps, roll out the dough. You can roll the dough into two 9×13″ pizzas (great for kid’s lunches!) or into two medium pizzas or a large pizza and an order of breadsticks (as instructed above). Parbake the crust with a drizzle of olive oil on it at 450 degrees for ten minutes. Remove the crust and add sauce and toppings. If making breadsticks, add your breadsticks at this time. Place into the oven for another ten to fifteen minutes or until golden and bubbly. Enjoy!

You can freeze your pizza dough for an easier night.

Easy Pizza Sauce

* 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
* 2 cloves garlic
* 3 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
* 4 teaspoons dried onion flakes
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1 teaspoon dried basil
* 2 cups water

Combine tomato paste, garlic, parsley flakes, onion, oregano, basil and water in 2 quart saucepan. Cook over medium high heat until mixture boils. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. Cool a little and spread on your pizza crust and proceed with remainder of your toppings.

Makes 3 cups

You can freeze this pizza sauce easily.

Monkey Munch

* 9 cup Chex
* 1 cup chocolate chips
* 1/2 cup peanut butter
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Put cereal in large bowl. Melt chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over Chex cereal, put into a large plastic bag with powdered sugar and shake well to coat.Spread mixture evenly on wax paper and allow to cool.

This does not last long at my house!

We will be doing this several more times this summer. I hope you get to plan a Pizza and a Movie night for your family this summer.

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And if you want to upgrade your movie night, why not nab a high quality DVD projector rental from Projector123.com? We’ve got a $99 weekend rate that gives you 4 days of movie and gaming fun — place a projector rental order to get started.

But forget about the way YOU remember family movie nights, crowded around a small TV watching whatever “family movie” happened to be running on cable.

It’s time to up the ante with a world-class family movie night — on a budget nearly anyone can afford.

Backyard Movie Night

As more and more families are exploring “staycations” as an alternative to costly vacations, backyard movie nights are becoming increasingly popular.  All it takes is a great batch of movies (choose from classics or favorites that you own, or plan ahead a bit and grab an inexpensive rental from Netflix or your local Redbox) and a projector rental from Projector123.com

Afraid you can’t afford a projector rental for the weekend? Then this might surprise you:

In 2008, the average cost of a movie ticket was around $7. For a family of 4, that equates to $28 in admission cost only.

Add a large popcorn, 4 sodas and candy, and that brings the total closer to $50 or more.

(Leaving the kids at home wouldn’t help much, as babysitting can cost upwards of $12 per hour, plus food)

Would it surprise you to know that you could rent a projector from Projector123.com for the whole weekend starting at just $99?

Invite over some friends and neighbors, and you’ve got yourself quite a gathering.

This summer, why not start a new tradition? Get together with a group of your friends — say 4 or 6 families, and each family can take turns renting the projector. You could even choose themes for each gathering — favorite animated films, action movies, classics, chick flicks, you name it.

Go ahead, go crazy. Here at Projector123.com,  we’re ready for you.