My Projector and Bedroom Movie setup

 So Its been a little while. Lots of people in my life and in my friends lives dying unexpectedly, and sudden job drama. People going nuts about politics, and people going nuts in general. Its really been awful lately. and now we are heading into a shitstorm of a possible second wave and a possible fraudulent election. Fuck all that shit.

We have to help each other through this time for however long it takes, and its going to be a while still.

I got this projector last month and I may be late to the party on these I have wanted one forever and its seriously awesome.

VIVIMAGE Explore 3 Projector for Outdoor Movies, 6800 Lux Full HD 300" Native 1080P Projector 60Hz Compatible TV Stick, 2 HDMI, VGA, Smartphone, PC, TV Box, PS4, ±40° Electronic Keystone Correction

I have a 4k 55 inch Vizio with light panels that are broken. usually, there is just a blotch of darkness on the top left of the screen but every so often the Two-Thirds of the screen craps out and I have to turn the whole thing on and off which totally takes me out of whatever I'm watching. I bought it 5 years ago and its been broken for a solid two years at this point. I don't have anything against Vizio I think I got one from a bad batch. All these TVs come from the same factories in china so brand loyalty or expecting your TV to work after the warranty is up is ridiculous these days. I want to replace it with an Oled. but I have been a little broke and I could see the job drama coming. Also, I don't know how to get rid of furniture during all this shit. I suppose you have to pay someone to get rid of your crappy old stuff. I don't want people coming in to move my furniture and I can't really haul anything in my Miata.

I don't like TV in the bedroom, in general, I never really have. Mainly because I don't like to eat in my bedroom and to me, TV and food go together. But the projector is very good.

I put the projector on a platform on a mic stand by my bed and from about ten feet away it projects 88 inches on the diag(I measured). That is almost the whole wall for me. I am not drilling mounts into the ceiling or walls in this place I always hope I can get my deposit back This thing has horizontal and vertical keystone correction which is handy if you cant be perfectly on angle. Most projectors in this range don't have that.

I got an android TV stick, which I like and may review separately, but a fire stick is probably just as good or better Android TV Stick, X96 S Android TV Box 4GB RAM 32GB ROM, Dual-WiFi 2.4GHz/5GHz Bluetooth Quad-core 3D/4K UHD/H.265/HDR USB 3.0 Smart TV Box and I also got a refurbished Yamaha Bluetooth soundbar for $99 Yamaha ATS1080-R Sound Bar with Built-in Subwoofers and Bluetooth (Renewed) I live in an apartment and this thing is almost too loud, but my neighbors smoke on the balcony and fight scream and yell hate speech and throw stuff at each other almost every morning so they better not say peep to me about anything. I use Bluetooth headphones or a Bluetooth speaker after 10pm. I'm not an animal.

and I won't go into detail but go ahead and google Kodi and Debrid. We are talking about a full year here where we are more or less staying in if we have a choice. and Netflix alone isn't going to cut it.

There are much more expensive and higher quality projector setups and if you can afford them go for it. Get a Dolbyvision HDR10 Atomos built-in LG Laser projector if you have 3-4 grand to spend. This thing is $240 and this particular projector comes with an offer in the box right now where if you put up an amazon review they give you a $50 amazon gift card. so 240 for the projector 50 for the android stick 100 for a soundbar minus 50 because they give you a gift card, Its $340 all in and bang for your buck here is amazing. I'm sure a screen is nice but you don't need it. Its way bright enough using just a wall. Sure build out a whole wing in your house for a theater room its cool its a useful thing but I don't have that kind of cheddar. I did just put these up on Sunday. Total Blackout Window Film: 100% Light Blocking, Room Darkening Static Cling - No Residue Film for Privacy, Home Security, and Day Sleep - Easy Removal UV Prevention Treatment (17.5 x 80 inches) I like it so far but I can take them off pretty easily too. Its going to start getting dark earlier soon so that should be less of an issue. It is very bright, bright enough to watch in the day its only slightly washed out until the sun is shining directly into my bedroom around sunset for me but that issue was fixed completely by the blackout vinyl I put up. Its like a theater in the bedroom now. It is a theater.

There is a downside to having a theater in the bedroom and that is falling asleep during the movie It was easy enough to snooze off while sitting up on the couch now you are laying in bed in a dark room with white noise from the fan. You may need coffee, also you want to make sure you can wiggle around because 3 hours lying prone is weird. The downside as far as the equipment goes with this projector is its a little noisy. But its not too bad though, and in my bedroom it doesn't get hot but if I close the door it makes it slightly warmer like having a computer on in a room the thing doesn't get hot to the touch even after being on for hours but that fan is audible. To me once I have the soundbar going I can ignore it and I can't hear it at all with headphones on. Also, my setup on the mic stand sometimes veers off crooked a tiny bit so every three days or so I have to wiggle it into perfect lines. I put a leveler on top to make it easy. I try to use the line where the wall meets the ceiling to get it perfect Its not 4k its 1080p native though which is totally fine for this price range and looks fantastic. Its totally good. If you want to chase the AV fidelity dragon more power to you, I will do that too at some point in the future if I survive. This setup is going to get you 80 percent-plus of that for a shitload less.

I hope there are multiplexes and popcorn and celluloid and art-house movies when this shit is over but the reality is we don't know when that's going to be and its likely going to be at least six more months. I miss going to the movies probably the most out of anything, so for me. This is a quality of life thing. Its a good thing to have and its best at movies. Some media, like podcasts, are just not great blown up on a big screen I don't see the need to blow up ugly content. Most TV is awesome, sports are very good I have been watching French Table Tennis and replays of Real Madrid matches on Spanish TV apparently they have their situation under control that European Soccer starts up again next week. .And I have been watching a ton of movies so expect a flurry of movie reviews.

So I implore you if you don't already have a projector you owe it to yourself while this bug is going on. Its a must. This setup is buck banging. Movie watching on a big screen is a want, not a need, but its a want that is so close to a need it might as well be for me.  I'm serious get this and then throw it away in the garbage when you can go to the movies without worrying about dying.