If you want to sleep with the TV on, adding an HDTV to your bedroom couldn’t be easier. Most bedrooms have the TV as the entertainment centerpiece on the opposite side of your bed or beds. However, when it comes to your projector and screen, the setup ends up in reverse.
Why? You usually place the projector opposite the display screen. The screen should be placed where you’d normally put the HDTV while the projector should be placed above your bed on the ceiling or over your bed on a wall shelf.
The Challenges of Putting a Projector in a Bedroom
You mainly have to decide whether to place your projector on the ceiling or the wall. If on the wall, you might have to use existing shelves or make one for it. If on the ceiling, you have to install a bracket, hanger, or some sort of boxy surface to place the projector on.
This bracket should have a tilt and swivel for good measure. If you’re not confident about your DIY remodeling skills you can always have someone install the ceiling mount for you, but it does come at an extra cost. Most people opt for ultra short throw or short throw projectors instead.
This device saves them the effort of mounting the projector because their throw distance range from less than 5 feet to less than one feet. This means you can place such projectors in front of the screen.
Regardless, here are 08 projector in bedroom ideas to try out.
8 Projector Bedroom Ideas 101
Regardless, here are 8 projector bedroom ideas you can try out in order to turn your bedroom into something usable for home cinematic purposes while taking the bed or beds into consideration.
1. Mounting Your Projector in the Right Place
Mount your projector on the shelf above your bed’s headboard. Or on the headboard itself. Or on the ceiling (with the mount bracket screwed into the joists or wooden frames of your home instead of the boards). Or you can invest in a smaller projector with short throw distance of less than 5 feet.
You should mount your projector relative to where the screen is. This might mean mounting the projector on the corner of the room while projecting the image on the opposite end with the necessary keystone correction.
2. The Value of a UST Projector
The Ultra Short Throw (less than 1 foot or mere inches) or Short Throw (less than 5 feet) projector comes in handy because you can place it beside the screen. You only have to worry about screen placement, mounting, or concealment.
You can get a stand for the compact projector that at times measure about the same as a calculator or smartphone. You can also use existing tables like your coffee table or lamp table if you wish. Just make sure to limit ambient light because these devices have low lumens.
3. Just Use the Existing Projector Screen
Just use the existing projector screen that came with the projector. Or you could buy one. If you have enough space to spare in your bedroom wall, you can get up to 100-inch screens to truly enjoy a cinematic feast for the eyes.
This should practically turn your bedroom into an A/V room when push comes to shove. The appeal of bought, ready-made screens mostly hinges on compatibility with most projectors.
4. Turn the Wall into a Screen
If you have a wall instead of a shelf or cabinet in front of the bed, you can turn it into a projector screen by painting screen paint over it. The paint costs about $50 or so. Even better, you should have the wall sanded down to smoothness to maximize flatness and ensure image fidelity.
5. The Appeal of DIY Projector Screens
Instead of using the projector screen that came with your projector (if any), you can make your own projector screen with enough DIY know-how and elbow grease. It can be quite the project though. If you don’t, have someone make and install a projector screen for you.
Your options, aside from painting a wall with screen paint, include stretching bed sheets, tarpaulin, or canvas material over a frame then installing it onto your wall for your projector to project itself upon (ideally the ceiling-mounted variety).
6. Take the Bed into Consideration
The bed serves as your couch or seat in your personal cinema. Thusly, the eye level has you sitting up the bed or lying down with your head up the pillows. Take this level of elevation into consideration when placing your screen in the correct height relative to your bed.
From there, place your projector afterwards relative to your screen. It all starts with the bed then moves on to the screen then finally to the projector mounting.
7. Setup Your Media Sources and Home Entertainment System
Do some cable management or setup your projector and media sources in a way that allows you to connect to them wirelessly. Avail of Miracast or Chromecast if you have to in order to mirror the display of a laptop, DVD player, Blu-Ray player, or cable box on the HDTV with your projector.
Have everything placed in tables or one shelf as well. Consider getting an HDMI splitter, switch, or matrix switch in accordance to the number of sources and displays your bedroom cinema has on hand for good measure.
8. Finish the Setup with the Right Audio Speakers
You can go the whole shebang and turn your bedroom into a Dolby showroom showcase, complete with subwoofers up front, twin stereos on the side, and speakers or soundbars all around your bedroom during those late-night superhero movie marathons.
Or you can go something simple, like Bluetooth earpods to hear your movies in you lonesome or Bluetooth speakers to hear them nice and clear on your bedside table. The speakers built into the projector itself tend to not sound as clear as a Bluetooth or Wi-FI soundbar.
The Verdict
Your options when it comes to bedroom projectors mainly deal with their placement relative to the bed itself. You should also take into account the placement of the HDTV since it will still serve as your primary means of audio-visual entertainment.
After all, projectors can only run for a limited time before overheating. Sometimes, you can place the TV to the side. Other times, you have a drop-down screen that covers the TV when you’re the mood for something “cinematic”.
References:
- David Urmann, “Things to Consider When Buying a Projector“, com, May 5, 2009
- “8 Best Materials for Outdoor Projector Screen“, HomeTheaterAcademy.com, Retrieved September 9, 2021
- “7 Cheap Projector Screen Alternatives“, HomeTheaterAcademy.com, Retrieved September 9, 2021