I wanted a TV in the bedroom.My wife didn’t.So I was tasked with finding a way for us to still be able to watch movies and TV shows in bed, but without a TV on the wall.
Little did I know that the solution was a small, Coke-can-sized piece of tech that we could fit under the nightstand when not in use.A TV on the wall is unsightly if it's seldom used It’s just a big, black square of nothingness When my wife and I got married, I wanted a TV in the bedroom.All my life I had a TV in my room.
When I was a kid, we basically had a TV in every room of the house—it was just how we lived.My wife, on the other hand, didn’t want a TV in the bedroom.She grew up with just one or two TVs in the house, and none were ever in bedrooms.
Eventually, we compromised (hah) and decided not to put a TV in the bedroom.Don’t tell her, but she was right all along.I soon realized that, if a TV wasn’t actively on and being watched, it was just a big black square on the wall that didn’t look cute or add to the decor of the room.
The problem was, I still wanted to be able to watch a movie or TV show in the bedroom for movie night or just when we were feeling sick.After a few years, and when we got a new TV for the living room, I tried to talk her into a TV in the bedroom again—she refused, and I’m glad she did.However, we were able to come up with another option besides a TV—a projector.
Related How a Mobile TV Stand Solved My Bedroom TV Problems When a stand delivers.Posts By Sydney Butler Big projectors are equally as irritating to look at when hung from the ceiling It looks like a spaceship hanging from the ceiling When we started talking about doing a projector in the bedroom, my mind immediately went to the big, bulky ceiling-mounted projectors that you’re probably thinking about.That’s the first thing thought about, too.
Those projectors have a similar problem to a TV—and a few issues that a TV doesn’t face.A ceiling-mounted projector is unsightly when in and out of use.It’s just a big box hanging from the ceiling, after all.
The other issue with ceiling-mounted projectors is there can’t be anything in front of them.While a TV can be mounted on the wall and isn’t obfuscated by obstacles above or in front of it, a projector isn’t so lucky.We have a ceiling fan above our bed, and it would be directly in the way of a ceiling-mounted projector.
I don’t know about you, but my ideal movie doesn’t have a ceiling fan shape cut out of it.A small, portable projector tucks away in a drawer when not in use Tucked away when not in use, and quick to deploy for movie nights Since I couldn’t have a TV in the bedroom, and I couldn’t mount a projector, I was left with one final option that I came to actually prefer—a portable projector.The Anker Nebula Capsule 3 Laser projector, to be precise.
My wife and I settled on this projector because it’s battery-powered, compact, and actually has a decent built-in speaker.This tiny projector can create up to a 120-inch screen on the wall—but that’s not my favorite part of it.You see, we set the projector on one of our nightstands and aim it at the wall.
This means that the projector isn’t aimed straight at the wall but at an odd angle.The projector screen also falls between two door frames, giving it quite a few obstacles to try and avoid. Related I bought a smart projector instead of a TV, and I'm so glad The smartest smart TV isn't a TV at all.Posts 1 By Bertel King The built-in smarts of the Nebula Capsule 3 Laser allow it to see all of these obstacles and size the projected screen to go doorframe-to-doorframe and be at the perfect height.
How Anker figured this out is beyond me, but it’s the reason why we keep this projector around.The Nebula Capsule 3 is also battery-powered, meaning we can watch a full-length movie without having to run a cord to it.Subscribe to our newsletter for clever home gadget ideas Love clever home setups? Subscribe to the newsletter to read clear coverage of space-saving home tech, compact projector recommendations, practical gadget guidance, and creative room-layout ideas.
Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.You can unsubscribe anytime.The best part is, when we’re not watching a movie or TV show on it, we simply tuck it under one of the nightstands in a basket.
No unsightly TV on the wall, no spaceship hanging from the ceiling, and I actually prefer it this way.Anker Nebula Capsule 3 Laser Projector Brand Anker Native Resolution 1080p The Nebula Capsule 3 portable projector features a 1080p video resolution, 2.5-hour battery, and 300-lumen image brightness.It comes preloaded with Google TV, so you can stream your favorite shows or movies anywhere without an external add-on.
$750 at Amazon $750 at Soundcore Expand Collapse This tiny projector solved the problem for my wife and me.We now can watch movies or TV shows from the bedroom without having to mount a big TV on the wall, and we have the side benefit of being able to bring it with us to watch movies anywhere else, too.Let this be your sign to pick up a portable projector if you’ve been on the fence.
I’m so glad we did.
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