One of the reason I started this blog was that I realized some of the things I do might be fairly interesting to some, the daylight cinema was one project I thought worthy.

Last year I got together a portable sound system made out of off the shelf components, 12v battery, inverter, MP3 player and a set of 2.1 computer speakers. It’s been invaluable for getting people dancing out in the street over the past 2 years or so.  It can still do about 4-5 hours of continuous music, loud for 20 people to listen/dance to.

Then, this year I got a Pixel Qi screen and replaced the screen in a Samsung N220 Plus laptop with it. This screen is amazing, people seem to think of daylight readable screen as being akin to the current Apple offerings, press a button and it gets a lot brighter. Pixel Qi is different. It will actually reflect the sunlight to create the display, the more sun the better. It is also backlit for lower light situations. “Transflexive” they call it. In sunlight though, it’s black and white.

Once I got these two innovations I felt the need to combine them with my love of cinema. I watched an old western in my local park as a test:

Then, as a last minute birthday celebration, I invited all friends up to Narrowways Hill. I needed a film that was black and white, and with no restrictions on public broadcasting. I choose the 1932 classic Freaks, out of copyright and amazing. Big up to the 3  friends who made it up there at such short notice! Watching film with friends, summer breezes, bottles of cider and a view of most of Bristol was a beautiful way to celebrate my decrepitude.

There’s no way to get Pixel Qi screens in the UK, so I got mine from MakerShed. There’s also the possibility of getting one as part of Notion Ink Adam, but again they aren’t available in the UK.