Outdoor living has become an extension of the house: kitchens, fireplaces, seating, and a television by the pool or over the grill. In this part of the country the outdoor season runs from spring through football season, so a screen outside earns its keep. What surprises many homeowners is that an ordinary television, however good, is the wrong tool for the job. Here is why, and what to plan for instead.
Weather is the obvious problem
An outdoor television is sealed against rain, humidity, dust, pollen, and insects, and it is rated to operate across a wide temperature range. An indoor set under a covered porch might survive a season; the humidity and temperature swings of a Tennessee summer will eventually get into it, and the warranty does not cover the result. Purpose-built outdoor sets carry warranties that assume they live outside.
Brightness is the real difference
Daylight is far brighter than any living room, and an indoor television that looks vivid at night is washed out at noon. Outdoor models are built in brightness classes matched to where they will be installed:
- Full shade models, for a covered porch or a screened room, are roughly twice as bright as an indoor set and use anti-glare glass.
- Partial sun models, for a patio that gets direct light part of the day, are brighter still.
- Full sun models, for a pool deck or an open terrace, are the brightest and the most expensive.
Choosing the right class is a matter of tracking where the sun falls on the wall through the day and through the seasons, which is one of the first things we look at on a site visit.
Placement and mounting
The best location has a solid wall behind it, cover overhead, and a viewing angle that works from the seating rather than from the grill. Outdoor mounts must handle wind load and corrosion. If the set will face a low sun, a tilting or articulating mount lets it be angled away from the glare in the late afternoon.
Sound outdoors
Television speakers were never meant to compete with a pool pump and a breeze. Weatherproof speakers mounted under the eave or landscape speakers hidden in the planting beds, driven from the same system as the rest of the house, make the outdoor area sound like the inside. Our whole-home audio page shows how it fits together.
Power, signal, and control
The television needs a weatherproof power outlet and, ideally, a wired network connection and a video feed from the equipment rack indoors, so the same sources and the same remote work outside. Those cables belong in conduit, run during construction or landscaping rather than after. A properly integrated outdoor zone appears on the same app or touch panel as every other room, which is exactly how our lakeside outdoor project and this poolside oasis were built.
If you are planning an outdoor space, the television is one line item among several: audio, lighting, shades, network coverage, and cameras all belong in the same plan. Talk with us early and it all goes in at once.