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Turning Smashed TVs into Realistic Artificial Daylight

DIY Perks · 4M views · 2019-08-09 · 12:50

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Overview

DIY Perks shows how to turn old or smashed TVs and monitors into realistic artificial window lights, using the backlight and Fresnel lens to simulate distant daylight.

On Hacker News

HN points to it in threads on artificial sunlight, as a buildable and surprisingly convincing artificial window.

Recommended by 3 HN people across 3 months · HN mentions 2019–2025

Topics

3D printing, CNC & maker projectsHome, DIY & practical skills
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diyfresnel lensled backlightlightingupcycling

What people said

deltasevennine · 2022-07 · Strong recommendation

[LINK] If you want one, you can build one following the video above. The result is quite stunning. I've never seen anything like it. [VIDEO] The one above is an easier build that takes up less space.

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reeddavid · 2020-01 · Recommendation

Not a company, but sharing a personal project: I got a free broken 55" TV and turned it into a big daylight panel. I got a great explanation of why this works well (fresnel lens) from the DIY Perks channel on YouTube: Turning Smashed TVs into Realistic Artificial Daylight ( [VIDEO] ). The main board had failed so the screen was black and the backlight cycled on and off. After disconnecting the main board, the backlight stayed on. I am using the existing LED lights, but may replace them with the excellent color quality LEDs recommended by DIY Perks.

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jsilence · 2019-11 · Recommendation

It is possible to recycle old LCD monitors into articficial windows that have a very real feel to them. The diffraction lenses for the backlight direct the light in a way that makes it appear sun like. Of course this is only about the direction and not about the spectrum, but it might be possible to find LED strips with a high CRI. Any feedback would be appreciated. DIY directions on YT: [VIDEO]

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Sources

Video by DIY Perks, played through YouTube.

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