Classes on 9/8 (5-8pm), and 9/15 (6:30-9:30pm). You only need to attend one.
Ever seen the Philips Ambilight TV?
Now you can have it on any screen!
At the conclusion of this workshop, you should succesfully modified your televison or monitor to display dynamic LED lights behind your screen. These lights will change colors in corresponding parts of your screen based on what’s being displayed on the screen itself.
These lights have a few benefits:
- Eases the strain on your eyes from looking at a screen for too long
- Makes your TV look much larger than it is
- Looks freakin’ cool!
- And who doesn’t love more LEDs?
See this YouTube video for a similiar project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvcR2td1Cso
This workshop will provide all the parts necessary for you to complete this project, including:
- HDMI splitter
- USB video grabber
- HDMI to AV scaler
- 5 meter WS2801 LED strip (about 160 LEDs)
- 2x HDMI cables (one short, one long)
- Female wire terminals
- Power adapter
- Power connecter
- A few other miscellaneous parts
Optional (included, if you prefer a solderless route):
- Corner connecters
- Ribbon cable connecter
What you’ll need to bring:
- TV or Monitor (up to 75" diagonal) Please message me directly if you would like to mod a larger TV. It’s possible, but I’ll need to do a little micromanagement.
- A basic power strip
- Raspberry Pi (any should do)
- SD card that fits the Pi
- Laptop (preferably Windows. Linux should work too, you’ll need to use Homebrew for Macs, I think)
- Mounting tape (either 3M command strips or regular)
- Cable ties
I’ll have most of this stuff available to use if you don’t have any, but please try to bring your own. I won’t have enough for everyone.
I have Raspberry Pi Zero Ws available for sale in class for $10, with unsoldered headers). 32GB SD cards available for $10 each, also. Please let me know if you plan to purchase either or both of these beforehand so that I can make sure to have enough.
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The preferred method for this project requires simple soldering of the LED strips. If you have no soldering experience at all, this project is a great first step. It’s very difficult to mess up, and if you do, it’s easy to manage and repair.
If you do have soldering experience, this should be a breeze.
If you prefer NOT to solder, I can supply ribbon connectors to use. Although the solderless route may seem simpler, I do not guarantee how well they connect. If you choose to go this route, I can try to help, but if the connectors aren’t touching perfectly, you will have problems. Soldering is the best way to go.
I’ll bring a couple basic soldering irons to get started. The Electronics room has plenty and much better quality tools than mine.