This DIY projector is a great way to enjoy movies on a big screen, showcase presentations, or have fun. To make it, gather the necessary materials such as cardboard boxes, smartphone, tape, and water. The box should be made of cardboard or shoebox with a cover.
The projector should be darkened to improve image quality. To set up the projector, position the magnifying glass at one end of the box (to act as the lens) and your phone inside at the opposite end, with the screen facing the lens.
A movie projector coupled with a screen can double your viewing real estate, often for the same or less cost as LED or plasma TVs. In just one day, you can build your own indoor projector screen.
To create a dedicated home theater room, determine the size of the projector, choose materials like wood and metal, corner the projector, add a brace, and use a backer board. The first 1000 people to use this link will receive a 2 month free trial of Skillshare Premium Me.
In summary, this DIY projector is a great way to enjoy movies on a big screen, showcase presentations, or have fun. By following these steps, you can create a powerful and affordable projector that can double your viewing real estate.
📹 Building a TRUE 4k home cinema projector (it’s awesome)
Parts links: Disclosure: These are affiliate links. If you click them and make a purchase from the various merchants they link to, DIY …
How to make your own projector screen at home?
A DIY projector screen can be created by attaching a white bedsheet to a dark sheet or blackout curtain, adding grommets to the top and bottom edges, and fastening each grommet to a curtain rod, fence, or fixed object in your house. This projector screen can be used indoors or outdoors, and can be made in various ways, including white sheet, painted, fixed, pull-down, portable PVC screen, video, and tips.
Creating a projector screen at home is a cost-effective and easy way to enjoy the big screen experience in the comfort of your own home. There are several methods to create a projector screen, including indoor, outdoor, or both methods.
Which lens is used in a homemade projector?
The image on the screen is larger than the magnifying glass lens due to the convex lens’s thicker middle and thinner edges. This allows the magnifying glass to catch, bend, and focus more light from the phone inside the box. When darkened, the magnifying glass gathers, focuses, and projects the light from the phone to the screen, allowing for better image viewing. This is achieved through a homemade projector, which can be used to create a magnifying glass.
What can you use as a substitute for a projector screen?
The classic white sheet is a budget-friendly DIY projection screen idea that can be easily installed on a bedsheet, wall, or frame. This neutral white surface provides a bright and vibrant canvas for your projected images, making it an accessible option for those looking to enhance their home theater without breaking the bank. To ensure the best results, ensure the sheet is wrinkle-free and tightly stretched across the frame or wall.
For a more permanent and professional home projector screen, consider painting a designated wall with specialized projector screen paint. This innovative paint provides a reflective surface that enhances image quality and color accuracy while maintaining a sleek, modern appearance when not in use. Before painting, ensure the wall is properly prepped by filling in holes and sanding it smooth. Apply multiple coats of the paint, following the manufacturer’s instructions, and choose the screen’s size and match it to your room’s decor for a unique home theater experience.
Is there an app to make a projector?
MultiPresenter is an easy-to-install tool that enables users to project videos, photos, and documents wirelessly or wiredly from their smartphones. It offers features such as web pages and other media, and allows users to create a list of favorite devices for easy projection. MultiPresenter requires no technical knowledge and is easy to install. Asus WiFi Projection is an Android application that allows users to project media through a WiFi network, showcasing Asus’ commitment to developing mobile applications for their tech devices. Both applications offer unique features and capabilities for easy and efficient projecting.
What is good material for DIY projector screen?
Blackout fabrics are a popular choice among budget projection screen builders due to their smooth, flexible, and inexpensive nature. These materials are capable of covering a considerable surface area and effectively obstructing light, thereby making them an optimal choice for image projection.
Is there a way to make a homemade projector?
A shoebox, a magnifying glass, tape, and a smartphone can be used as a DIY projector. Position the magnifying glass at one end of the box and your phone inside at the opposite end, with the screen facing the lens. Adjust the phone until the best focus is achieved.
However, the homemade projector’s image is upside-down due to light rays crossing through the convex lens. This is a basic property of optics, similar to how commercial projectors initially produce inverted images. To improve the clarity of your homemade projector, ensure the magnifying glass and screen are clean, adjust the distance between your phone and the lens, use your phone’s brightness settings, and ensure the room is dark to prevent ambient light from washing out the projected image.
What works well as a projector screen?
A wall is a suitable solution for a projector, as long as it is mostly smooth and white. SilverTicket and Elite both offer inexpensive fixed frame screens of decent quality. The portable option is suitable for semi-permanent setups like backyard movies or car camping trips. The use case for a portable setup depends on the purpose, such as a semi-permanent setup for backyard movies or a temporary setup for car camping trips.
How to make a homemade projector?
A shoebox, a magnifying glass, tape, and a smartphone can be used as a DIY projector. Position the magnifying glass at one end of the box and your phone inside at the opposite end, with the screen facing the lens. Adjust the phone until the best focus is achieved.
However, the homemade projector’s image is upside-down due to light rays crossing through the convex lens. This is a basic property of optics, similar to how commercial projectors initially produce inverted images. To improve the clarity of your homemade projector, ensure the magnifying glass and screen are clean, adjust the distance between your phone and the lens, use your phone’s brightness settings, and ensure the room is dark to prevent ambient light from washing out the projected image.
How to make a homemade projector without a magnifying glass?
It is recommended that the show box be positioned facing a wall and that the brightness of the mobile phone be maximized. The positioning of the mobile phone in proximity to the lens is a determining factor in the degree of image sharpness. Upon completion of these steps, the projector is ready for use. Nevertheless, it is possible that the images may be displayed in an inverted orientation on the wall. To rectify this issue, it is necessary to maintain the screen orientation in an inverted position and secure the screen mode.
How to use your cell phone as a projector?
An HDMI adapter is a popular wired option for mirroring a smartphone’s HD display. It connects to the charging port of the smartphone, and most new Android devices and iPhones support HDMI output. Lightning to HDMI is suitable for iPhones and iPads, connecting the HDMI end to the projector port. For Android phones equipped with USB-C, a USB-C to HDMI adapter cable connects to the projector’s HDMI input.
How to make a simple projector at home?
Create a shadow show by placing plastic wrap over a toilet paper roll, secure with a rubber band, and placing a sticker in the middle. Turn off the lights, shine a flashlight through the roll’s open end, and point the projector towards a wall or ceiling. This simple projector can help children’s creative thinking and coordination. Empty toilet paper rolls, clear plastic wrap, rubber bands, stickers, and a small flashlight are all needed to create a personal and engaging experience for children.
📹 How to build a $30 Projector Screen
Materials used- Blackout cloth- $12 (JoAnnes Fabric with coupon)1 by 4 lumber- $6 (Menards)1 by 3 select lumber- $7.50 …
When I was a kid my dad made the exact kind of thing at home. I think it was 2006 when he made it. He used parts from old printers and computers. Unlike the one in this article, it was huge. All the components were enclosed in a 5ft-tall box he made from MDF and plastic, and it had wheels so you could move it around. It didn’t have any heatsinks, but instead used fans stripped from computers to circulate all that heat. The craziest thing is, he designed all this in Microsoft Powerpoint 2003, and the most high tech tool he used was a power drill. As a kid, I enjoyed perusal him work on it. The only problem was that my mom absolutely HATED it, so it’s been sitting in a closet for the last 15 years.
Though I never got around to making one myself, I was a lurker on lumenlab back when it was a thing. This is as impressive as anything the community ever did there. One thing I do remember members of the community talking about were “heat mirrors” (Transparent material that reflects heat, but not light) vs “cold mirrors” (Mirrors that reflect light as normal, but allow heat to pass through) for controlling both the flow of light and the heat of the unit. This might be useful if you place a heat mirror in front of the led, especially if one were to go with a projector.
This brings back the memory of building a LCD projector with metal halide lamp, striped monitor lcd panel, lens from overhead projector, and countless hours. Fun time. EDIT – Just occurred to me that it was around the time of SARS. I was a frequent visitor / contributor at the diyaudio.com projector builder forum. Among us, one was working in the largest hospital in Guangzhou. A good 3~4 months before any news report, he told us the grave situation caused by an unknown pneumonia, and how a number of his colleagues falled to the illness. We were probably among the first group knew about it in USA. Dr. Yu, hope you are all well.
For a home build project, y’gotta admit that this is pretty damn awesome! Thanks again to Matt for his creativity & expertise. You may want to paint over the internal surfaces with something like Black 2.0. The darker that you can get them, the better – as then there’ll be less ambient light to grey out the blacks in your image & lower the contrast.
I just want to take a moment to offer my sincerest thanks to Matt for his work. I share custody of my daughter and we’ve done a few of Matt’s projects while she’s with me, and doing so is one of the reasons we’ve grown closer. It’s not easy being a single dad to a teenage girl, but the experiences we’ve shared while learning and creating something new has been a true source of joy for both of us. So, thank you Matt. I’m deeply appreciative.
I love the concept and your ability to just start doing. I think you’ve come up with a relatively easy, and fundamentally sound design. I do have one critique on the design aspect though. And that is the build orientation. You state that the orientation is optimized for it’s footprint, and I like that but from a heat and cooling standpoint it’s upsidedown. Horizontal projectors have their main heat source expelling heat away from all other components. Where this build has the heat rising to the LCD which is sensitive to heat and will reduce the hours of elongated use. If you where to flip the build the only modifications needed would be to flip the screen orientation. But you would be expelling heat much better, this along with fans directly actively cooling the LCD panel would allow you to get away with a much brighter light source. I’m curious of your thoughts. I would also be interested in your take on using a old classroom overhead projector as a starting point since you obviously have an ingenious ability to repurpose old tech.
I am interested in the bit where you replaced the battery with a small voltage regulator board – there is surprisingly little written about this kind of hack (or at least not that I could find) – I think ‘hacking lithium powered devices to run off alternative sources’ might be a worthy subject for a article of its own
We built something like this in high school using box of pringles for the two lenses and focusing mechanism. We used halogen lamp (tho it is too hot), wrapped the inside of the box with mirrors and copper wires as cooler. We won science fair for that year. This was in 2000. 🤣 I enjoyed this article thoroughly.
Very cool. Just an FYI, that heat sink is upside down and not giving you as much cooling power as it could. Those tubes are heat pipes with a liquid in them. The idea is that gravity brings the liquid to the point where the CPU/LED is attached. And when the liquid heats up, it vaporizes and goes up into the area with the fins where it cools back into a liquid where gravity kicks in and the cycle repeats. Just putting this here for anyone who may not know. Still a great project! Love it.
Like around 16-18 yrs ago, we used to do this with a huge metal halide bulb with its gigantic 10+ lbs transformer, a stripped 15″ LCD monitor, a silver bowl-kitchen ware reflector (I forgot the name) and the lens spec’ed and designed by Brainchild. I wonder what happened to Brainchild’s Lumenlab but I used to be one of those kids who made DIY projector. BTW, you can do lens shifting by tilting the Fresnel lens. I had this feature on my wooden projector that I used for 3+ yrs. Good times.
I only saw this article of you. I saw the entire article as a child playing with a new toy. I have no words. Amazing article. Amazing edition. Amazing project. Amazing explanation. You just gave us a free gold mine. I finished the article and subscribed without hesitation. If I didn’t say it already, Amazing.
This is an awesome awesome build, so I hate to rain on this, but I own a Z5 Premium (and honestly this is the best ‘graveyard job you can give that useless brick) and I feel I should clarify a few things: 1. ) The screen of the Z5 P is NOT a full 4k screen (which would be 4096 × 2160), but UHD (which is 3840×2160). Nitpicking? Yes, definitely. But all the ultra expensive 4k projectors, actually DO run on full UCI 4k. Projectors with a “normal” smaller UHD, are much much less expensive – but again, this project, for the price it’ll cost, is tons cheaper. Also, obviously the aspect ratio will be off a bit. Dunno how the article app will handle this. Which brings us to the next, very important, point: 2.) To make sure people don’t fall for the same misinformation from Sony that I fell for when I bought my phone, please be aware that the phone only displays it’s full “4k” in two ways: Using the official Sony photo app and the official Sony article app. Install a different app for either one? No 4k. It won’t even show you the option in YT’s resolution settings. You’ll only get what the rest of the Android system will show you: The sharpest interpolated 1080p picture that you have ever seen on a phone – which is impressive, but not what people who’d build this, would be after. So again, if you think you can use this projector to watch 4k YouTube, you are mistaken. It IS apparently possible, to switch basic resolution with a few settings in Android, but we’re talking about root access here.
I’m in the process of turning my cheap $30 projector into a setup like this one. By taking the expensive parts from the cheap projector you can make an even brighter projector with 2k resolution for about $150 Took apart the projector to see if this would be possible and sure enough, the lamp, power supply, and large format lense are just sitting there waiting to be used. All you need now is the fresnel lenses, the 2k lcd panel mentioned, and the focusing hardware. Spend as much or little as you want on the case and cooling and enjoy!
Stray idea … build the entire thing sideways, use book bindings to skin the front of it, and set it on a shelf behind your seating. Just be sure to adjust the plan for cooling, airflow, and you could even remote the focus adjustment to the bottom end by running a hex or square rod the full length. The one thing most missing from the design as a whole is ability to adjust size/skew without moving the projector to do so.
For those interested if utilizing the $60 2k display shown at 12:03 and the cheaper led bulb in the description, the total build cost comes to around $280 plus tax. This price also goes up because you need an hdmi audio extractor to make up for the lack of audio out on these display boards(roughly $25 on amazon).
Holy cow that build is legit! Everything from the vinyl wrapped aluminum panels, to the cleverly adjustable focus rig, to the custom-milled threaded inserts is totally professional in every detail. If I had come up with this, it would have been gobbed together with epoxy and zip ties. It would be wobbly and frustrating. Yours is a triumph! A very good build with lots of helpful details. Thank you!
4:06 A light source with a spectral peak for each additive primary color would heat the LCD panel less or allow for a much higher saturation. The primary hues of the sRGB color space correspond to wavelengths of about 610 nm, 550 nm, and 465 nm. A CRI is a metric of similarity of a spectrum to black body radiation. If the color filter for each subpixel transmits only a narrow band of light, then any wavelengths outside of those bands will always be absorbed. If each color filter transmits a wide band of light and the source of light has a high CRI, then the colors will appear desaturated.
Wow, i want to DIY a projector now! As a PC enthusiast i am a bit worried about the quality of the cooling system, because the heat sink is upside down. Building this in up side down and perhaps susopending it from the ceiling would be another option that should be possible with same BOM excluding the materials for cealing suspention.
I did something similar many years ago with a 720p lcd TV, a vapor bulb, a couple of fresnel lenses and an antique cinema projector lens. Yours is engineered much more nicely, and the LED source (which weren’t available when I built mine) is much easier to deal with than the vapor bulb. It’s much easier to get a great picture with the smaller LCD panel as well. Great work!
Good project. You’ve got everything right expect the fact that the Z5 premium runs everything at 1080p with exceptions to certain sony apps to save battery and reduce heat. You can improve the image sharpness greatly by flashing a custom rom and a kernel that supports always 4K mode. Mind that the ability to watch 4K stuff doesn’t mean the screen itself is operating at 4K.
The image it’s not evenly lit, I recommend you to use a concave mirror instead or the glasses you talk about in the beginning, the lens he’s using are not very good cause they’re not made for professional applications, but use the concave instead or the glasses the image will look brighter and evenly lit, Edit. Also use projection lens not camera lens, that can contribute to the vignetting too
THIS is a great gift to humanity. it protects eyes. as it is b etter than perusal LED LCD Tv or mobile screens.Thanks brother! You are giving an entire real good project for free. EVen universities do not have such teachers like you. Most practical Most easy to un derstand even by a 8 y o; i am a retired electronic enthusiast of the 80s
I find it veeeery misleading to tell that this diy projector is 10 times cheaper than 2K bucks projector. In you links just the LED will cost you 99 bucks. Plus 4k phone or panel and you already way beyond 200 bucks budget. Add up lenses, aluminium, mirror, vinyl etc…. Would be great if when you speculate on build cost of your project you provide price list of your parts.
I don’t know if anyone has realized that this entire website and all your efforts (working so ingeniously and openly sharing the details of your projects) represents one of the most valid actions to boycott wild capitalism, decrease the environmental impact, while maintaining a modern lifestyle, and, at least for personal opinion, a great step towards the true evolution of humanity. Many thanks from the bottom of my heart. Keep up the good work, peace.
The thing that I learned from perusal this whole article is……….. ” An android phone can be operated with mouse using otg ” wow… I know it sound kind of stupid (because many of you already know that) but the feeling of deducting some thing is quite amazing. Thanks man your articles are always motivational .
Huge problem detected: the LCD which is hit by a bright light (and high temperature) isn’t cooled down properly. This setup relies on ascending air movement, but if I understand, it catches air from the top of the projector and hopes to cool down the screen as the air goes down, fatal flow is, hot air rises, cold air sinks, that’s physics, this could potentially overheat the LCD pannel since it will catch the hot air the projector just exhausted. There’s a very good reason that all manufactured projector uses radial fans to blow directly to the display device (LCD or DMD for DLP projectors) in parallel to other fans dedicated to the lamp part and exhaust. This wouldn’t last long, that’s bad because the build is actually good, at least, a radial fan placed at the top to help pushing air down will do the job just fine cooling the screen..
I made one of these some years ago (not 4k) by taking an old 3M retroprojector and replacing the fresnel lens with a laptop screen and then adding another fresnel lens inside the machine before the bulb (note, i replaced the highly incandescent bulb with an LED projector grade one. I burnt the first LCD). It still works and is quite useful. Plus, it costed me only the new lens and the cost of the screen controller, which all in all was about one hundo. If you have one, it’s worth it as it can then be refit inside the original case of the 3M which is actually decently small for what it is.
the LCD has an RGB colour filter mask, might be part of the reason for the drop in brightness, part of the LED’s spectrum might be simply lost on the filter. Cheap alternative to that LED could be a xenon (HID) bulb perhaps, not sure how good the spectrum of the cheaper ones is, but in theory xenon can do near-daylight and the light source is nearly point-like. Just need to deal with that UV.
What a bunch of odd comments about his tools… Obviously the guy already had tools and does woodworking of sorts. What’s the big deal? You don’t need a band saw. And as someone who does woodworking, anyone with any sense of having the ability to reason, can do this with very low end tools. Borrow a friend’s chop saw. Round the edges with just a sander. You don’t need the expensive kreg pocket hole jig. Just take a minute and figure it out instead of dumping on the guy for having tools to show how he did this. So many entitled people…
top tip: use a sheet of 3mm plywood for the screen front, it will strengthen everything and ensure a perfect flat screen when you fit the cloth. top tip number 2: buy a dark grey roller blind thats made to measure, top tip number 3, build a black screen, you wont need black trim around the edges and the contrast will be massively improved.
For anyone looking for what projector I use…here is my Amazon Link! amzn.to/2hKuiqV For my 3D Printed tools and digital plans- etsy.com/shop/ChadDIY My favorite tool in my shop! xtool.com/products/portable-diode-laserbox-d1-for-laser-engraving-laser-cutting?ref=ZD0p1c21pRes&utm_medium=5306&utm_source=influencer&variant=43897274630383
The only problem with this is the staples, the material will almost certainly stretch over time leaving ripples in the surface which are really distracting. This is why commercial screens use springs to hold the material taut, as it stretches, the springs take up the slack. Otherwise this looks great.
I’m wanting a bigger screen and also mine has a few ripples in a couple of corners. You notice most with movement and straight lines. I have a standard type projector so would work good. Might not work as well with laser short throw due to angle. I did a test with my screen and laser for curiosity and lit up the ceiling. : (
I had built a screen in a similar way and its white but I’ve been reading about projecting onto a grey for best picture and my wall is grey so would I get a better picture just taking down my screen and using my wall? I just got a optima projector that’s 3400lunens and full HD with 3d so I want the best picture without spending a lot on a screen.
I gotta love how all these theater professionals are going off on how great their pictures are, yet they’re charging us upwards of $1k and beyond to get that quality. This article is exactly what I was thinking in mind when it comes to all the materials and anyone with a little know how who is willing to make a worthwhile project of this.
Wow bro just found ur website love what ur doing with it and really like ur shop n I see we got the same delta bandsaw that thing is heavy as hell but they don’t make them like that anymore I think mine is from 1954 but runs like a champ paid 75 for it off Craigslist I would of paid triple that but couldn’t pass it up
Hi Chad, I have to admit, you have a really nice articles and projects. I’ve seen your DIY Wood Strip Wall Art and decided to go this way in my living room. But now I saw the wood strips wall next to the projector screen. I love it!!! Could you give me some hints how to achieve such great result? Thanks Vaclav