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The transparency aspect is so cool! They look like they'd be awesome for AR goggles, although I don't know enough about the optics to know if that'd be feasible

The transparency aspect is so cool! They look like they'd be awesome for AR goggles, although I don't know enough about the optics to know if that'd be feasible. We may also be close to getting those Star Trek style clear displays! Exciting stuff.

leggomylibro 9y ago
I was actually wondering recently if you could do something like that with a small off-the-shelf TFT screen. ILI9341 modules are less than $5 each, and have 16/18-bit color with typical resolutions of 240x320. You can separate the actual panel from its backlights and casing without damaging it if you're careful, so I was thinking of trying to maybe put one in a box for a sort of DIY projector or something. But I'm also pretty sure there's some reason why it won't work; maybe the glass is too polarized, maybe the colors are too dim, etc.
- opencl 9y ago
  I've built an AR headset with a normal backlit LCD, fresnel lens, and a semi-transparent mirror. Not great but it works. You can certainly build a DIY projector that way. Building a high quality projector is hard but a crappy one is very simple. If you jam an LCD between a light source and a lens at the right distances you will get an image. Slide projectors, camera lenses, magnifying glass lenses, even those fresnel page magnifier lenses work.
- olfox 9y ago
  The panel will filter the incoming light; these displays emit light. With high transparency panels you could get something that works well when there is an external light source, although with worse color distorsion.
- vanderZwan 9y ago
  People have been modding old overhead projectors with LCD screens for as long as universities have been throwing both away (so since early 2000s). Here is a recent example[0]. For some reason nobody seems to realise that you can just place a smarphone underneath it and use that. I mean, the principle is the same as this video[1] :P I just got myself an abandoned one - the Karolinska Institute, where I work, is moving, and they are throwing away a lot of crap. I took one of the overhead projectors, stripped out the old 240 Watts lamp + cooling unit (to be replaced with a less energy-draining yet brighter LED panel from the inside. Perhaps even one of those that can be programmed to change colors). [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXX2UkucO8w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXX2UkucO8w [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKL9_bdtHq0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKL9_bdtHq0
- cr0sh 9y ago
  You apparently missed the whole "100 inch TV" craze of the early 2000s...

leggomylibro 9y ago

I was actually wondering recently if you could do something like that with a small off-the-shelf TFT screen. ILI9341 modules are less than $5 each, and have 16/18-bit color with typical resolutions of 240x320. You can separate the actual panel from its backlights and casing without damaging it if you're careful, so I was thinking of trying to maybe put one in a box for a sort of DIY projector or something. But I'm also pretty sure there's some reason why it won't work; maybe the glass is too polarized, maybe the colors are too dim, etc.

opencl 9y ago
I've built an AR headset with a normal backlit LCD, fresnel lens, and a semi-transparent mirror. Not great but it works. You can certainly build a DIY projector that way. Building a high quality projector is hard but a crappy one is very simple. If you jam an LCD between a light source and a lens at the right distances you will get an image. Slide projectors, camera lenses, magnifying glass lenses, even those fresnel page magnifier lenses work.
olfox 9y ago
The panel will filter the incoming light; these displays emit light. With high transparency panels you could get something that works well when there is an external light source, although with worse color distorsion.
vanderZwan 9y ago
People have been modding old overhead projectors with LCD screens for as long as universities have been throwing both away (so since early 2000s). Here is a recent example[0]. For some reason nobody seems to realise that you can just place a smarphone underneath it and use that. I mean, the principle is the same as this video[1] :P I just got myself an abandoned one - the Karolinska Institute, where I work, is moving, and they are throwing away a lot of crap. I took one of the overhead projectors, stripped out the old 240 Watts lamp + cooling unit (to be replaced with a less energy-draining yet brighter LED panel from the inside. Perhaps even one of those that can be programmed to change colors). [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXX2UkucO8w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXX2UkucO8w [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKL9_bdtHq0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKL9_bdtHq0
cr0sh 9y ago
You apparently missed the whole "100 inch TV" craze of the early 2000s...