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Diy magic mirror to display video12/9/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() While I was waiting for my special two-way mirror glass to arrive, I started thinking about the various ways in which I might want to use this little scamp. In the future I might decide to create a bigger unit, but for the moment I'm simply creating a proof of concept, so I followed the advice on the Magic Mirror site and ordered a 12″ x 12″ sample of this dielectric glass ($19.95 plus shipping and handling) from. Step 1: Acquiring the special two-way mirror glass In my case, I can start off using my personal notepad computer to display videos and suchlike. All we really require is a piece of the special two-way mirror glass, an inexpensive LCD display, and – optionally – a nice antique-looking frame just for effect. On the bright side, we don’t actually need any special software or sensors and suchlike to construct a proof of concept. However, the cost of the sensor box (without sensors) and the software to run on your computer is $219, which is starting to get a teeny-weeny bit expensive… This box connects to your notepad computer via a USB cable and triggers the software running in the notepad computer to leap into action. You can download a demo copy of this software for free, or you can purchase a full-up version for around $50, which really isn’t too bad.įrom the Magic Mirror site you can also purchase a small hardware “box” into which you can plug a variety of sensors. ![]() This software can also present information culled from the Internet such as stock prices, your local weather forecast, and all sorts of other “stuff”. In addition to a bunch of “How To” videos, for example, they've also created some clever software that can display a variety of animated faces on the screen, including a text-to-speech capability so you can get the “talking head” of your choice to say whatever you wish. On the one hand, I have to say that the folks at the DIY Magic Mirror site have done a really good job. So the idea is to take the glass, mount it in an antique picture frame, and hang it on the wall covering our LCD screen. If we place this special glass over a black surface it will appear to be a normal mirror if there's a light source behind the glass, however, then that light will pass through. Next, we acquire a piece of special glass that acts as a two-way mirror. The idea is that we first mount a flat-screen liquid crystal display (LCD) flush with the wall of our house (cutting into the drywall is the part my wife is not going to be deliriously happy about, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it ). Just a few days ago as I pen these words, I came across about a very cool website that describes a really cunning idea called a Magic Mirror ( ). …actually, we'll move on to consider what the face might say in a moment, but first let me introduce you to a few underlying concepts. Suddenly, the image of your guest undergoes a Matrix-like 'ripple' and is replaced with a strange face saying… She (or he) pauses to check her appearance in an antique-looking mirror mounted near the front door. Imagine that a guest is about to depart from your house. ![]()
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