CHEAP WAY to make DIY Transflective Screens!

meddotnet · 08-12-2006, 02:28 PM

I had this idea for some time, and was wondering if any one has ever tried it or knows if it will work or not. It is pretty simple actually.

You simply put a one way mirror, or some one way mirror film in front of the backlight but behind the lcd.
So when the sun light hits the lcd, the sun hits the mirror side and reflects back through the lcd, so the sun's light act as the backlight.
But when it is dark, the backlight is on, and it goes through the non reflective side of the one way mirror and it acts like a normal lcd.

I have not tried this, as I dont have any extra LCD's to mess with, so I was wondering if it could work or not. See pictures.
Thanks

TheLandYacht · 08-12-2006, 02:35 PM

I'd be interested to know if this works and if so exactly which film to buy&use. It'd be for a 19" screen (expensive unit) so I'd wanna know if worth doin before I tore the damn thing apart.

YESindeed · 08-12-2006, 02:45 PM

try it and let us know! if you dont want to do a permanent job just to see if it works put some cling wrap on the sticky side of the film so it doesnt stick to your screen.

FC3S · 08-12-2006, 02:50 PM

haha, i really think theres no way it can be this simple..

but, i hope it is!

blessani · 08-12-2006, 03:15 PM

It wouldn't work. The principal with reflective screens is that the touchscreen overlay (or lcd itself) reflects the light before passing into it. Instead of the light hitting it and reflecting into your eyes, it stops any kind of reflection.

If you don't have a t/s overlay, you can get films that do this quite easily from loads of places.

v8 scimitar · 08-12-2006, 06:39 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by blessani

It wouldn't work. The principal with reflective screens is that the touchscreen overlay (or lcd itself) reflects the light before passing into it. Instead of the light hitting it and reflecting into your eyes, it stops any kind of reflection.

If you don't have a t/s overlay, you can get films that do this quite easily from loads of places.

Think I am missing something here? He is on about transflective where the direct sunlight makes the screen brighter not anti reflection which is what a screen on the front would do.
I had wondered about the same idea but all the mirror film I could find was fairly heavy tinted so it would be fairly dim when not in the light.

"Transflective LCD
Transflective LCDs are a mixture of the reflective and transmissive types, with the rear polarizer having partial reflectivity. They are combined with a back light for use in all types of lighting conditions. The back light can be left off where there is sufficient outside lighting, conserving power. In darker environments, the back light is turned on to provide a bright display. Transflective LCDs will not "wash out" when operated in direct sunlight.

Transflector bonded to the rear polarizer reflects light from front as well as enabling lights to pass through the back. Used with back light off in bright light and with it on in low light to reduce power consumption."

Am pretty sure there are other posts on here thinking about the same idea. The one they sell in the store here looks great but is way out of my price range. This makes me think that it isn't as easy as a one way mirror or it should be a lot cheaper. The standard LCD's in my car are transflective and are always highly visible.

mbkowns · 08-12-2006, 06:47 PM

I don't get how that will work ... If it reflects the light back through it will reflect your face as well and not show a image on the screen.

mbkowns · 08-12-2006, 06:48 PM

DOUBLEPOST!

I still say do it and prove me wrong.

meddotnet · 08-12-2006, 06:51 PM

it is worth a try. If anyone has a spare lcd, they can try it out and see what happens. If I had an extra lcd laying around I would try it. But hey if it doesnt work, you just take the one way mirror film off and your back to your normal screen. I have a broken lcd laying around, but I dont think I can do anything with that.

v8 scimitar · 08-12-2006, 07:01 PM

the light is defused so it isn't like a mirror

FelonyJake · 08-13-2006, 04:03 PM

This has been done before with these films, just no before and after pics.
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/lcd-display/64659-3m-dbef-bef-enhancement-film-installed-into-xenarc-screen.html
there are other links in that thread.
the guy did say it was an improvement for brightness.

and i have received last month free samples of the films that 3m makes. but i am no where near installing my pc in my car yet. hell i still need to get a bigger alternator. the lights dim when i turn on the back defroster and everything else is on. this is with no pc or amp or anything else just all stock.

either way i would like to put in the lcd without the films then take pics on a good sunny day with direct light. then take it out and put all the films in and take pics again.

scott_fx · 08-13-2006, 04:25 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by FelonyJake

This has been done before with these films, just no before and after pics.
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=64659
there are other links in that thread.
the guy did say it was an improvement for brightness.

and i have received last month free samples of the films that 3m makes. but i am no where near installing my pc in my car yet. hell i still need to get a bigger alternator. the lights dim when i turn on the back defroster and everything else is on. this is with no pc or amp or anything else just all stock.

either way i would like to put in the lcd without the films then take pics on a good sunny day with direct light. then take it out and put all the films in and take pics again.

i will put money on it that your grounds are corroded. not jsut the ones on your battery but the chassis mount and possiblyl even corrosion on the alternator connections too. you should look into that...sorry, back to the post

meddotnet · 08-13-2006, 04:57 PM

Here is another idea I had. It involved Edge Diffusion.

You know how some backlights have just one ccfl at the bottom, and a piece of plexiglass diffuses the light through out the whole panel. So on the same concept I was thinking that maybe if I can cut a peice of plexiglass in such a way, that the light that hits the edges, gets diffused throughout the whole panel and the panel would act as a backlight using the sun's light.

I know it is hard to understand, so I made some pictures.

The image on the left shows how backlights with one ccfl on the bottom work. The light travels from the bottom and gets diffused throughout the whole panel.

So on the right, the border aournd the lcd is some of the plexiglass that is visible, so that when sun light shines on any edge of the visible plexiglass, the light would get diffused through the panel and shine through the lcd, making the light of the sun acting as a backlight, which would inturn result in a brighter image because of higher nits.

Let me know what you think of my idea.

meddotnet · 08-15-2006, 05:14 AM

come on, why isnt anyone replying to my idea. I need feedback from people so I get some idea of what people are thinking and what they want.

Reply people, please. let me know what you think

AcuraTLFan · 08-15-2006, 05:37 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by meddotnet

come on, why isnt anyone replying to my idea. I need feedback from people so I get some idea of what people are thinking and what they want.

Reply people, please. let me know what you think

The problem i see with your proposed plan (2 post above) is that once light enters the edges of the plexiglass sheet, it doesn't really exit on the "lcd exposed" sides but rather travel to the other edge of hte sheet. It's kinda like a strand of fiber optic cable, light goes in and out on 1 axis but not the other.

For the light to exit on the "lcd exposed" sides, you have to...drill/cut...but most likely sand the exposed surface for the light to escape. Problem is how uniform the light will be??

check out this picture http://us.st11.yimg.com/store1.yimg...._1877_37779570
the light escapes through the edges and the surface abrasions.

Easiest way for a brighter screen is to add more CCFL, problem is how to fit more of them in the screen? Once you solve the brightness problem , you are going to give yourself 2 more problems. 1)With low contrast screens, your image will be washed out. 2)How do you plan on dimming the screen at night time?

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