DIY Embedded for TV

Ambilight technology is the dynamic background lighting of the wall behind the TV. It is patented by Philips and creates a unique effect when watching TV shows and movies. This also applies to video games. The gaming experience in this case becomes unforgettable. The load on vision is significantly reduced by reducing the contrast in the lighting between the wall and what is happening on the screen.

Do-it-yourself ambilight for your TV

A Philips patent prohibits other manufacturers from using technology in their products. But fortunately, this does not apply to ordinary users. For your needs at home, you can easily make such a backlight for the TV. And if you take into account the cheapness of Chinese components and the simplicity of ordering them via the Internet, this will not require large financial investments.

Implementation options

To implement this project for a TV, there are several ways. The choice of option should be based not only on financial capabilities, but also on other factors related to equipment:

• PC backlight. A Windows box or other computer installed next to the TV will do just fine with this task.
• Using android consoles. This option can be a bit problematic due to the need to use a Kodi media player, which does not work with all equipment.
• Using a microcomputer and video capture device. This option is the most versatile and is able to provide the organization of backlight from any video source.

How to embile

The easiest way to create Ambilight is to use the Arduino microcomputer. The device itself of such a backlight is very simple, but implies the presence of a PC through which the video signal passes and is processed.

Accessories

To start working on the project, you will need some components. You can easily buy everything you need in specialized online stores. In order to organize a high-quality embroidery you need to buy:

• Address LED strip. The length of the tape is equal to the perimeter of the monitor.
• Power Supply. With a standard voltage of 5 volts and a power of at least 2 amperes. But preferably more.
• One 350-500 ohm resistor.
• Microcomputer Arduino Nano.

The cost of these parts is very insignificant (about 1 thousand rubles), especially when you take into account the resulting effect.

LED Strip Testing

LED strip in this project plays a crucial role, therefore, its choice should be treated with the utmost attention. The density of the diodes determines the quality and smoothness of lighting. For embilitey, you should choose from 30 to 60 elements per meter of tape (more can be, but a more powerful power source will be required).

The presence of a self-adhesive coating is also a rather important factor. In this case, the installation will be greatly simplified. For our purpose, a tape with the marking WS2812B or WS2811, which you can easily find on Aliexpress, is perfect.

Wiring diagram

The connection of all components is quite simple and requires minimal skills with a soldering iron. Connect the tape with food and arduino should be as follows:

1. The contacts of the ground tape (labeled GND) are connected to the negative terminal of the power supply and microcomputer.
2. The contact marked "D1" is connected to the arduino to the 6th pin through a resistor.
3. The tape power itself is connected to the positive terminal of the unit.

This completes the connection of components, and the next step is to install them on the screen.

Ambilight installation

To install the LED strip, if there is no self-adhesive coating on it, you should use double-sided tape. Paste carefully over the perimeter of the screen, starting from the lower right corner. If a tape with a high density of diodes is selected, you will need to cut it in the corner joints and solder it with wires.

It is desirable to place the microcomputer in some kind of plastic case, but this is not necessary. Use double-sided tape to attach it to the TV.

Software setup

After installation, it remains to configure everything correctly, and the dynamic ambilight backlight is ready for use. The first thing to do is install the Adalight.ino firmware on the arduino:

1. Download the Arduino IDE and Adalight.ino from the Internet.
2. Place the Adalight.ino sketch in the folder previously created for this (at "Documents"> "Arduino"> "Adalight").
3. Connect the microcomputer and run the IDE, open the sketch.
4. In the NUM_LEDS field, indicate your number of LEDs.
5. Make sure that the PIN field matches the pin on the card where the tape is connected.
6. Select in the settings ("Tools"> "Port") the COM port. There will be one that is needed.
7. Click the Download button.

On the PC that will control the backlight, install the AmbiBox application. Here in the settings you will also need to specify the port, the number of LEDs and frame rate. In addition, in this program there are subtle settings for the capture zones and others, by experimenting with which you can achieve the desired result.

After all these simple operations, you can feel the new sensations of watching your favorite television series and films. In addition, such a backlight will decorate the room with bright colors, it will significantly reduce the load on the eyes in the dark.