building a mirror 101

1a2a3a

hi all
im finally thinking of building a mirror and i really need some guidance here as this is really not my expertise.

i noticed back in the days, people are using ikea ribba photo frame because the front is made of glass instead of plastic (now). I am trying to source in my market if theres a used glass ribba, thereafter, install a flim to it.

Lets assume the above is not possible, i may potentially ask a vendor to custom make a 2 way mirror frame.

the monitor i have is philips 243v7qjab.

i have some questions here:

if i go the film route, where should the film be installed? in front of the glass or behind? and the monitor screen goes behind the glass directly and ill have to glue the glass to the lcd panel?
based on past thread, people are buy 50x70 ribba. but my 24inch monitor goes around 53x32. this would not fit the ribba directly. i see alot of video indicating that the panel and glass has to be the same measurement. so how does this work?
any special tools equipment that i need?

sdetweil

@1a2a3a 1. the film is mounted on the front of the glass/plastic.

is that the size of the plastic case or the actual monitor screen?
none that I have seen discussed here

did you look thru the show your mirror section?
https://forum.magicmirror.builders/category/12/show-your-mirror

1a2a3a

@sdetweil 1. thanks, i always thought its the back of the glass/plastic where the monitor goes into. just for clarity, lcd goes to the back of the glass/plastic then the other side of the glass/plastic (front facing human) is where the film is ya?

actual monitor size. im actually thinking of just chucking the entire monitor into the glass and wall mount it and be done with it based on what i seen online. i supposed alot of people are using a full glass/plastic/mirror but the lcd is a small section of the overall frame? hence the ‘digital’ section is just within the size of the lcd panel.

Theres something i dont quite get is assuming the film at the front. the font is where you see the mirror and cant see whats beneath (so if i attached the entire monitor behind it, the bezel cannot be seen). Then in this instance, since whatever is behind cant be seen, how does the lcd showcase the wording outwards?

yes i actually did. i did see some wire connector and some cpu board (i think its specifically for laptop? not sure).

sdetweil

@1a2a3a the films have a shiny side and a not shiny side. the not shiny side goes to the glass.

I haven’t seen one the other way, film mounted behind. film is not a very good solution in my opinion.

the film is see thru, else you wouldn’t get the monitor see thru at all.

yes, some have a smaller window of content in a big mirror. consider a mirror in a bathroom. don’t need the whole wall as the ui, just a small section to see traffic, todays schedule and weather.

MMRIZE

@1a2a3a
Of course you can build your own frame and glass with exact size to fit your lcd panel by yourself, or with custom-made. It is just expensive or handcraft skill needs.

1a2a3a

I don’t suppose the people put background images when building a mirror mirror? I only see background images for dashboard style. Those with mirror are more of text wording?

Any idea how it would be like with background images for mirror?

sdetweil

@1a2a3a can’t imagine using background images w a mirror surface as they would be altered by the mirror darkness.

1a2a3a

Does anybody know if the film only works in the day? My local supplier told me that it will only work as mirror in the day due to sunlight. Thoughts?

MMRIZE

@1a2a3a I will not use any film type. But your choice. Look and feel is relative.

1a2a3a

Probably going to use and try it out first. So it’s true film only works in the day?

MMRIZE

@1a2a3a
Everything is relative. Good reflex means bad readability and vice versa. A perfect mirror in the bright living room at noon may not be good for a dark bathroom at night . Someone thinks even a film is his best choice, but another may regards it is a crap with horrible distortion,…
There is no golden rule for this. Every environment and case is different and nobody dare to say the answer.

Try yourself.

1a2a3a

@MMRIZE thanks will do. Last question, what’s the spec of the 2 way mirror I should be looking for if I were to buy one? 3mm with 50% reflection?

MMRIZE

@1a2a3a If your LCD has enough brightness and good contrast, more reflection(less transmission) will be the better.
The dilemma is this. More it looks like a real mirror, more it will lose readability.
Under the direct strong daylight, Any film or glass cannot help to read small fonts or dimmed color. It will be a nice mirror(but with a little duplexed reflections)
At night in dark room like bath, whatever can show MM nicely. But by condition of handcrafts, the inside of mirror might be shown somehow transparently.(like bezel of panel or wires, your RPI…).

I say again, all the satisfaction is relative. Someone will think it is enough and someone will not regardless of how much good or how much expensive the material is, how much reflexive or how much transmissible it is.

So the glass or film itself might not be so important to someone(and be so to another). It depends on your purpose, where you install, under which light circumstances, which panel you use, and how it constructed with frame, and etc.

Try and find your own answer. And even consider a info board style without mirror also.

And if you ask me,I made 10s MM in several years after knowing this project, I don’t build “mirror” anymore after first 2 builds.

sdetweil

@MMRIZE like you, I haven’t built a mirrored device. I just don’t need another mirror anywhere. the info panel in the hall is perfect.

I thought of one in the master bathroom, but don’t spend much time in there, and nothing is that time critical…

1a2a3a

So now I’m facing kinda my own dilemma here. Having uncovered that mirror shall not have background images, my wife is asking for the dashboard version over the mirror because she wanted our baby daughter photo to be in.

I have bought the ikea Ribba glass version for the mirror. But since it’s going dashboard, my issue here is that the glass has to be the same exact size as the monitor. Previously I was working under the impression that if I hide the small lcd behind a bigger mirror that is fine. But if I were to do a dashboard, my glass and lcd has to be the same exact size. My assumption correct?

Actually for dashboard, do people just frame around the lcd or do they use a plastic/glass?

And if so, any advice what I should proceed with next? I’m stuck with the following item:
24 inch monitor
IKEA ribba glass 50x70

Few options came to my mind.

ignore ribba, mount monitor to wall and use monitor as dashboard and call it a day.
custom made a whole new frame and glass/plastic to fit the monitor.
buy a lcd panel that is 50*70 to fit ribba.
put the lcd panel into the ribba glass. The excess putter space cover it with films or use the white cut out that’s included in the ribba.

Hmmmm

sdetweil

@1a2a3a if I am doing dashboard/info panel, I just use a tv.

there is not much module support for touch, and I don’t want fingerprints anyhow.

MMRIZE

@1a2a3a
Save your money and focus on building itself on first try. After first attempt, you can realize what you need really and what is the point of your work. And finally you will realize what to do.(even though it could be, “Ok, I’ll quit now.” :D)

bhepler

@1a2a3a - One of the modules that I maintain is MMM-WeatherBackground. It will put a background image on your mirror and change it up according to what your weather app forecasts.

I find that the key feature is the ability to set the transparency of the background image. That way you can adjust how much of the background image is present vs the reflection that you see.