Noob with 27" Samsung LCD TV

rvk1983

Hi folks,

I’ve been doing some research on magic mirrors and came across this forum. I’m trying to build one using my 10+ year old Samsung LCD TV. This is the model:
https://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/product/2008-lcd-tv-a550-series

I was hoping some of the experts here can guide me on my first build. Since this is a first build, I was hoping not to shell out a lot of money for glass. My goal is really to learn how to build it and enjoy the process & learn something new. It would be used primarily for the mirror and the display features would be secondary.

With that said, my questions are:

Should I go with a two acrylic mirror for an old TV like this?
Could I also just use reflective film on top of the LCD w/ plexiglass?

Thanks for any input!

broberg

@rvk1983 If your main goal is to use it as a mirror, you Do want glass, there is no discussion, a glass mirror will give you the best reflection.
The next best thing is acrylic, the downside with acrylic, mostly on larger areas, are that it’s soft and does tend to flex which if you are not careful will result in a funhouse mirror effect. But as long as you make sure it doesn’t flex, it will work just fine.

Reflective film is super difficult to apply without getting bubbles, creases or dirt caught in it. Even the tiniest defect will show.
But it’s cheap.

when it comes to choosing the light transmission (that is the factor that decides how much you will see through the mirror coating) there is no perfect option, you have to consider where it will be placed, i.e light sources near the mirror, the contrast of your screen etc etc. All to minimize the backlight shining through the dark areas.

Another thing to think about when using TV’s instead of monitors is that TV’s doesn’t always “go to sleep” when the hdmi output of the computer is turned off, instead it displays a “no signal” message, which can be annoying.

rvk1983

Thanks @broberg

It looks like acrylic would be the better way to go for me. I don’t think I’m ready to spend the $ on glass for the first build. I see a lot of recommendations for acrylic mirrors from TapPlastics.com, but I see that the local Home Depot/Lowe’s also sell acrylic mirrors for a lot less. I’m wondering if these would also get the job done for a first build:

https://www.tapplastics.com/product/plastics/cut_to_size_plastic/two_way_mirrored_acrylic/558

https://www.homedepot.com/p/24-in-x-36-in-x-118-in-Acrylic-Mirror-AM2436S/202509285

Mykle1

@rvk1983

You must have a ‘two way’ mirror no matter where you purchase it from. A standard mirror will not work for MM. Notice that your Tap Plastics link states that it is a two way mirror. Also notice that your Home Depot link does NOT state two way mirror.

rvk1983

Thanks for the clarification @Mykle1 - think I’m going to hit up a few plastic spots near me to see what prices I get.

cowboysdude

I just bought 2 - 32" LED NON Smart TV’s that were on sale for 60 bucks each… I’ll store them until I can figure out what to do with them.

sdetweil

@cowboysdude I have a 32 in tv as a photo frame w call and weather.
Some days running MagicMirror, some days running smart-mirror. Depending on what I think needs to be worked on