Ambient Display Glow

A high-school build. Addressable RGB LEDs behind the monitor, an ESP driving them, and software sampling the screen edges in real time so the picture bleeds onto the wall. A DIY take on Philips Ambilight.

The build

Philips’ Ambilight TVs sync wall lighting to the picture, and I wanted it on my desk. A strip of addressable RGB LEDs around the back of the monitor, an ESP driving them, and software sampling the colours at the screen’s edges and streaming them to the strip in real time.

It looks better than it has any right to. The picture seems to spill past the bezel onto the wall. No formal electronics training at that point, just an idea and a soldering iron. It earns its place here as the first time software, electronics and “how does this feel to use” came together.