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DIY INFINITY CONTRAST TV BUILT FROM 100 PERCENT RECYCLED PARTS

A television with OLED-deep blacks, built entirely from hardware other people threw away.

by Matt, DIY Perks

FULL CAD BOM FIRMWARE DOCS

DisplaysWorkshop

difficulty
●●●●○
time
a weekend-plus
license
license not specified
repo
repo 0 stars

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Videos
1
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COMPAREE VERDICT

This is a demonstration build, not a weekend kit. Matt of DIY Perks built a television with OLED-like deep blacks by removing the backlight from an LCD TV with a broken backlight and placing an old DLP office projector behind the bare panel. The projector does not show the picture - it paints a soft luminance map of the same frame onto the back of the panel, so bright parts are lit and black parts receive almost no light. Because the light is switched off in dark areas rather than merely blocked by the liquid crystal, the panel gets far closer to true black than a normal backlight allows. The luminance map is generated in real time in OBS using a luma key and a glow filter, and sent full-screen to the projector. The effect is striking, and the parts are genuinely salvage if you have access to e-waste. But there is no parts list, no alignment jig files, and lag and copy-protected content are untested, and the creator himself says it will never be as bright or colour-accurate as an OLED. The documentation is a video plus a forum thread, not a structured guide. If you want to explore the technique and contribute to the development, this is a good starting point. If you want a finished TV at the end of the weekend, buy one.

GOOD TO KNOW

  • —No repository, no bill of materials, no packaged files.
  • —The build is documented in one YouTube video; development continues in a DIY Perks forum thread and on their Discord, and the OBS glow filter plugin is linked in the video description.
  • —You need a dead LED-backlit LCD television, an old DLP projector, OBS Studio, and a capture card or second HDMI output.
  • —Alignment, latency and copy-protected content are not solved in the video; forum users have raised them as open questions.
  • —No licence stated; the technique and OBS filter chain are public, but this is a development build, not a finished kit.
  • —Free in the sense that the parts are salvage and the software is OBS Studio, which is open source.

Parts to buy

4 items

From our check of the build. Exact quantities and part numbers are in the creator’s BOM.

  • Dead LED-backlit LCD televisionFind
  • Old DLP projectorFind
  • Video capture card or a second HDMI outputFind
  • Mounting hardware for alignmentFind

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Can I build this?

Printnothing required
Buya dead LED-backlit LCD television, an old DLP projector, a video capture card or a second HDMI output, and mounting hardware for alignment
Toolsscrewdrivers, a way to disassemble the TV safely, a computer running OBS Studio, and patience for alignment
Skillscomfortable disassembling a television, familiar with OBS Studio, willing to work through latency and alignment problems without a finished guide
Timea weekend-plus — the disassembly is an afternoon, the OBS setup is an evening, and alignment is iterative
Cost$ — parts are salvage, but you need a capture card if you do not have a second HDMI output, and that is the only real cost
SafetyDischarging capacitors in a dead television is the main risk. Do not work on mains-powered electronics unless you know how to do so safely. The projector lamp is high-intensity; do not look directly into it.

This build involves mains voltage — for adults comfortable with electrical work only.

Build at your own risk. Projects involve tools, electronics and sometimes mains voltage — follow the creator’s safety notes.

Videos

DIY "infinity contrast" TV - with 100% recycled parts

The entire build is in this video. The creator walks through the concept, the disassembly, the OBS filter chain, and the first results. No chapters provided, no packaged files.

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Gallery

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Start here

Navigation into the creator’s own docs — we don’t rewrite the guide, we route you to the source.

  1. 1.Watch the video (The entire build is documented here. No separate files.)
  2. 2.Find a dead LED-backlit LCD television and an old DLP projector(Both are commonly available as e-waste. The television does not need to work; the panel does.)
  3. 3.Set up OBS Studio and configure the luma key and glow filters as shown in the video(This is the heart of the build. The video shows the filter chain; you will need to replicate it.)
  4. 4.Align the projector behind the panel(This is iterative and there is no jig. Expect to spend time on this.)

KNOWN ISSUES

  • The build has no parts list. You need to source a dead LED TV and an old DLP projector, and both need to be the right kind — not all projectors work well for this, and not all LCD panels strip cleanly.
  • Alignment is manual and iterative. There is no jig, no CAD file, and no structured guide for mounting the projector at the right distance and angle.
  • Latency is untested: the video does not discuss it, and forum users have asked how well the projector and LCD stay in sync. Test with fast motion before you build it into a living room.
  • Copy-protected content (HDCP) is likely a problem: a forum user notes the OBS capture and the projector's VGA link would trip it. Check before you plan to watch streaming services on it.
  • OBS Studio is free, but the filter chain is shown, not packaged. You will need to build it yourself from the video, and if you have never used OBS before, expect a learning curve.
  • Discharging capacitors in a dead television is dangerous if you do not know what you are doing. Do not attempt this unless you are comfortable working on mains-powered electronics.

Do I need a specific model of television or projector?

The video does not specify models. You need an LED-backlit LCD television with a removable backlight and a DLP projector that can be driven full-screen from a computer. Both are common in e-waste, but not all units are suitable.

What about latency?

The video does not measure or discuss latency. Because the projector's light map goes through OBS on a computer, it can lag behind the TV picture; forum users have raised syncing as an open question, so test with fast motion before you rely on it for gaming.

Can I watch Netflix or other HDCP-protected content?

Probably not as built. The video does not cover it, but a forum user points out that capturing the picture in OBS and driving the projector over VGA would run into HDCP copy protection on services like Netflix.

Is this better than OLED?

No. The creator himself says it will never be anywhere near as bright or as colour-accurate as an OLED TV - the point is that blacks this deep come from two pieces of e-waste. It also needs careful alignment, and it has not been tested for lag or copy-protected content.

Where are the files?

There are no files. The build is documented in the video and the forum thread. You replicate the OBS filter chain by hand.

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Discussion1

FROM THE COMPAREE TEAM

The technique is striking, but latency and alignment are still open problems being worked through in the forum. If you have built one, how did you solve alignment, and what did you use for the projector mount?

CompareeTEAM1mo agoedited

Practical notes from our verification: the build is documented as a DIY Perks video, a forum development thread and the DIY Perks Discord, not as a packaged kit - there is no repository or parts list. The technique works - the black levels are genuinely deep - but you will spend most of your time on alignment yourself. The video shows the OBS filter setup and the description links the Stroke Glow Shadow plugin it uses, but you build the filter chain by hand. Forum users have raised questions the video does not cover: which TVs are suitable, copy-protected content (HDCP) and keeping the projector and LCD in sync. This is a demonstration build for someone who wants to explore the technique, not a finished TV at the end of the weekend. Correction (4 October 2026): we re-checked this page line by line against the project's own repository, documentation and videos, and fixed errors in earlier versions.

Matt, DIY Perks

Matt runs DIY Perks, a YouTube channel focused on high-end DIY electronics and display builds. The infinity contrast TV is a demonstration of a technique he developed to achieve OLED-quality blacks using salvaged hardware, documented in a single video and an ongoing forum discussion.

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  • Information is provided without warranty and may become outdated as projects evolve. Prices are indicative bands only — always check the creator’s parts list for current costs.
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