6 Steps to Project Laptop Screen to Wall without a Projector

How to Project Laptop Screen to a Wall Without a Projector?

You have a movie night with friends, but the projector broke down. There are various prices of projectors on the internet, but most are expensive. Don’t worry because you can still watch without an actual projector.

Our experts have listed ways to protect your laptop on the wall without using a projector.

Easy to make a DIY projector

Projectors are widely used because they can easily project your laptop screen onto a larger display. They are usually used to watch movies because they display high-quality images on a large screen. However, most will need to connect it to external speakers for sound output.

They are making their way into home theaters and are slowly replacing televisions. However, buying a quality projector can be expensive. So the key to reducing costs can be your mobile projector.

How Do You Create A DIY Projector?

Creating a DIY projector is a fun and creative project. To get started, you will need a few supplies including a cardboard box, magnifying glass, flashlight, tape, and scissors.

• First, cut two holes in the top of the cardboard box, one for the magnifying glass and one for the flashlight.
• Then, tape the magnifying glass to the top of the box and the flashlight to the back of the box.
• Finally, place a white sheet of paper in the box and turn on the flashlight.
• You should now be able to see a projected image on the paper. Have fun experimenting with different sizes of boxes, magnifying glasses, and flashlights to see how the projected image changes.

Tools and materials

Before starting the process of how to project a laptop screen on a wall without a projector, you must first prepare all the materials. Here are the items you need to prepare for your cheap DIY projector.

• Tape
• Pencil
• Portable computer
• Adhesive
• Smartphone
• Precision knife
• Cardboard boxes
• Black matte paper
• A magnifying lens, preferably a large one

These are all common household items. If some materials are not available, you can substitute some of them with any materials at home that will do the same job. This method will give you a DIY laptop or cardboard phone projector. So, once everything is in place, you can start your project.

Don’t worry because you don’t have to be a creative person here. Just follow the cost-effective method of projecting your laptop screen on the wall without a projector. Your decision will only be needed in finding a replacement for the above materials.

Step 1: Box size measurement and the mirror.

The first thing you need to do is decide on the size of the box you will be using. It should be big enough to fit your laptop or mobile phone and have a magnifying glass. A light source will be used to line the inside of the container and pass through the magnifier.

Make sure you use the right size box, preferably a long box. It allows you to adjust the distance between the laptop and the lens nicely. This will create an adjustable focus for your projector. If you’re using a laptop, use a lens as big as your screen.

Place the lens in the middle of the narrow side of the box and trace the shape with a pencil. If you want brighter and better image quality, you need to use a light source that can provide more light beams.

Step 2: Mute the interior by cutting the box’s outer

Using an Exacto knife, cut the outer box from one corner. It is better to do this on the edge of the box so as not to damage the walls of the box. Cover the inside of the container with thick black paper or black matte paper. Don’t forget to apply glue to the paper to keep it in place.

The black paper will prevent the interior walls of the box from reflecting the light, thus dimming it. This will then provide the ideal image to be projected onto the big screen.

Another option is to use black. Just apply black paint to the inside of the box and let the paint dry. Just make sure all adjacent sides are painted black.

Step 3: Install your lens

Cut the box according to the trace you made of the lens. I recommend to you that the aperture and the lens be the same size to project the image correctly. Once done, install the lens into the hole you made.

Step 4: Make the hole for the phone

In this part, you will need to do a manually adjustable focus designed for your phone screen. This step will require the creation and use of a second box that must be complementary to the first box.

Take a small box that fits inside a large box. Then cut out one side of the box that has the same dimensions as your cell phone screen. You also need to make sure the other box doesn’t have any shiny material to avoid interrupting the projector.

Step 5: Adjust other parts to make it perfect

Now that the projector is ready, you can now adjust the fine details of the project. If you’re using a shoe box, you may need to cut out part of the lid so it doesn’t cover any part of the magnifying lens.

Step 6: Set up your laptop now

Once everything is ready, you can place the laptop in the box. Start watching the movie and watch the image size increase on the wall. However, without changing the settings, the image will be projected upside down.

To fix this, find a video editor on your laptop. Start a new project and then rename this project. Import a video and select it from the project library. Press “Ctrl” + “R” to rotate the screen until it is upside down. Save the video.

The next image that appears on your laptop screen will be upside down but will have the correct orientation when projected onto a wall. To save time, Windows 10 users can simply search for display settings and press Enter.

When using a mobile phone, disable auto-rotate mode and place the phone upside down. It will give the same results the same using a laptop.

Adjusting focus

Now test your projector. Play the movie and test the picture quality. If the quality is not very good, adjust the focus by moving the laptop away from the phone. Adjust it until you get the image you want.

For audio, you may need an external speaker to get loud as the laptop or phone will need to be in the container. This will trap the sound inside. If your speaker has a VGA port, use a VGA cable to connect the device.

If a VGA cable is not available, check the compatibility of an RCA or HDMI cable.

(If you want to know more about VGA, we have a dedicated page for maximum VGA resolution)

Using a flashlight as a projector

Our experts recommend another entertaining way to protect your laptop screen on the wall without using a projector. You will use a Fresnel lens [1] and a flashlight for this.

Using the above lens, place the lamp on the wall to act as a magnifying glass. You will need to adjust the lens alignment until the projected image is to your liking.

With these DIY projectors, you no longer have to decide which projectors to buy. You can have a pleasant viewing experience during a movie or even during birthday parties.

To the complete satisfaction of the viewer, these DIY projectors will also work for outdoor viewing, but at a lower quality than commercial ones.

Last Thinking about Project Laptop Screen to Wall Without Projector

It is possible to connect your laptop to a wall without a projector, depending on the type of wall you have. If you have a flat wall, you can use a special adapter such as a VGA adapter or an HDMI adapter to connect your laptop to the wall. This will enable you to display your laptop screen on the wall. Alternatively, if you have a wall made of brick, stone, or concrete, you could use a projector designed for outdoor use to project your laptop screen onto the wall.

Conclusion

Watching movies is also possible without a projector. Our experts have compiled methods you can follow to protect your laptop screen on the wall without a projector. You can make your own with a box, a lens, and a laptop or mobile device. This will display a magnified image similar to your projector.

Make sure to run a test before the final show

Absolutely! Before the show, I would highly recommend running a test to make sure everything is working properly. This will help ensure a successful performance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Willmar Furgeson

Co-author of Laptop Flix and Digital Marketing Manager at Lists of Top Quora Content. also run space for the laptop community on quora as well