Make your monitor invisible (well almost)

Create a desktop background to amuse and confuse your friends and co-workers using just a digital camera and a bit of fiddling.

Step 1 You will need...

A computer system, a digital camera and some local currency

Comments

[Earths_hope]

Top Notch!

[babyboi512]

this is not invisible monitor its jst seems dat the monitor is see thru

[wenpherd]

omygosh!!! really!! (sarcastic face)

[jackcday]

really...

[Gage987]

it would be cool to get a tiney camera and stream live video as your desktop becaus i have a dell inspiron and it is always moving through the house

[ReCreate]

you can the vlc media player can play video on the desktop It can also get video from any video camera that connects to the computer

[ReCreate]

the vlc media player can play video on the desktop

[CyberBill]

There is actually a different way to do this that gives -MUCH- better results. Set up the camera on a tripod, set it wherever you want the image to look best from, typically the place where the user of the computer sits. Remove the monitor, take a picture, put the monitor back, take a picture. Then using a photo program lock the two images together and stretch the picture with the monitor until all you see is whats 'on' the monitor. Then save just the 'background' picture which is now mostly cropped, put it as your desktop background, and take another (3rd) picture of the setup. If you do this and don't move the camera, you can create VERY realistic looking images. :)

[munchman]

Why not just lock the camera on the monitor, remove the monitor, and take a picture?

[doggiedude]

This reminds me of an old joke I used to pull in college. 1) Video tape 15 min or so of your empty bathroom. 2) Invite people over to watch a movie, sporting event, etc. 3) When 1 person goes into the bathroom, play the tape to the other people. 4) Tell everyone to start laughing when the person comes out of the bathroom. 5) When the victim returns, let them catch a few seconds of the empty bathroom on the TV while you fumble for the VCR remote.

[Darkshot]

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PAWZ]

thats a great prank. i think that would be hilarious to do on mates. i cant wait to try that one, its so simple, you wouldnt even need a vid, you could just use a still using a phone camera and it'd probably be as effective. it would be so easy to do quickly at a party. hey you should do an instructable of it! i've seen other good pranks on here. i'd rate it. ps. i already knew this instructable prank and other ways to do it and use it, and have already seen this instructable somewhere else on here for an led monitor, yours is good too though, i espescially like the added currency extra joke though, thats a new one to me. thumbs up to you both!

[kiwi_soccer_maniac]

lol thats awesome got 2 try it

[SyBerWoLff]

It could also be possible to hook up a Webcam to the back of your monitor and use Windows Live Desktop feature to have a webpage with your webcam embedded into it as your desktop that way curious people can stick their hand behind your monitor and see it on screen Atleast I think that'd be possible >.<

[crapflinger]

that would be totally possible

[i make shooting things]

you could also paint the edges of moneter (use painters tape or yull screw the screen)

[teethlikelions]

engenius

[Dima210]

wow thats realy cool,my dad freaked lol.

[cpf]

Take it one step further and put a webcam behind your (real) monitor and create an application to simulate your desktop background but to have streaming video instead of a stationary picture imposed on it.

[robotix]

I did this and then printed the picture and cut out the monitors screen so i could tape it to the whit ege of the monitor it worked beter.

[Dafishmaster]

But if you did that.. then you couldn't use the monitor, doing it this way makes it functional still. I really wanna try this, I need to wait for my sister to get home to use her digital camera.

[SugarTeen52]

SWEET! Anyone can have fun with that! Another thing you could try is getting the same effect on a TV with footage of money, and when you have a party, you can put the movie on for a while! Just put the video camera on a tripod and tape a video of money where your TV is on the floor. It would take more experimenting, but still, THAT would be worth it, huh? Hahahaha!

[Cusco]

Oh, meant to say thanks for the Intructable too...

[Cusco]

Oh, I just love the idea of someone jabbing there @#*%ing hand into my $500+ Samsung. Would be rotfl, right?

[dopenkly]

Clever

[PeterTheUnGreat]

Great examples, people with a lot of patience!

[chron]

I like it. Here are some more examples of "transparent monitors". :-)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/w00kie/sets/180637/

[PeterTheUnGreat]

It does, I first did it at work and the colour rendering is much better on an LCD and because it is passive it looks more 'real'

[wisepig]

This might work better with an LCD which would have a thinner edge and border around the screen.