TV Backlight -usb powered-

<<Please vote for me, thank you!>>

This project came about because I have a decent amount of LED projects around my house and my friend asked me if I could turn one of those into a light he could put behind his TV!  But he has his TV hung on the wall and didn't want to have any wires hanging down or anything that required being plugged in.  I took a look at his TV, and it, along with most new flat panels, have a couple USB sockets on the side.  And I thought PERFECT I can just use the 5 volt power out of the USB port!

This is a really simple project that looks great!  You can use the idea of this project for many different ideas and areas-- not just for behind the TV!

Step 1: Parts and Tools needed

To start off, grab the materials and the tools for the project.


Materials Needed:

USB cable (cannibalize it off of any old or broken electronics)

Container (any container that you like, choose one that fits your project!)

Solder

Wire Black/Red

Resistors (correct resistance for a 5-volt power supply and your LED's. If you are not sure check out the LED calculator)

LED's  (any color you desire)

Spray Paint  (whatever color or texture you want!)

Hot Glue


Tools Needed:

Soldering Iron

Wire cutters

Drill

Drill Bits

Hot Glue Gun

Paper

Pencil

Comments

[envenum]

made this and it works great but not as bright as how yours is maybe because i used red leds? was gonna try another one with 5mm instead of 3mm but the calculater says i need 12ohm resisters how come the 3mm used 68ohm resisters then?

[seligtobiason]

the size of the LED shouldn't change what kind of resistor it needs, it is all about what voltage and ohms the LED needs. How are you figuring out the resistor needed?

[ALF.]

Where do you get the leds?

[seligtobiason]

There are many different places to get LED's, I found the cheapest way is to buy them off of ebay. Not always the best quality, but nice and cheap and good for the little projects.

[EET1982]

I finished your project. It was fun building it. As we discussed before I only have 1 USB port. So I got a small Radio Shack project box, switch and a 9v battery. Worked perfectly. Thanks again for a great project!

[seligtobiason]

That turned out great! Nice work, I am glad that you built one and enjoyed it!

[EET1982]

Hi how are you? I am in the process of duplicating your awesome back lighting. Unfortunately when my t.v. is turned off I get 0v from the USB port. I only get the 5v when the t.v. is on. Was your t.v. just wired differently or did you have to do something different to get it to work. Thank you in advance for your help.

[seligtobiason]

I see your dilemma, I have three USB plugs on the side of my TV and two out of the three are constant 5V... so I didn't do anything fancy to rewire it to get it to be on when the TV was off.

My suggestion would be to use a power supply instead of using the USB for power OR get a adapter for the USB to plug into the wall such as the adapter that comes with iphones etc...

Sorry I couldn't be more help, and please let me know if you have anymore questions!

[EET1982]

Thank you for the reply. I think I'll hook it up to a nine volt battey. I'll play around with the leds and resistors to see how bright I can get without blowing them. Again thank you for the reply. I love this instructable. Great job!

[edwin994]

Oh My!!!!!!!
this is damn nice....nice man^^

[frameup]

this is great !!

sir do u think its a good idea to put switch ?

[seligtobiason]

Yes! I actually ended up adding a switch... much easier to turn off and on.

[PugOfChunk]

Hey this is an amazing idea and im gonna do it for my Gameroom during the summer. Quick question though....is there a way to power it through the wall outlet? causeeee i dont have many computers or usb outlets :( and i want to me able to wire it easier

Thanks in advance and sorry if i sound stupid haha (Im new to LED's and electrical projects)

[RobWar]

You can get hold of usb plug sockets, I work in a hotel and people are always leaving them.. just go to reception and say you left one ages ago and they'll probably give you one

[TattooMickey]

I have finished a project like this one a couple years ago when Phillips first came out with the idea for the back of their TV's. My TV at the time didn't have USB on it, so I used an old phone charger that plugs into the wall...

Just cut the end off it that would attach to the phone and use it as above. Most phone charges are around 5- 5.5V and work perfectly for LED setups!

GO for it!

[PugOfChunk]

Yea! i was thinking of using a iphone charger than converts usb to the outlet! just put some resistors and ill be good! Thanks a bunch ill post pics soon

[rhobere]

I've been planning to a do a project similar to this for a while and I have one piece of advice that could improve the appearance. If you use a pair of wire cutters, you can actually cut the dome of the LED's off. Since this is the part of the "bulb" that focuses the light, removing it will allow a much more even splay of light. It would look a little more "washed" with color rather than just having spotlights coming out of the back.

[seligtobiason]

Thank you for your advice, but for this project I actually wanted the star-burst look. If you take a look at my other instructables I have a couple other ways to disperse the light too.

[khazgoroth]

it would be awesome if the leds blinked syncronised with sound ! :D

[swarnavo.datta]

This was the first instructable i tried and it WORKED!!! my tv is looking great with the backlight...thanks a hell lot for it!!!

[seligtobiason]

Awesome! Glad you like it, and happy you made it!

[scooter2013]

How about 5mm leds with 200ma resistors? Can it be done or will it fail?

[seligtobiason]

Well, what you should do is go to a LED calculator and plug in all the info to get your result! Unfortunately I can not tell you if that would work since it is the more what the LED is requiring in voltage, and not the size that determines what resistor is needed. Example: my Blue LEDs require 3.3 volts at 20 Ohms, so I would use a 100 Ohm 1/4 watt resistor.

Here is the link to the LED calculator

http://led.linear1.org/led.wiz

[Moofish]

I think this a very cool project to undertake. Great idea and it's very simple to do. Well done seligtobiason!

[Wally_Z]

I've seen people put RGB LED's on the back of their TV's and have it change color depending on the colors displayed on the TV. How would I do this? Or if someone could provide a link I would be grateful.

[jibbyjammin]

THANK YOU, WORKED GREAT AND LOOKS EVEN BETTER.

[Aaqib1]

Amazing Project. I made one and for my 46" Samsung D8000 3D Smart TV and the end result was fantastic. I used 10000mcd ultrabright LEDs which I bought off of eBay. Delivery time was 2.5 days.They arrived Quick!

[bch1]

Im looking forward to do this instructable! it looks simple enough so that i cant mess anything up too badly ...
i have a question though... how does the LED calculator work? i dont know the diode forward voltage or diode forward current... can you help me out?

[seligtobiason]

Well you should really check the specs of the LED, but if you don't have any, there are some very general rules to go by with LED's. On the LED Calculator click on the little "?" next to the "diode forward voltage" and "diode forward current (mA)" and it will give you a little reference to work off of.

Let me know if you need anything else!

[pcurrell]

Love the instructable... def has me inspired to do my first one... I'm planning on using some 90mm storm water pipe with end caps... prob a couple of $$ at most! (and not conductive)... going to use warm white leds 24000mcd http://www.altronics.com.au/index.asp?area=item&id=Z0877A

[JesseJames92x]

well I gave it go, using 8 LEDs. I couldn't tell you the last time I soldered anything, but I only burned out 4 of them! LOL As a complete amateur pretty proud that at least works! Thanks for the post, it was fun. I'll definitely be trying again once I've fine tuned my skills.

Cheers

- James

[souptech]

New to this and would just like to know what about circuit protection? Hope that doesn't seem like a dumb question, just thinking about any damage to the device that I may plug it into if something goes wrong:) Thanks in advance.

[seligtobiason]

Well, I am sure there are many ways to add circuit protection, the way I can think of is simply adding a fuse to the circuit. I do believe that the USB port already has protection on it. But to make sure take a look at the specs of whatever USB port you are plugging it into! Sorry I don't have a more specific answer, hope that helps.

[mizzle88]

First off, great instructable. I was just wondering how people are hanging them behind the tv. I was thinking of just using velcro, is that what others did?

[seligtobiason]

You can really use whatever you want as long as it supports the weight of the container. Velcro would work great for this, I used "Poster Tak", its a blue sticky goo that keeps things in place, but doesn't leave any marks when removed. I bought it at Micheal's arts and crafts store. But I am sure any office supply store would have it also. Hope that helps!

[madbirdone10]

Hey there! Tremendous and really easy to make Project....

I've used 10 leds, and a value of 300 ohm resistors.. I guess I could get more light without all the things around the TV.. ;)

It`s my first instructable done, and I got to say that I love it, now I can´t watch tv without it..!

Thanks man!

[seligtobiason]

So glad you like it. Looks great, thanks for sharing your pictures!

[jtony2009]

Wow dude, this is the FIRST instructable I have actually done, and let me tell you that you have inspired me to work with LED's -- and not just from usb but from other power sources. Its quite fun to see everything we can do with them.

Great project. My 55 inch tv looks even "awesomer" now. :P THANKS!

[seligtobiason]

That's awesome! So glad you have fallen for the love of LED's! They are a great addition to any and all projects!

[Jeremyherr]

I love your instructable and I was wanting to remake the same thing. The only problem that I am having is all the LED's I buy are not even close to how bright your LED's are. Every where I go it says use LED's with the color of your choice but no specifications on how bright cause the standard ones I buy don't even light up my wall... Could you please help?

[seligtobiason]

Thank you! And I am sorry that you are having some issues finding some bright LED's, I buy mine from ebay mostly. I believe these LED's are 12,000mcd, I hope that helps!

[ShawnM]

Hey I want to do this but my tv doesnt have a USB port can you use another type of cable for this?

[soundgod06]

It would probably be a good idea to tie a simple overhand knot in the USB cable inside the container in addition to the hot glue. That way it can't lose it's bond and pull out if, for example, it gets to hot and softens the glue.

[seligtobiason]

That is not a bad idea, but one of the great things about LED's is that they draw such little electricity that they don't heat up! So I am not really worried about the container heating up to melt the glue.

But if you use this somewhere where the cable can be pulled it would be useful to add that knot as a precaution.

[soundgod06]

While the LEDs might not produce heat, the TV you place it behind very well could. Actually just about everything in an entertainment center spits out heat, and the space behind the TV can act like a chimney. Put a thermometer back there some time, you might be surprised.

[hreddy]

nice project

[Meijer01]

You can actually solder all the negative leads to the container itself, as is the case with many electronics. Saves you some work and it'll look pretty decent as well. Extra care should be taken though to protect against any possible shorting.

[skrubol]

Soldering to a large steel or tin case like that is not all that easy. Takes a lot more power to heat up than just to heat up little wires and leads.

[Meijer01]

True. After posting that, not only did I realize that but I also came to the conclusion that the heat will kill the paint on the outside of the tin... :/

[MaXoR]

lets not forget that having an open ground near all your nice equipment could possibly spell disaster, especially since it's headed back into the TV for power. I'd be concerned about frying something internally in the case of a short circuit.

[ccowden]

instead of the power supply, hook the positive negative leads to an external sub woofer, the LEDs will flash to bass drops and grenades in COD and such :D

[MaXoR]

The problem is varying voltage in that situation.... if you go over a certain point.... POOF!

LED are not like those 120 volt fuese people used to use as lights on their speaker sets, maybe my voltage is wrong on that last part, but either way.... LED's are very picky about their voltages, and even more so in how much current goes through them.

I think it would be very difficult to the average person to accomplish that mod, however yeah, it would add some extra effect to getting nade'd.

[gie005]

looks, cool but my brothers did this too ? i hope you dident steal his idea,
anyways, great job! (it's probely just acoincedince) srry fr bad eng.)

[seligtobiason]

Thanks for the compliment! This is a pretty basic idea, and I am sure a bunch of people have had this idea. I made this Instructable to inspire people and for people who had the idea but didn't know how to create it.

[pocdragon]

nice instructable!

i remember when flat panels first started to come out a few had a backlight preinstalled

i recall one particular one that had a backlight that would basically run off the video feed. it would average the screen into a single pixel, and whichever color it would be would be Lit behind the tv

if anyone can figure that out with LED i would totally follow your instructable and make one myself haha

[sroyalty]

There's a couple variants too that would be nice to try. Such as implementing an IR on/off switch to use your tv remote to turn it on and off while watching tv, using a light sensor adjusted so daylight will turn it off, but not the light you are emitting.

While these may be more of "expert" level additives, they could really make it a conversation piece above how nice it already is. Not to mention easier to toggle, hehe.

I've been wanting to make some like these for a while now. Just cannot find the right enclosures for my liking. Ones just big enough for the strip (length is nearly irrelevant). Then use micro or mini usb cables to attach them in series.

[robphelan]

very nice.. i've been wanting to do something similar with a few cold cathode ray tubes i have lying around from my old PC modding days. This way, the light spread is nice and evenly distributed.

However, I think they require a bit more than 5v.

I guess I could string a bunch of LEDs inside a semi-opaque tube to achieve the same effect.

[luig]

hey you could try EL wire or electroluminescent wire if i am correct they consume less power and could run off a usb but double check to be sure.

[gizmovision]

cool here's mine. just some 12" CCF tubes and a 12volt power supply. I turn it on and off with the included PCI case slot cover on/off switch. Mounted everything on the back of the TV with industrial grade Velcro and some framer's tape. Most PC MOD sellers have external power supplies for 12v and 5v fans, LEDs, and related lighting. I got mine at cooler guys. Sorry the picture is fuzzy, its late.

[robphelan]

This is pretty much exactly what I'm looking to do. When the house lights are all out, the TV can become uncomfortably bright. So, I think this type of ambient light would help relieve the strain.

Philips, I believe, came out with dynamic backlighting on some of their TVs, but I guess that idea fizzled.

Now that you mention the PCI case slot switch, I have a few of those lying around, too. I'll check out the external power supplies. thanks.

[gizmovision]

my kits came with the switches and little power boxes(not sure what the proper name would be) I just needed to buy a 12v power block to run them. I even use them as lighting above my computers... I zip-tied them up. i posted 2 more pictures in a comment under my profile I don't want to hijack this guys insructable anymore with my pictures)

[cpainter1]

If you want to make the light from the leds to be more consistent and even, you can sand the rounded tips off of the leds. That will flatten the pattern causing it to spread more evenly and will roughen up the texture to disperse the light better. I have done that with leds in my vehicles so 2 leds will light up the floor area nicely.

[bvsmanya]

very good project.i tried with green leds. just superb

[Beergnome]

on the cleaning the thing out part? CNC industrial Aerosol degreaser will magically clean most anything out like that.
baring that? head on up to the auto parts store and get a can of engine block degreaser.

[Zergling_pack]

Looks AMAZING I think I will do this to my room with coloring changing LED's I hope it looks as great as your pictures.

[Dipankar]

Good and simple Project.
Well done.

[RedLeg99]

This is SUPERB!!!!!! All of you with the other ideas---Post some pics of the additions so we can see how cool this instructable gets. & do any of you TM or Copyright your stuff???? LegalZoom does some kewl things and you can make some cash off of these if you wanted.

RedLeg

[cap.hospodarom]

Two little improvements

1 - coat inside of tin using any nonconductive material. Can use paint, paper, whatever.

2 - insert fuse in front of led light circuit to prevent USB port burning if short circuit by accident. one never knows. Just calculate proper value - easy.

[xvicente]

This precaution cannot hurt, but I think USB ports already are designed with built in overload protection.

[Blackice504]

nice work and very creative,
in your array of L.E.D's you have about 10 so each resistor is around 82 to 85ma if your blue L.E.D's are around 25ma that means your array of L.E.D's is 250ma thats great for usb but for anyone else who wish to use usb as a power source for project please remember usb only has about 500ma (Standard) some newer usb ports have a little more but not much so please be carefull when running L.E.D's or motors ect off a USB port as they only have a limited supply of current.

For people like my self who have logitec G15 (500MA) dont run Arduino or this project off that, as i was lucky and out of shock windows actualy poped a message up and said i had too much running from my usb port off the computer i was really shocked if windows known about it i must have been close, on my mobu it has some protection for current limiting and the front pannel usb ports are about (520ma).

[seligtobiason]

Thank you for your Compliments!

I did think of the draw from the TV's USB, and made sure that I was well within what the USB was capable of when making this project (I sure as heck didn't want to fry the TV!). I did mention in Step 3 about the USB maxing out at 500mA just so people are aware about what they had to work with.

My specs: I used 100Ohm resistors and my LEDs where listed at 20mA.

[Blackice504]

yes i read that but you never know others might not hence i wanted to let people know again i repair alot of computers and most of the time i always come across blown usb ports, that been said i have not tested TV's usb ports i am not sure what rating they would have one would think it would be 500ma but they might be on the impression that people may only put usb flash drives or usb 2.5" drives so it could be less one thing i learned repairing electronics is that alot of big companies love to cut corners, but such is life.
and i just seen i made mistakes my self in what i wrote lol. i wrote 82 to 85ma i meant ohms OOPS i should not write things when i first wake up.
Keep up the projects.
i will be soon showing 2 projects when i get some time.

[Meijer01]

Drilling the holes before painting would be a better idea - saves you from having to "touch up" messy parts you damaged or places where flaking occured from the drilling.

Just a thought :)

[kindrudekid]

how about a simple switch just where u insert the usb port to swith it on and off?

[seligtobiason]

Sure, that would be easy enough to do!

[-chase-]

Ditto what Dragon Don said - this is really cool.

It would be great as a back drop for photography is my thinking and what i'm going to try it with...

Thanx for making it and shariing it...
and to Kindrudekid for the after thought of a possible on / off switch.

- chase -

[DragonDon]

This is really cool. Thanks for the details!

[Lola_Girl]

Wow, your Instructable is very creative and really well designed!

So far, I really like all of your Instructables--keep 'em coming! You're like the Batman of LED's and Robots ;)

[vishalapr]

This is totally awesome! Well done! It looks fantastic!

[AllThingsDUCKTape]

Woahhhhh, THIS IS AWSOME!

[ChrysN]

That looks really cool! You should put the picture with it behind the TV first so that people can see it in action in the thumbnail image.

[seligtobiason]

Thank you, and switching the image is a good idea. I changed it, thanks for your idea!

[ynze]

Cool! And even better, I can use it for a thing I'm working on now :) Thanks!

Y.

[flyingpuppy]

Shoot, I think I'll make one to hang from the ceiling--or from my backyard pergola! Cool looking!

[kooth]

Very cool, very-well documented Instructable! I'm gonna build one (some day). Outstanding! I love it!

[zack247]

really cool! i especially like the starburst kind of glow it puts on the wall behind the tv.