Media Center From an Old Monitor

by knorseth

4.5K294

Intro: Media Center From an Old Monitor

In this instructable, I will turn an old PC monitor into a media player for about $25. It is small enough that it can be moved around as needed, but large enough to be enjoyable. What older PC monitors lack is an HDMI connectors. With the Ugreen Active HDMI Female to VGA Male Adapter Converter on the market, it provides the adapter needed to plug in any HDMI device.

STEP 1: Parts

Parts needed:

  • Flat Panel PC monitor.
  • Ugreen Active HDMI Female to VGA Male Adapter Converter Media player.

I used a ROKU stick for my instructable, but a Blue Ray Player or Raspberry PI will also work.

Flat Panel PC monitors are becoming quite inexpensive. I bought the one in my instructable for $10 at a thrift store. I bought a DELL 17" display with a speaker bar. If you don't buy this, you may also need:

  • 110v to 2 USB plug adapter
  • PC Speakers.

The DELL PC also includes 2 active USB ports to provide power when on, so the USB adapter is not needed.It also had a speaker bar that produced plenty of sound when movies were playing. The Ugreen adapter included a USB cable to power the device. The media player would have its own adapter for its own power. The adapter is small enough that it can be attached to the back of the display with double sided tape.

STEP 2: Connecting Everything.

To connect the Ugreen adapter, you need to disconnect the VGA from the back of the monitor and plug in the Ugreen adapter. The cable may seem small, but it is plenty to connect the adapter and tape it to the back of the display. Plug the included Micro USB to USB cable to the adapter and into the USB port of the display. Plug in the media player (ROKU stick) into the adapter and plug its power cable into the USB port.

You are done.

STEP 3:

Turn it on and enjoy the show!

4 Comments

HillbillyHandcrafter 7 years ago

I have an older model Apple TV...I wonder if it would work instead of the Roku stick?! :-) thanks for the idea.

FlyingSquid 7 years ago

That would work. The only issue I can see with that idea is that Apple TV uses IR for the remote, which means that the Apple TV would have to be set up so that the remote can be pointed at the front of the device. You would also need power to the Apple TV. Not a big issue, but this 'ible is set up for one wall plug and everything else is plugged in with USB.

SherylinRM 7 years ago

Good job :)

Thanks for this :)

Lorddrake 7 years ago

this is a really creative repurposing for an old monitor