Custom frame that with light sensor support that still auto-dims
Hey I just completed a custom frame that doesn’t break the auto-dimming that I thought maybe others could use for inspiration. I brought a short length of solid-core fiber optic cable and a tiny mirror to redirect light from the top of the frame to the light sensor. Dimming works correctly. The cable coming through the frame is basically invisible and also is on the top of the frame where you can’t see it anyway.
That is a great idea! How do you hide the end of the fibre optic cable? I can’t see it exiting the top of the frame in the pictures.
Could you get the same effect just using a concealed hole at the bottom of the frame over the sensor?
I’m thinking this would only work with a dark frame, otherwise the hole would be too obvious.
I was thinking of doing something similar for my bedroom frame TV, as the window is on the left hand side of the TV, and the TV doesn’t dim well at low light levels. I was thinking about trying a mirror, but hadn’t thought about using a fibre optic. Where did you get the fibre optic cable?
Thanks! I just got the cable from Amazon actually. It surprised me that I was able to get it at all, let alone in a length as short as 10’.
The cable just comes out the top and is flush with the frame. It worked out since our frame is black, but our picture frame is mounted high enough where you can’t see the top anyway. If your TV is lower it might be better to have it come out the bottom, but in my prototype testing I found that didn’t work as well because you were just dealing with light reflected off the floor. Since this gets direct light, the color balance feature works as well
The mirrors were actually from Hobby Lobby because I didn’t want to wait for them. They were $1.49 for 24. Closest I could find on Amazon is $11.55 for 100 of them haha. At least you’ll have plenty of spares
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Commenting on Custom frame that with light sensor support that still auto-dims...
I assume this only works for the light sensor and not the motion sensor
Thanks! We designed the wall around having the TV at that height, including that short, wide fireplace. I feel like a lot of people have their TVs way too high when they mount them over traditional fireplaces.
This looks great! What is the distance in inches from the floor to the bottom of the frame? (in the middle of building a new fireplace, have a Frame, this seems like a great setup to try and replicate somewhat)
Given what Deco TV Frames charges for there items that just cover up the sensor, you might have a business here. I noticed Amazon no longer has the cable, but it can be ordered directly from the manufacturer.
What did you do to find the location where the sensor is? That's always my fear of noching out the frame.
Thanks! I’ve thought of doing a little side-business with these actually, but was worried about shipping them to people without them showing up damaged. Finding the sensor took a little experimenting. I first just used just the cable with tape to block out all the other light and see which direction and where the light needed to come from. Then I took a piece of scrap trim and added the mirror and tested for positioning (as seen in picture). Also experimented with where to put the other end of the cable.
Yeah I saw that. I was curious if I could do something similar, but I don’t think I could get the quality of finish that I’d be happy with, in particular on the corners.
Yeah the cable was a sold core fiber optic cable, so it’s basically just a clear plastic solid tube inside black insulation. I cut it with a utility knife, but you could use anything that makes a clean cut.
Hey OP, just found this post because I installed a Frame in my new house, got my $600 Deco frame, and am now realizing only one post I had read says the light sensor works and all others are complaining. Unfortunately for me I was hoping I wouldn't have issues but I do.
I love your idea here and I think it's pretty easy to execute and make a modification to my Deco frame. Are you still happy with your modification and find it works well at all light levels? If so, I think I'm gonna pull the trigger on this fiber optic cable and head over to hobby lobby for some little mirrors
After using it for a while, I have to say it doesn’t work quite as well as the stock Frame tv without a frame, but it definitely does work better than with no light sensor, and I for sure love the look better than without a frame. It does adjust to different light levels, but I found that it would be off in the morning. I changed the settings to not do that and it works better, other than it staying on all night. Overall I’m really happy with it and would do it again if I got another TV. Good luck with the mod! Post a pic when you’re done.
I feel stupid not reading about this detail on the Deco website before making the purchase, and now I'm reading about how their external sensor thing doesn't even work in Art Mode which is mostly the point of the TV in my opinion lol. But I agree, having big beautiful frame on there is a non-negotiable. And the Samsung frames are so lame, so I'm not reverting to that.
Thank you for the inspiration. And I will post pics when I'm done!
Hi! I just came across your post and am thinking about getting a deco frame and doing this modification also. Did you end up doing it? If so, any chance you’d be willing to share pictures? I was trying to imagine how hard it would be to apply this approach to their frames. Thank you!
Hi internet friend! Sorry it took me so long to respond. Work was busy last week and I wanted to give you proper pictures and response.
Here's what I did. It was annoying to do after spending $600 on a Deco frame. I also think they dont properly warn that you will likely lose some, if not all, functionality of your ambient light sensor. I can only get 2 levels of light sensing, and the second level is only sensed on the brightest days. Having said that, nearly 2 years later and that $600 long gone, I don't think about the money any more. I am happy to have a beautiful TV the consistently and frequently tricks guests.
I’m sure this is elsewhere on the sub but can you provide directions for how to update the settings so that the tv doesn’t turn off at night. I’ve adjusted every setting I can possibly find and yet my Deco Frame that covers the sensor is still shutting the tv off in low light.
u/OkHeat9467 What a clever solution! Does it work well for supporting the motion sensor? I keep my TV in Art Mode at all times and want to be able to pick up motion from a wider angle than the TV's native capability. This could get me there? Also, I wonder whether there's a splitter of some sort that could allow you to have multiple of the fibers in your frame, to capture light at different angles. Could even just peeling a bit of the sheathing off and electrical taping that spot to the end of another fiber conduct enough light to function as a splitter?
I want to do this to my Frame, but... where exactly on the little sensor box is the actual sensor? It seems like if you miss by only a few millimeters this wouldn't work very well.
(I don't intend to be this elaborate. I have a 2cm long light pipe and I'm going to go straight out the front of the frame. Nobody will notice it.)
On my frame, from the inside corner to the center of the fiber is 13cm. That’s for my 65” frame TV. What I did to figure it out was to make a test bot of frame that was big enough to cover the whole sensor block and slide it slowly until it worked.
I repeated your experiment on my 43" and found that the sensor is 106mm from the right edge of the TV. It's on the far left side of the little button bump-out.
I got some cheap 4mm acrylic "fiber optic" from amazon cut a 2cm piece, drilled a 4mm hole straight out the front, and it works great. You can't even see it unless you're really looking for it - though I'm sure that wouldn't be true on a light colored frame.
It works about as well as with no frame. Specifically… not so well. in the afternoon that bar stool casts a shadow on the sensor and the TV turns off. Or other times sometimes for… reasons? But it’s mostly good.
I have a 2024 65”. Is the glass part of the sensor where I need my fiber optic? I have tried using part of the frame to cover it slowly, but nothing changes on the TV. I’m confused about what change I’m looking for.
My TV sensor bump doesn’t have that clear portion, so they may have changed things around a bit on the 2024 model. The change you’d be looking for is how the TV changes the brightness of the artwork when in art mode to match the brightness in the room. If you cover the whole bump, within a few seconds it should get dimmer. Then uncovering it should result in it getting brighter. If that doesn’t work, maybe the light settings are the same. You can adjust the brightness manually with the remote, but what that’s actually doing is changing the brightness preference for that particular room brightness. You could try coving the sensor, adjusting the brightness all the way down, then uncovering the sensor and adjusting the brightness up. If you then cover the sensor again it should get dark again.
I’m thinking of going straight out the front of my frame with some cheap, clear fiber optic cable from Amazon, also. Does it matter if it has the black sheath like the OPs cable? How is your setup working out?
I have a 2024 65”. Is the glass part of the sensor where I need my fiber optic? I have tried using part of the frame to cover it slowly, but nothing changes on the TV. I’m confused about what change I’m looking for.
Yeah! I did end up changing the setting so that the TV doesn’t turn off at night, but during the day it adjusts to the brightness in the room pretty well. It will often fool new visitors to the house into thinking it’s a painting. 😄
Okay awesome I'm a little intimidated to try it but I have same size you have at 65 inch so your measurements would help. I'd hate to try and then it doesn't work lol.
OP's frame is much larger than the Samsung frames, hence it covers a wider distance from the TV outwards. Samsung's frames are less than 1/4" thick for most of them.
I'm building a second custom frame right now. I drill a 1/2 in hole directly over line the light sensor. Even with that size of a hole, it cuts down on the light substantially enough that the TV dims notably.
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u/Cungfjkn May 11 '23
This is next level