Call for Video Art
Currently Showing (8:00PM-11PM Nightly):
Composite by Josie Soares de Souza
In The Seconds Before I Sleep by Mikey Stough
The Virtual in The Real by Jay Pensler-Diaz
CLEARFILM by Connor Parsley
Take Five by TJ Krivanec
ja lar luf by Tommy Birchett
Screen Recording 2026-04-10 at 10.22.41 by michael mary kate
My Everyday Makeup Routine by Yasmeen Jaaber
daphnis reads the OpenAI Terms and Services by daphnis
Self Tape for Barbie x Pixel Commercial by Abe Timm
Shark Attack by Gabriel Cobean
Post Colonial Mars by Yasmeen Jaaber
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Documentation
Solar Powered 12V Outdoor Projection Installation on a Timer!
We ran everything on an existing 12V DC solar system. For help setting up a solar system, I recommend the linked zine.
Getting your Gear
12V Projectors
12V projectors are rare. There are not a ton of options.
We went with the Asus Latte L1 projector. One big advantage of this projector is that the built in speaker is good quality, so we did not have to hook up a seperate speaker. THIS PROJECTOR HAS A VERY SPECIFIC BARREL CONNECTOR. The Asus part no. is 0A001-01220000 ADAPTER. The projector we bought did not come with the power adapter, and we had a very difficult time finding the right one. I paid $45 after a partial refund for this projector, but most listings I saw were closer to $200. This uses 3a.
The best option is probably the Qumi Q38, but they are difficult to find, as they have not been manufactured in years. They have more lumens than any other 12V pj I could find, the perfect throw ratio for our needs, and are the only one with a 1080 native resolution.
The Qumi Q3Plus is another good option. It has less lumens than the Q38, but still more than the Latte L1, and a longer throw. It is much easier to find. The listings I have seen are between $150 and $300.
Most of the other 12V projectors I found were under 150 lumens, which just wasn’t viable for an outdoor installation with ambient light. There probably are no-brand 12V LED projectors out there, but they have such poor documentation that it is incredibly difficult to confirm input voltage for any of them. The other advantage of the above brand name projectors is the auto-power on and off options included in their OSD menus.
Media Players
We got a WD TV Live Plus for our setup. All generations appear to be 12v, and have similar options. This is media player has way more functions and options than we needed for our application, but was the only 12V one I could find, though my search was much less extensive than it was for the projectors. It also has the necessary auto-play function, and is very easy to find online. I paid ~$35 for mine. When I first turned it on, the language was set to Chinese. To change the language, navigate to the gear icon. The second menu option down has language options.
Make sure to read the specifications of what codecs and containers the WD TV supports, and export your video files accordingly! I used the Quicktime container, and H.264 codec.
This uses 1.5a
Battery Pack
Any 12V powerbank / battery pack. We used this as a voltage regulator and extra backup battery. Not necessarily essential. We used the wrong piece of gear for this – would recommend something with 12v 5a output, if possible to find. Instead, we tied together two 3a outputs, which did work.
Timers
We used two 12V Digital Programmable Timer Switches – one for the pj and one for the media player. Unfortunately, the pj having its own battery complicates turning it off automatically, and we could not make a single timer work. There are a ton of brands of these, most with the same interface and wiring. They are available for ~$10 each.
Screen
We used a 6’ x 10’ privacy windscreen. These are great because they are made to be permanently installed outside (waterproof, porous for wind), are relatively stretchable/forgiving, have reinforced edges, and are very cheap (~$25). There are a lot of different standard sizes, and custom sizes are not outrageously more expensive. Downsides are they are more reflective and textured than textiles. You can get one ebay or Lowes/Home Depot.
Odds and Ends
Octopod/projector mount, USB, HDMI cable, barrel connectors (for the powerbank to the timer), wire of appropriate gauge (see voltage drop section of solar zine), termination tools/ends, heatshrink/e-tape/waygos/wirenuts, staple gun + staples, zipties, fuses for your fusebox, epoxy, lock or security hardware.
Tools
Clamps, ladder, circular saw, jigsaw, impact driver, drill, snips, measuring tape, cable stapler, staple gun.
Total cost (not including tools and some of the odds and ends we already had): ~$200
A/V Configuration
The Latte L1 does not document its Auto Power On option in the manual, but it can be found under the “General” settings. This setting turns the projector on whenever it is directly connected to power. So when the timer on your 12v system turns on and delivers power to the projector, it will automatically turn on. A“Power Timeout” with 30 minute intervals going up to 3hrs is available in the same settings page. This setting is misleading! Rather than power the projector down, it puts it into standby mode, which it then will not auto power on from. Set this to “Never.” The last setting to make sure to select is “Auto input source” in the “Display” settings.
I believe both Qumis probably have similar options, but cannot know for sure as I have not gone through their OSDs in person. Some of the Qumi manuals directly mention an auto-power option.
The WD TV automatically turns on when connected to power, but it will take a while! The loading screen came on and off twice before playing back the auto-play media. Load the media you want to auto-play onto a USB stick and insert it into the USB 1 slot on the front of the player. The USB 2 slot will not work with auto-play. Navigate to “Setup” -> “Operation” -> “Autoplay.” I also changed the settings under “Video” to have the player repeat a playlist, and made sure shuffle was off. There is a sleep timer option, but I did not use it.
Test all your video files to make sure they play correctly!!! The WD TV is picky about what file types it accepts, even between generations. I found formatting using the standard presets for H264 across Adobe products or on Handbrake to be the most reliable,
I connected the WD TV to the Latte L1 with an HDMI cable, plugged both devices into a power strip, and switched the powerstrip on and off to test the setup. The start up for both devices takes a little over a minute. I tested it over 10 times just to be sure it would continue to turn on and start playing media correctly!
Programming the Timers
Most timers are programmed in the same way. This model has more options than your timer might.
Program the timer for your pj to turn off ~2hours before your media player, so it begins running on battery power at this time. The goal if for the battery to die before the media player turns off, so the pj is not displaying the homescreen indefinitely. We imagine over time the battery will get worse and worse, and last shorter and shorter periods of time.This might not be an issue with other models of pjs!!!
Installation
This will vary greatly depending on the place you are installing your gear. A universal step #1: do a site visit at night. Do it before you buy your gear with whatever projectors, gray sheets, and makeshift gear you have lying around. Do it again after you buy your gear. This is instrumental in determining placement and avoiding unforeseen issues like too much streetlight or improper throw distances! Site visits also help you get excited. Some important other considerations: Does your gear have airflow? Is it safe from rain and moisture? How much ambient light is around? How much do you care about securing the gear? What risk is there of it being messed with?
A/V Installation
We screwed our gear directly into a channel of wood in the structure we were working in, with the existing mounting holes or with metal strapping. We gave a few inches of space between each piece of gear to make sure ports, cables, USBs, and IR receivers were easy to access. Mounting the projector was the trickiest part. We ended up using an octopus tripod. You can pull apart the legs of these. We pulled off one leg and popped the extra length from it onto another leg, then wrapped the whole thing around the beam the pj was underneath and ziptied the two legs together. We turned the pj on, marked where it’s beam hit the wood, removed the pj, and roughly jigsawed this area. Later, after the pj was in its final place, I sawed what we missed with my leatherman’s tiny saw. We wired everything using the configuration in the wiring diagram below.
Securing Your Gear
We boxed in the gear into the existing structure, and built a door with a deadbolt as the bottom of the box, so that we could unlock it and open the door to access the gear. We put epoxy on the screwheads of visible screws on the hinge and lock. Use your own judgment to decide how locked down you care about your gear being!
Screen Installation
Generally, best practice is to work out from the middle of the top of the screen, stretching the fabric as taut as possible and stapling as you go. You can use clamps to hold the left and right corners in place, and/or have a friend help pull tension for you as you staple. It is best to work evenly out from the center, switching back and forth from right to left sides. You can then work down the sides, and from the middle of the bottom of the screen to the sides. After stapling the screen to the existing wood, we screwed wooden trim over the edges to further secure it and make it look cleaner.
That's it! Have fun!
*An updated version of this documentation with photos and better legibility will be available whenever I update my website next.*
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