How to Connect Raspberry Pi to Mirror Display

Getting Started with Raspberry Pi Mirror Display

A Raspberry Pi mirror display, also known as a “magic mirror,” is a combination of a traditional mirror and a smart device. It’s essentially a two-way mirror installed with a monitor behind it that can display different types of information.

First, you must acquire a Raspberry Pi device. The Raspberry Pi is a small, affordable computer, versatile enough for various projects such as home automation, robotics, or in this case, creating a smart mirror.

Choosing the Hardware Required

For this project, you will need the following hardware:

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B/B+ or Raspberry Pi 4
SD card (Preferably 8 GB or larger)
HDMI to VGA Adapter (In case the monitor doesn’t support HDMI)
Two-way mirror (~2-5mm thickness)
Monitor with HDMI/VGA connection
Micro-USB power supply
USB keyboard and mouse
Wi-Fi connection or Ethernet Cable.

Ensure that the monitor you choose has an aspect ratio that aligns with your two-way mirror.

Setting up the Raspberry Pi

Before connecting Raspberry Pi to mirror its display, you must set up the Raspberry Pi itself. The setup generally doesn’t require coding skills, as the Raspberry Pi uses an easy-to-use operating system called Raspberry Pi OS (formerly called Raspbian).

Download the Raspberry Pi Imager from the official Raspberry Pi website.
Insert the SD card into your computer and open Raspberry Pi Imager.
Select the latest version of Raspberry Pi OS and click on “WRITE.”
Once the SD card is ready, insert it into the Raspberry Pi.

Connect the keyboard, mouse, and monitor into the Raspberry Pi. Power it up, and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Configuring the Raspberry Pi

Before diving into setting up the magic mirror display, ensure that your Raspberry Pi is appropriately configured.

Update your Raspberry Pi by typing the following commands into the terminal:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Next, rotate your Raspberry Pi’s display by typing the command sudo nano /boot/config.txt and adding the line display_rotate=1 to the bottom of the file.
Hide the mouse when not in use by installing Unclutter using the command sudo apt-get install unclutter
Then, optimize the boot sequence:

sudo raspi-config

Choose the option “Boot Options” > “Desktop/CLI” and finally > “Console Autologin.”

Acquiring Magic Mirror Software

MagicMirror² is an open-source modular smart mirror platform designed to be installed on a Raspberry Pi.

Clone the MagicMirror² repository on GitHub to your Raspberry Pi by using the following command.

bash -c "$(curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MichMich/MagicMirror/master/installers/raspberry.sh)"

Make sure MagicMirror² runs on start-up.

Create an entry in LXDE-pi/autostart by typing sudo nano /etc/xdg/lxsession/LXDE-pi/autostart
and add the following line at the end:

@/home/pi/MagicMirror/run-start.sh

Setting up the Magic Mirror Display

At this point, MagicMirror² should be installed. Now, customize your MagicMirror² by configuring modules that can display a variety of information types.

To access the configuration file, use the following command:

nano ~/MagicMirror/config/config.js

Add or remove modules as needed. MagicMirror² has multiple community-driven modules available including weather, newsfeed, a clock, and a calendar module.

Remember to save and exit the file to see your changes reflected on your MagicMirror².

Assembling the Raspberry Pi Mirror

The last part of the process is the assembly of the Mirror.

Attach the Raspberry Pi to the back of the monitor.
Place the two-way mirror in front of the monitor.
If needed, build a custom frame or enclosure for the assembly.
Connect power and voila, your Raspberry Pi Mirror display is ready.

By connecting your Raspberry Pi to mirror your display, you have now created a powerful tool that can aid you in your daily life, providing you with essential updates, notifications, and information at a glance. With further customization and additional modules, you can fully optimize this technology to serve your specific needs.