From Dusty TV to Smart Display: A Raspberry Pi Glow-Up
When I saw Samir Makwana’s piece, on xda-developers.com ,about turning a dusty old TV into a clean, modern smart dashboard powered by a Raspberry Pi, I knew it was exactly the kind of clever upcycling project that ours and the Pi community lives for. Turning junk into “just one more screen for your home” feels like peak maker energy.
What They Built (and Why It’s Genius)
Samir used a Raspberry Pi paired with an aging, otherwise-forgotten TV and transformed it into a smart home dashboard running customizable web widgets. Instead of tossing the TV, he repurposed it into a sleek info hub showing weather, calendars, home stats, and more—essentially giving old hardware a brand-new job with almost no cost. The elegance here is in using lightweight, web-driven interfaces that make even decade-old displays feel modern again.
My opinion? Deploying a full Linux-powered miniature computer to revive a TV that probably should’ve been retired years ago—but that’s exactly what makes it brilliant. There’s something deeply satisfying about using a Raspberry Pi as life support for decades-old tech and then turning it into something genuinely useful.
What’s Next?
Full smart home integration! Imagine turning this dashboard into a wall-mounted command center with Home Assistant quick actions, Pi-powered presence detection, or even voice control via a tiny USB microphone. If you’ve got an unused TV lying around, this might be your sign to Frankensteal the idea and build your own smart dashboard station.
If you liked this article we’ve got plenty more on our blog, make sure to give it a look! Read the full article from xda-developers.com here, posted on 07/11/2025 by Samir Makwana
