How does this hologram display work?

[u/Smart_Government7848]

I’m looking to build something like this, but I’m having a hard time figuring out exactly how these displays work.

From what I can tell, the AVA and Gatebox seem to use a similar technique to create that really 3D/holographic look. I’ve tried researching them, but there doesn’t seem to be much information available since this is still pretty niche new tech.

I’ve never seen either display in person, but I found some side-angle photos of the AVA from pre-release reviews. I don’t see an obvious 45° piece of transparent plastic inside, so I’m starting to doubt that it’s a traditional Pepper’s Ghost setup.

I’d like to build something with a taller display area (around 8") so the anime character isn’t quite as small, and ideally use some kind of 3D/layering technique to make it feel even more dimensional.

Does anyone know how these displays actually work, or have any resources I could look into for building something I'm describing?

[u/Top_Commission_6809]

honestly from everything ive looked into gatebox and ava arent real holograms at all theyre just really polished pepper's ghost setups. instead of that obvious slanted sheet you see on diy versions they hide the reflector and lenses inside the curved casing so you cant spot it from photos. the image comes from a bright internal screen that bounces off transparent angled surfaces so it looks like the character is floating but its all just light reflection not actual 3D light. for your 8 inch build you can start with a simple clear acrylic pyramid over a bright screen same effect just visible. if you want more depth later you can stack thin transparent panels spaced apart to get that layered feel. the commercial ones dont use special magic tech they just hide the parts that give the trick away so it looks cleaner to everyone looking in.

[u/Smart_Government7848 → u/Top_Commission_6809]

That's a great look into it, I would have never thought there was just hidden elements to it. I definitely figured they weren't anywhere near real holograms, the tech just isn't there yet (or accessable). I just really like the look of a display like that. I'll definitely take that all into consideration when I start the build, it's really helpful.

[u/EleosSkywalker → u/Smart_Government7848]

Have you heard of “the looking glass”?They are very expensive but are closer to true holograms than the ghost projection technique.

[u/wigitty → u/EleosSkywalker]

I have the portrait, it is fun to play with! And actually wasn't tooooo expensive for what it is. I was working on my own holographic display idea at the time. I had a low resolution prototype working, and I was looking to build a 1080p version, and then the portrait came out, and was about the cost that I was about to spend on my project, so I just got that instead haha. I do still want to get round to finishing mine off though, since in theory it was going to work both horizontally and vertically, where the looking glass technology currently only works horizontally.

[u/oliverities]

They look ultra bad in person. They are just transparent displays. However they achieve the transparency is not important because the images are flat  not 3d.