DIY Tablet Theater

This project is cheap, easy, and fun to make. The Tablet Theater allows the user to watch movies or Netflix without having to hold the device. Just simply find a comfortable spot on your sofa, bed, or floor and plug in your headphones to relax and enjoy the movie with the Tablet Theater!

NOTE: I am not responsible for any injures or damage to your tablet.

1. Cardboard box (16" tall x 10" wide x 12" deep) *IMPORTANT...the box needs to be at least 16" tall in order to clearly view the tablet screen.
2. Duct tape
3. Masking tape or scotch tape
4. Box cutter
5. White wrapping paper (or any other decorative paper)
6. Velcro straps
7. Marker
8. Cloth (for a drape)
9. Scissors
10. Measuring device
11. A tablet (mine is a Google Nexus 10 tablet but any will work)
12. Stickers *optional

Position the box so that the 16" side is perpendicular to the ground. Depending on the look of your cardboard box, make sure that you have enough clearance for your head to fit inside the box nicely. Adjustments may be needed, however, cut the bottom flap off of the box (shown in the second and third images). Tilt the box on its side and mark 9.5" from the portion you just removed on the longer flap. Cut out the larger part leaving the smaller cardboard flap attached to the box. Repeat this step for the other longer flap making sure that you cut from the correct side. Now your box should look like the 7th image. Finally, use the masking tape to join the flaps together.

For this step, you must measure the SCREEN DIMENSIONS ONLY! After the SCREEN DIMENSIONS are measured, use some of the scrap cardboard to make a rectangle that is the same size as your tablet screen. For the Nexus 10 tablet, the dimensions are 8.5" x 5 3/8".

Once you have a cardboard cutout of the screen size, place the cutout on top of the box. Position the cutout 2 1/4" in from the back side of the box (image 2). Be sure to leave an edge on all sides for the tablet to rest on as shown in the last image when cutting the part out.

NOTE: It is important that everything is square and even when tracing the cutout so that the screen is not skewed.

Use the wrapping paper to cover all sides of the box. I chose white paper so that I could put stickers on or draw on it later.

I decided to make a holder so that my tablet would not slide off the box or move when I watch movies. I used a wide strip of scrap cardboard again to secure it and used duct tape to wrap around the cardboard. After the cardboard strip is taped, place the strip over the hole on top and tape down one side of the strip. Leave the other side of the strip free to attach velcro on it. I found it easiest to rest my tablet face down on top of the box and then wrap the taped strip over it. Then I cut a piece of velcro and placed it on the underside of the duct tape strip. Also, I made sure to remove some of the wrapping paper so that the other velcro piece on the box would be secured to the box and not the paper...otherwise the paper would rip when trying to open the holder.

This is the last step of the Tablet Theater. Cut away at the tape if it is blocking the Auxiliary port for the headphones. If you want, you can add a cloth to block the light when you use it. A cloth can also be used as a pillow for your head.

NOTE: This Tablet Theater is not ideal for navigating while your head is inside, so make sure the movie is playing and everything is set before strapping it in! Enjoy