Hologram Fans and Hologram Projectors: What They Really Are

Many hologram fans showing one picture together, at Sphere in Las Vegas, August 2025. Photo: Cory Doctorow, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; resized.

What is sold as a "hologram projector"?

Four kinds of product share the name. None of them makes a hologram in the sense of physics. What a real hologram is has its own guide: What is a hologram?

How a hologram fan works

A hologram fan has two to four blades carrying hundreds of RGB LEDs [2]. Pixelight, a French LED-screen company, gives a typical speed of 700 to 1,000 turns a minute [2]. A small chip in the fan lights each LED when its blade reaches the right angle. At that speed your eye sees a continuous picture, not separate flashes [2].

HYPERVSN, which makes such fans, puts it plainly: the object can seem to have volume "even though the display itself is generating a controlled two-dimensional visual pattern over time" [1]. Shading, perspective and motion in the video make it look solid [1]. The black parts of the video leave the LEDs off, so the background looks see-through [2].

Why videos of fans show black bars. A camera's short exposure catches the blades in part of their turn. HYPERVSN tells people filming its fans to use a slower shutter speed "to capture footage as seen by the naked eye" [3]. In the room, the picture looks solid; see what owners report.

How much does a hologram fan cost?

On November 4, 2026, Lumina, a US seller, listed its fans at $138.99 (12.5 inches) to $3,988.99 (71 inches) on sale [16]. Its guide gives these ranges for hologram projectors (January 2024) [4]:

Pixelight, in a February 2023 guide, gives 500 to 1,200 euros before tax for one 50 cm fan, and 500 to 3,000 euros more to have a 3D animation made for it [2].

Last checked November 4, 2026: Lumina shop prices read 2026-11-04; ranges as published by Lumina (Jan. 2024) and Pixelight (Feb. 2023).

Are hologram fans good?

Pixelight lists shop windows, trade-show stands and hotel lobbies as typical uses, and says the effect is strongest indoors or in half-light [2]. For your home, check these four things first.

• Noise. Pixelight lists 40 to 65 dB, depending on size, and calls it a nuisance in quiet spaces [2]. Lumina replied under a review video that its fan is "about 60Db without a case" and that its acrylic cases make it quieter [11].
• Light. The picture does not hold up in full sun or a very bright shop window [2].
• Viewing angle. The effect works from the front, up to about 45°, and disappears from the side [2].
• Blades. The blades can be damaged if touched while spinning [2]. HYPERVSN advises installing its fans with a protective shield [3].

What owners and viewers report

These are comments under YouTube reviews. We have not tested a fan ourselves.

• On the bars: one owner wrote, in a comment from about 2023, "The black bars amazingly don't display in person!" [13]
• On a fan bought for about £30: "my son loves it, and for the price it's very impressive." (about 2024) [13]
• On noise, opinions differ. A viewer of the video: "yea.. pretty loud.. any way to lower the volume of fan?" An owner: "His is loud...mine is much quieter than that...you could barely hear it" (both early 2026) [11].
• On files: "the one I had only supported a odd video format and was a pain to use so back that one went" (about 2025) [12].
• On 3D: "They give a flat (2D) picture." (about April 2026) [12]

How to make a hologram video for a fan

A normal film does not play well on a fan. The content has to be made for the round display, on a black background [2].

1. Find your fan's format. Look in the manual or app for the resolution and file type. Pixelight lists 128 × 128 to 512 × 512 pixels [2]. Virtual On, another seller, gives 445 × 445 pixels for its fans [5].
2. Make a square video on pure black. Black pixels stay off, so the background looks clear [2]. Virtual On asks for a "Pure black background" [5].
3. Keep it short and looping. Virtual On suggests 10 to 15 seconds [5].
4. Export as MP4. Fans commonly take MP4 or an animated GIF [2]. Some need it converted first to a .bin file with free software [5].
5. Load it. Most fans take content over Wi-Fi from a phone app, or by USB [2][6]. Some larger models also take HDMI [16]. Lumina's app, for example, uploads files and manages playback; its web tool exports a square MP4 on black [6].

Phone pyramids and Pepper's ghost

The phone "hologram projector" is a small Pepper's ghost: each side of a clear pyramid reflects about 4% of the light from the screen, and you see a picture floating inside [7]. The trick is old. It was first described in 1584 and used in theatres from the 1860s [8].

You can make one in about 15 minutes [8]:

1. Cut four pieces. Trace four trapezoids from a template onto clear plastic, such as a transparency sheet or a CD case, and cut them out [7].
2. Tape them. Join the four pieces into a pyramid [7].
3. Pick a video. Choose a pyramid video with a bright subject on a black background, and turn the screen to full brightness [7].
4. Look through the side. Set the pyramid narrow end down in the middle of the screen, dim the room, and look through its side [7][8].

If one side looks dim, your screen is linearly polarized [7]. How stage "holograms" of singers use the same trick is in What is a hologram?

Halloween and galaxy "hologram projectors"

A Halloween "hologram" can be a projector and a sheet of semi-transparent fabric. AtmosFX, which sells these decorations, says the fabric's off-grey color "helps it blend into dark environments", so the projected ghost seems to float [9].

Galaxy and night-light projectors sold as "3D hologram" projectors promise to fill the room with animated 3D scenes [10]. One viewer under a review found that a model "just projects to one rectangular area on a wall" (comment from about October 2026) [14].

Want a picture with real depth at home?

None of these products shows depth the way a 3D film does. For that, your two eyes need two different pictures. Our guide 3D without glasses compares the screens that do this. One is the Owl3D Shift, a 14-inch glasses-free 3D monitor that sits beside your computer [15]. It is not a hologram, and it shows 3D to one viewer at a time. Owl3D, which publishes this guide, makes the Shift.

Frequently asked questions

Can you watch movies on a hologram fan?

Not really. Lumina says its fans play standard video files [16], but Pixelight says standard videos do not work directly [2]. The resolution is low: 512 × 512 pixels at most on premium models, by Pixelight's figures [2].

Is a hologram fan safe at home?

Keep it out of reach. The blades spin at hundreds of turns a minute [2], and makers sell clear cases for them [3][11].