Add touch to a monitor or TV you already own
Nobody wants an overlay for its own sake. You have a screen — a TV in a meeting room, a monitor in a workshop, a display in a shop window — and you want it to answer a finger. Two routes do that, and only one of them keeps your screen untouched.
The same part, whatever the search bar said
People land here typing a touch screen overlay for TV and monitor retrofits, a touch frame for a monitor, a touch overlay kit or simply "add touch to my screen". Those are four descriptions of one product. An overlay is not sold by what it is, it is sold by what it turns your screen into.
So this page covers the whole job rather than one SKU: what a touch screen kit actually contains, which of the two routes fits which screen, what the kit costs at each size, and the five things that go wrong when somebody fits one for the first time. If you already know you want an infrared frame, the size list with prices is one click away.
One thing worth clearing up, because it costs people a week: an overlay here is a frame that sits around the display, not a touch foil. A capacitive foil is a film you laminate onto the glass — it is thinner and cheaper, and it is also limited to about 32 inch, flat surfaces only, and a ten-point ceiling that degrades every time the film lifts at a corner. If what you actually need is a foil, we will say so rather than sell you a frame.
Overlay on top, or panel instead
| Infrared overlay | Capacitive panel | |
|---|---|---|
| How it fits | Clamps around the display you already have | Replaces the front glass and sensor |
| Screen stays | Untouched — no opening up, no re-wiring | Removed and re-mounted behind the new panel |
| Size range | 15.6" to 400" | 8" to 49" |
| Touch points | 10, 20, 32 or 40 | 10 |
| Glass in front | Whatever is there now (up to 4 mm) | New 6H cover glass, bonded |
| Swaps in | About 15 minutes with a screwdriver | Half a day, needs an ESD bench |
| From | $32 | $48 |
| Pick it when | The display is already installed or bought | You are building the product and control the bezel |
Four steps, one screwdriver
This is what fitting an infrared overlay actually involves. If any of these steps does not fit your situation, say so on the enquiry and we will tell you whether the panel route is the honest answer instead.
Alcohol on the four faces the clamps will sit on. Dust under a clamp becomes a 0.2 mm stand-off and you will feel it as a dead spot in the corner.
A 55 inch TV is 55 inch on the diagonal of the glass, but the lit area is smaller and the bezel is 8 to 20 mm. Give us the lit area and we cut the frame to clear it.
Two clamps, then the other two, then snug — not tight. The extrusion is 6063 aluminium and a stripped thread is not repairable in the field.
It enumerates as a HID touch digitizer. No driver, no CD, nothing to install on Windows 10 and later, macOS, Android, Linux or ChromeOS.
Five things that bite people on installation
Very common on consumer sets. The overlay goes dead after 20 minutes and the customer thinks the frame broke. Take 5 V from a powered hub or a phone charger, not from the TV.
Every frame has a 13 mm band on each side that must stay clear. If a wall mount or a speaker bar sits inside that band, beams break and you get a permanent dead line.
Direct sun over about 30,000 lux blinds the photodiodes. Indoor and shop-window use is fine; a south-facing outdoor kiosk needs the high-immunity version and a sun shield.
Over 3 m with a passive cable, the touch starts dropping packets under load. We supply 1.8 m as standard and 5 m with an active repeater.
The frame works through glass because nothing crosses the surface, but a 6 mm laminated shop window adds a parallax gap big enough to mis-hit near the edges. Mount the frame on the inside face.
Touch overlay kit price, glass optional
Frame kit = extrusions, four corners, controller, 1.8 m USB cable. Add tempered glass if you want a surface over the display. All prices are per piece, ex-works Shenzhen, and every size on the list is held in stock.
| Overlay size | Outside size | Frame kit | With 3 mm glass | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21.5" overlay | 476 × 268 mm | $48 | +$24 glass | 466 pcs |
| 32" overlay | 708 × 398 mm | $90 | +$30 glass | 412 pcs |
| 43" overlay | 952 × 535 mm | $115 | +$38 glass | 486 pcs |
| 55" overlay | 1218 × 685 mm | $160 | +$52 glass | 508 pcs |
| 65" overlay | 1439 × 809 mm | $195 | +$64 glass | 447 pcs |
| 75" overlay | 1660 × 934 mm | $255 | +$80 glass | 336 pcs |
| 86" overlay | 1904 × 1071 mm | $330 | +$105 glass | 302 pcs |
| 98" overlay | 2170 × 1220 mm | $430 | +$130 glass | 318 pcs |
Questions we get on overlay enquiries
Can I really add a touchscreen to a TV?
Will the overlay work with my operating system?
Do I have to take the monitor apart?
Can I use a touch screen overlay for osu! or other rhythm games?
Can I add touch to a laptop?
What if my display is bigger than 110 inch?
Tell us the screen. We will tell you what fits.
Send the model number or just the diagonal and what the screen is used for. We reply with the frame size that clears your bezel, the price, and a stock date — usually within 12 working hours.