Make Your Own Premium PC Media Controller

Keyboard shortcuts are a double-edged sword: they can drastically boost your efficiency by eliminating tedious menu navigation, but they can also be quite difficult to memorize — especially since they often vary between different applications.

To solve this, many people have turned to customizable macropads, which map complex commands to a single button. While effective, these devices can be bulky and commonly come with a high price tag. It’s overkill for simple tasks, like quickly adjusting your volume, which is often all a user really needs. For cases such as these, a device recently developed by Mirza Makes might be just about the perfect solution.

Mirza Makes has designed and built a premium-feeling PC volume and media controller that replaces mouse clicks and keyboard shortcuts with a tactile, dedicated interface. The project combines a rotary dial, touchscreen display, and custom lighting into a compact desk accessory that gives users quick, intuitive control over their computer’s audio.

The system was built around the CrowPanel 1.28-inch HMI ESP32 Rotary Display from Elecrow that integrates several key input and output components. The centerpiece is a round, 240×240 OLED touchscreen used to display a custom graphical interface. Instead of relying solely on touch, however, the primary method of interaction is a rotary encoder mounted directly on the module. Rotating the dial adjusts the system volume, while pressing the integrated physical button can trigger common media controls such as play and pause.

The hardware also includes RGB LEDs embedded along the sides of the module, which provide both aesthetic flair and visual feedback. The lighting can change color depending on the system’s state — turning white when media is paused, for example, or red when the system is muted. The LEDs also scale their brightness with the current volume level, giving users a quick visual indication of how loud their system is set.

To bring the interface to life, Mirza Makes designed a custom graphical layout using SquareLine Studio, a tool commonly used to create GUIs for embedded displays. After first building a proof-of-concept to verify the workflow, the creator refined the design into a clean, polished interface intended to match the premium feel of the hardware.

Connecting the controller to the PC required custom software as well. A Python-based driver acts as a bridge between the device and the operating system, translating input from the rotary encoder and touchscreen into system-level volume adjustments and media commands.

The final piece of the project was the enclosure. Using Fusion 360, Mirza Makes designed a custom stand tailored precisely to the display module. By importing the manufacturer’s STEP files into the CAD environment, the creator was able to ensure accurate tolerances and a snug fit. Grip stickers were added to the bottom to keep the controller stable during use.

This is an easy and inexpensive upgrade that could make your life easier, so be sure to check out the video above to see how you can make your own media control knob.