Vlc-sync

vlc-sync is a modern adaptation of OMXPlayer-Sync, using VLC as a replacement for the deprecated OMXPlayer. This implementation facilitates the synchronization of multiple VLC players across a network, following a conductor/follower model. You are also able to use a single conductor or follower for a simple video loop.

In simple terms, this tool makes it possible synchronize videos playing on different computers (usually Raspberry Pi's) using a program called VLC. The conductor computer sends signals to the follower computers, telling them when to start or loop a video so that they all stay perfectly in sync. This guide exists to replace the outdated Making a video installation with Raspberry Pi tutorial on our wiki.

Getting started

You can use vlc-sync downloading our ready-to-use Raspberry Pi images from our website. If you want to synchronize videos between two Pi's, make sure to download both the conductor and follower images. For a simple video loop you can download either.

Download conductor.img (3.14GB)
Download follower.img (3.14GB)

Flashing the image

To use the downloaded image, you need to 'flash' it to the micro SD card the Pi uses. The easiest way to do this is with a program called Balena Etcher. Once you've downloaded Etcher, you can insert the micro SD card in your computer and use Etcher to flash the contents of the downloaded image (either conductor.img or follower.img to the micro SD card.

Customizing

Both the conductor.img and the follower.img vlc-sync images make it easy to change the settings and the video that should be playing. In the Pi that is running the newly flashed image, insert a thumb drive (USB stick) containing a config.conf and a .mp4 file. The configuration file should be edited to match your intentions. A config.conf file *must* look like this:

[video]
file_name = synctest.mp4

[audio]
output = hdmi

[options]
verbose = True
conductor = True
destination = 172.24.1.255

[video] file_name should be changed to match the filename of the .mp4 file on the thumb drive. The [audio] output can be set to hdmi or analog to use 3.5mm jack as an output device