Making a video installation with Raspberry Pi
Prepare the SD card
This tool has been tested on the following Raspberry PI models:
- Raspberry Pi 1
- Raspberry Pi 2
- Raspberry Pi 3
- Raspberry Pi 4
- Raspberry Pi Zero W
- Syncing multiple video channels via Ethernet is possible with the models with Ethernet (Raspberry Pi 1, 2, 3 & 4)
- Syncing multiple video channels via WiFi is possible with the models with integrated WiFi (Raspberry Pi 3, 4 and Zero W)
Download and burn the image
Ask for the image (the file your Rasperry Pi will run on) at the Interaction Station's office. You will need a 32GB SD card: File name: old-pi-sync-16G.iso
Download etcher https://www.balena.io/etcher/ (Download ARM64 version if you have a M1, M2, M3 etc processor)
Use Etcher to flash the SD card with the image : Flash from file: choose image file. Select target: Be sure that your SD card is checked (32GB) FLASH!
Configure the Raspberry Pi for playing a video on a loop
Connect the Pi to a screen, keyboard and mouse:
- Notes on Raspberry Pi 4:
- The Raspberry Pi 4 has two HDMI (micro HDMI) outputs. You will need to use "HDMI0", that is the left output next to the power connector.
Insert the SD card that you just flashed in the Pi.
Plug in the power adapter.
When you see a video playing press repeatedly the keys CRTL and C (at the same time) to escape the looping video.
To get into the graphic interface type:
startx
and hit the key Enter.
Insert a USB stick with your video (video coded: H264, the file name shouldn't contain spaces or non alphanumerical characters)
Go to “File Manager”
Search for your video in folder /media/root/PEN_FAT32
Copy your video and place it in /home/pi/video-sync-loop/videos
Go back to the folder video-sync-loop and edit video-sync.config
adjust the configuration so that it says:
playback_mode=loop
Or, if you are syncing videos adjust so it says:
playback_mode=sync
Name the video in:
Video_filename=yourvideoname.mp4
(swap yourvideoname.mp4 with the name of your video)
Save the file
Restart the Pi by typing:
sudo reboot now
And pressing the key 'Enter'. Your video should automatically start looping after rebooting
Configure multiple Raspberry Pis for playing multiple videos in sync
Notes:
- You need as many Raspberry Pis as videos.
- All Raspberry Pis should be the same model.
- The video should be the same in all Pis.
- The Pis will act as either conductor or follower.
- There can only be one conductor. There might be one or multiple followers.
Conductor
Change the config file:
cd /home/pi/video-sync-loop/ nano video-sync.config
Adjust the configuration so that it says:
playback_mode=sync
Look for is_conductor and set it to true:
is_conductor=true
Synchronising the Pi units via WiFi
Then type:
sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces.d/wlan0
Look for the line that starts with address, and set it to:
address 172.24.1.1
change the ESSID to a unique name for your (group of) Raspberry Pi's, so your conductor doesn't conduct another group's screens.
/etc/network.interfaces.d/wlan file
look for
wireless-essid [yourid]
and change what comes after to a unique name. Make sure it's the same across your devices.
To save the changes:
press CONTROL + X to save
press Y for Yes
Synchronising the Pi units via Ethernet
Type:
sudo nano /etc/dhcpcd.conf and type:
Look for the line that starts with static ip_address, and set it to:
static ip_address=192.168.1.1/24
Followers
Change the config file:
cd /home/pi/video-sync-loop/ nano video-sync config
Look for is_conductor and set it to false:
is_conductor=false
Synchronising the Pi units via WiFi
Type:
sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces.d/wlan0
Look for the line that starts with address, and set it to:
address 172.24.1.2
(Only if there is only one follower. Otherwise increment this number (172.24.1.3, 172.24.1.4, etc) for the other followers)
Synchronising the Pi units via Ethernet
Type:
sudo nano /etc/dhcpcd.conf
Look for the line that starts with static ip_address, and set it to:
static ip_address=192.168.1.2/24
(Only if there is only one follower. Otherwise increment this number (172.24.1.3, 172.24.1.4, etc) for the other followers)
Other options in the config file
To edit the config file, in the terminal:
cd /home/pi/video-sync-loop/ nano video-sync config
Selecting the Audio output
By default the sound will come out of the Audio jack of the Pi (you need to connect an amplified speaker to it). In case you'd like to have the audio played via HDMI you need to change the line:
audio_out=headphone_jack
to: audio_out=hdmi
And save the file. If you use nano as an editor, you can save the changes by pressing the keys CTRL and X at the same time and pressing the key Enter to confirm.