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Developer Plugin update - GPIOs, Buttons and enhancements
🕑 Added 2023-11-06 10:48:06 +0000 UTCThe plugin release is going through the review paces and more progress has been made. Next up is a beta release, and then a few days later a full release with a full image for November.
Meanwhile I'm running through developing plugins or testing plugins to ensure that developers will have a ton of tools to use for extensability. One important request that I wanted plugins to handle was the ability to talk to the pi via GPIOs to allow for different sensors, buttons and more. This means that scenarios such as 'PIR' sensors can start turning frames on or off based on movement, or buttons could be added for controlling forward/back or select playlists.
To have a button, or any extensability, play a specific playlist we needed the ability to play multiple playlists with one command. To that end, I've added 3 commands to the HTTP APIs:
1) SETSUBDIRECTORIES - This command can take multiple directories which can be comma separated. This command turns off all playlists, and then sets any playlists that are passed as 'on'. This allows home automation or developers to set multiple plugins at the same time with one call.
2) ADDSUBDIRECTORIES - This is similar to SETSUBDIRECTORIES, but it doesn't clear whatever else is playing. This just allows multiple to get added.
3) DELETEDIRECTORY - IMPORTANT: This will DELETE the files and directory that get passed! This is critical to understand...it's the only API we provide so far that is destructive and will actually remove files...this will be hooked up in the UI soon to fulfill the often requested feature of being able to delete the folder. For now for enthusiasts it's provided to help with more advanced scenarios until it's hooked up into the webpage itself.
The video shows some sample code of a simple plugin that takes a request command to pass the SETSUBDIRECTORIES command to the frame. This simple script allows for one button to set one playlist, and one for another. Many more buttons could be added, and you can use a simliar concept to have a PIR sensor turn the frame on/off, or other scenarios. My goal with this was to get the code out there and ensure it works, and then let the community bend it to their will!
Thankyou for watching and reading. Progress on the next release is happening and I will keep working on plugins and such in the meantime. The more sample code I can get out there the faster we can all take advantage of it, and then get plugins into the store so the whole community can take advantage of them!
Comments
Joe Farro
Dynaframe uses VLC in the background...which has its limits. Is the media 4k by chance? Dynaframe...via VLC and Raspbian, is limited to 1080p 30FPS videos, preferably ones that are .h264 format. Please check the logs it should let you know media info for the video that's playing. Also if you hit escape to exit Dynaframe and then launch VLC, you can see if VLC on raspbian can play it. We usually find if Dynaframe can't, then Raspbian and VLC has an issue with it and it's just a limitation of the platform.
Joe Farro
If this is on pro, I wouldnt' expect to see the Dynaframe logo after a video is over, it should transition right to the next image. are you seeing it between the video end and the next image start?
Geo
I'm also noticing that certain files of mine just glitch out when they come on screen. Is there any common media format that straight up isnt supported by dnyaframe/raspbian os, or does that happen because the device is overheating/overloaded? I got a pi 4 model B 4GB, and this glitchy media flashes a frame of itself normally every few seconds, otherwise staying glitchy as long as it's playing.
Geo
P.S, a side question, I see that whenver a video stops playing, there's a few moments where the screen just shows the dynaframe blank background before playing the next file. Is there any way to shorten that time? No worries if not, just an informational question :D
