The most amazing thing I have seen, the Pi Player from Dave Pitts

smeighan

smeighan

New member
While at the Academy , Dave Pitts was showing his Rhasberry Pi Player (http://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Pi-Model-Revision-512MB/dp/B009SQQF9C)

Here are the technical words from Daves site http://falconchristmas.com/forum/index.php?topic=26.0

Features of the software.
* Outputs at least 128 Universes of E131
* Plays music files and outputs audio on 3.5mm jack.
* Embedded web page configuration.
Setup playlists, schedules, upload sequence and music files. Setup optional RDS feature.
* Uses a user defined NTP server to keep accurate time.
* FTP Server (Optional)
Can be used to transfer files to player. FTP transfers of 64 MB sequence files are averaging 10 seconds.
* Optional Server and Client operation by using inexpensive USB wireless interface in each.
Using USB wireless card in both server and clients will allow E131 data to be transmitted on hard wired interface
and have all sync information sent on wireless interface. Allowing for a small amount of data on the wireless sync network.
USB network interfaces are about $10.00.
* Optional RTC clock board if NTP is not available.
* Optional RDS ASCII output.
*Play video on 1080p HDMI output.
* Client and slave will be same software just a configuration change.
* Output up to 32768 channel for Pixelnet, 6144 channels of DMX. 12 RS-485 circuits. (Optional Falcon Pixelnet/DMX board (FPD) needed)

Xilights is used to convert sequence data to FPP file format.



Here are my words, Freakin Awesome!!

I have never seen my sequences run so crisply. You probably know that my lights are mounted in my basement ceiling (https://vimeo.com/67334993). I run sequences hundreds of times per year as I develop Nutcracker. I have never seen my sequences look this good!

how it works.

Basically, pi player runs your show (Think of it as the scheduler of xLights and my show computer is now on this small board).

This is now my new show computer

pi_in_hand.jpg


The Rhasberry Pi is running a full Linux OS and has two video outputs (Composite and HDMI), audio, ethernet, 2 usb ports, a sd card and other stuff.

Dave is writing the software to run the Pi and he is giving it away for free. It will be open sourced the same as xLights, Vixen and Nutcracker.

Dave has now tested that the Rhasberry Pi will be able to output 1080p Video during your show. He is developing slaves that will be connected wireless.

So how does this all work

After getting the PI setup
1) you open a browser to address 192.168.0.2. You will now get a Falcon Pi setup screen.
2)You first upload your sequences. Your Vixen, LOR, LSP, Xlights sequences need to be converted into Pi Sequence files. You will find this option on the Convert tab of xLights.
3)You also need to upload your mp3 music files and any mp4 video files you might want in your show. Want Virtual Santa timed as part of show? You now can get it.
4)You next go to a screen to create play lists, and schedule your show.
5)You can start the show, start a song, stop a song immediately or gracefully. The scheduler will have all the options that xLights scheduler has.

You want to change a song? Use the ftp option and upload a new Pi Sequence file. You can do this while the current sequence is playing. There is zero lag while the file uploads!

I ran the full Wizards of Winter on my 7200 channel tree and saw zero latency, all audacity timing marks were spot on.

This pi player can be used with all hardware controllers (P12r, E682, Etherdongle, Falcon FPD, others that have E1.31 input). You can get DMX output depending on your controller. Currently there is NOT a solution for the legacy LOR proprietary controllers. So if you use E1.31 and/or DMX, this will work.

Here is picture showing how it ties together
http://nutcracker123.com/nutcracker/images/falcon_pi.pdf


MyKroft and MaterDaddy are helping Dave develop the software, Software is supposed to be available for download within next 1-2 weeks.

Simply amazing ....


sean


UPDATE Apr 5, 2014
Dave has handed over his pet project to Capt Murdoch. Dave did this because he saw how the Capt was a great programmer and he has passion for the project.

So The Capt is planning Version 2 of the Pi Player for this May/June.

I find it is easier to digest data presented in a table form, so here is my first pass of what we have seen in the pi player.

DateJuly,2013July,2014
ComputerRaspberry Pi Model B, 512mbRaspberry Pi Model B, 512mb
SD card needed?Yes,4gb for OSYes,4gb for OS
USB Flash Needed?Yes,8-32gb for music, sequencesYes,8-32gb for music, sequences,movies
Outputs Music thru 3.5mm jackYes. OGG filesYes. OGG, MP3, MP4 files
Uses a user defined NTP server to keep accurate time Yes Yes
Optional RTC clock boardYesYes
Optional RDS ASCII output No Summer 2014
Play composite NTSC/PAL video outputYesYes
Play video on 1080p HDMI outputYesYes
Video playback synchronized with sequence dataNoYes
Output: E1.31 at least 64 universesat least 64 universes
Output: Pixelnet32768 channels (with fpd) 32768 channels (with fpd)
Output: DMX 6144 channels (with fpd)6144 channels (with fpd)
Output: Lynx Pixelnet USB dongleNoYes
Output: DMX Pro compatible USB donglesNoYes
Output: DMX Open compatible USB donglesNoYes
Output: RenardNoYes
Output: Output: Pixelnet-Open. It allows you to send one Universe of Pixelnet out via a $7 USB-to-RS485 adapter.NoYes
Output: single strand of WS2801 pixels directly attached to the SPI port on the PiNoYes
Channel remapping. Remap one or more channels during output to avoid re-sequencing at the last minute due to device failure or other unplanned changes.NoYes
Master/Slave synchronization between multiple Pi's for supporting higher channel countsNoYes
Memory mapped channel overlays to allow external scripts to overlay data onto the
channel data being output, such as a countdown timer on a matrix.		NoYes
Channel Test Mode, allowing the user to toggle channels on or off to test lights, cables, etc..NoYes
 
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Sean:

What you have seen is the real-time response difference between a desktop computer (OS and systems NOT designed or operated to comply with real-time applications) and one that is. Even though the PI is running Linux (Not a real-time OS), it does not have all of the overhead that comes with computers whose OS and Systems are designed for home or office.

In a past life, I used QNX on an IBM computer platform. Very similar to Linux but designed for real-time applications (We were developing systems to automatically test automotive electronic modules to make sure they met all aspects of the SRS (Software Requirements Specifications)). When you are trying to verify behavior within a 1 millisec resolution - PC's running Windows or Linux do not work.

In essence --- you have something very similar with the PI from Dave today. A computer with LOW OS System overhead that can respond in real-time.

Joe
 
Will you need the falcon board to use this with Renard's (rs485) or will the USB dongles themselves do the trick with the software? I have a PI just sitting on my desk waiting for a good use. Would love to retire my old XP box...

Jason
 
Joe; yep. Matt Brown mentioned that in xLights when he sets 50ms for an interrupt it is not always exactly 50ms because of some Windows overhead.

All I know is my sequences are so crisp.

Small World, I used QNX from 1989 to 1996. People may not know that QNX was written in 1981 , the same year IBM came out with the PC. originally QNX was written on a Motorola 6800. In that year, QNX rewrote is to run on the Intel 80xx chips. I have been to their company in Ottawa Canada.. I was amazed how i was able to gather data from 16 test stations on a Intel 8088 machine back in 1989. We used them to get realtime data collection from the disk testers. I worked for Memorex, Unisys at the time. Their network os was way ahead of any other OS's.

They must be doing something right if they are still in business 32 years later basically selling an OS.

sean
 
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It's so interesting that with all the power in todays PC you need huge amounts of memory just to run what I consider basically simple programs. It still bothers me that LOR, LSP and Vixen require such large amounts of memory while HLS and XLights do not. From what I've seen the reasons are the programming model that Microsoft has everyone using and/or the way that most "Newer" programmers were trained.

Sean, Joe come from the world of programmers that had to bite and scratch to make programs run fast and with little memory. Matt to me is an exception to the "New programmer" rule and seems to understand how to get a lot done with little resources. Now Dave joins the ranks writing code for lighting projects and he understand how to write lean and mean.

So it does not surprise me that HLS, xlights and now Pi Player are doing so much with so little resources. Great job guys!
 
+1... There is something seriously askew when "Hello World" compiled for a "smart phone" takes 20+ megs? (yes.. this is a true value/story, I'm not making that up)
 
LabRat said:
+1... There is something seriously askew when "Hello World" compiled for a "smart phone" takes 20+ megs? (yes.. this is a true value/story, I'm not making that up)
Click to expand...

Or a simple .exe made in .net. begin just as big. Had to use it for work ugh...
 
david was on vacation so a slight delay. I have the alpha release and am currently running my lights with the pi player. it currently can setup a playlist and run it. lights turn on, no lag.

the alpha release had some small issues (permissions of certain directories not set up right). a few weeks ago dave stopped by my house and helped me set it up. took about 30 minutes and raspberry pi was playing my lights.

works, no lag, had speakers connected to audio out of pi.

the alpha release would only work if you know unix commands. it should be very soon that dave gets out the beta release.

sean
 
Sean,

You mention no current control for legacy LOR control with the PI player but if you used your LOR controllers in DMX mode would they be usable with the PI player then?

Thanks, Ed
 
If you had the Pi output module that connects via ribbon cable. It has 2 Pixelnet jacks and 1 DMX jack.

Galaxy Note II
 
David just announced the first release of the pi player.
Thread is on his site. http://falconchristmas.com/forum/index.php?topic=155.0

650mbyte Linux OS + Pi Player image . I already got my image and have the pi player running my 12K channels.

sean


[quote author=David Pitts link=topic=155.msg834#msg834 date=1376264326]
You can find the first public Alpha Release here. Alpha 0.0.3
http://sourceforge.net/projects/falconpiplayer/files/FalconPiPlayer_Alpha0.0.3.img.zip/download

We are getting the bug tracking system set up. We may end up using Github's ability to track bugs.

Known things to implement/bugs

1) Repeat/no repeat of playlists in immediate player.
2) First/Last option for playlists.
3) Weekday, weekend and other quick scheduling day options.
4) Better music to sequence data syncing.
5) E131 to Pixelnet/DMX bridge. (Half way done)
6) Video playback, wireless slave operation.


Follow the instructions here to get the image burned to your SD card(4gig minimum). You also need to have a USB memory stick formatted to Fat32 installed in PI to hold media.
http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads under Raw Images. But use our image instead.

This release is to get you familiar with player and possibly to allow a willing user to create a wiki and/or manual.
This is an Alpha release and will be a bit buggy. This is still a work in progress.

Thanks for your patience.



David and MyKroft
[/quote]
 
I made this original thread sticky. The pi player continues to get better and better.

I put this table in the first post, but will also post it here.

Here is a post from falconchristmas that i made today.. http://falconchristmas.com/forum/index.php/topic,851.msg7229.html#msg7229


It was about a year ago that Mykroft and Dave Pitts introduced the Pi player on the DLA forum. After a disagreement with RJ about having discussion about the pi player and the conductor on DLA, Dave created falconchristmas.com (He lives in Falcon, colorado).

When I saw the pi player at the Academy, I was blown away. Post from July 17,2013.
http://doityourselfchristmas.com/fo...e-Pi-Player-from-Dave-Pitts&highlight=amazing

I have the greatest respect for Dave as a person. He has no problem accepting critique of his designs, he incorporates other people suggestions willingly. When he got Capt Murdoch working on the pi player he told me "Man, that guy can code. He is better than myself in so many ways". He then hands his project over to Capt Murdoch. This is a true sign of a leader.

I find it is easier to digest data presented in a table form, so here is my first pass of what we have seen in the pi player.

DateJuly,2013July,2014
ComputerRaspberry Pi Model B, 512mbRaspberry Pi Model B, 512mb
SD card needed?Yes,4gb for OSYes,4gb for OS
USB Flash Needed?Yes,8-32gb for music, sequencesYes,8-32gb for music, sequences,movies
Outputs Music thru 3.5mm jackYes. OGG filesYes. OGG, MP3, MP4 files
Uses a user defined NTP server to keep accurate time Yes Yes
Optional RTC clock boardYesYes
Optional RDS ASCII output No Summer 2014
Play composite NTSC/PAL video outputYesYes
Play video on 1080p HDMI outputYesYes
Video playback synchronized with sequence dataNoYes
Output: E1.31 at least 64 universesat least 64 universes
Output: Pixelnet32768 channels (with fpd) 32768 channels (with fpd)
Output: DMX 6144 channels (with fpd)6144 channels (with fpd)
Output: Lynx Pixelnet USB dongleNoYes
Output: DMX Pro compatible USB donglesNoYes
Output: DMX Open compatible USB donglesNoYes
Output: RenardNoYes
Output: Output: Pixelnet-Open. It allows you to send one Universe of Pixelnet out via a $7 USB-to-RS485 adapter.NoYes
Output: single strand of WS2801 pixels directly attached to the SPI port on the PiNoYes
Channel remapping. Remap one or more channels during output to avoid re-sequencing at the last minute due to device failure or other unplanned changes.NoYes
Master/Slave synchronization between multiple Pi's for supporting higher channel counts. Your pi player can control your neighbors pi players. Your neighborhood is now all synced together.NoYes
Memory mapped channel overlays to allow external scripts to overlay data onto the
channel data being output, such as a countdown timer on a matrix. In other words , you can type in text while at a persons car and wish them a Merry Christmas. Their name will appear instantly on your current running show,		NoYes
Channel Test Mode, allowing the user to toggle channels on or off to test lights, cables, etc..NoYes
 
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Some great upgrades there ,getting anxious!. These guys are amazing. Can't wait to try the movies sequenced to data. And the multi audio output will make life easier. No more converting! Thanks guys...
 
so is this just a show player, meaning I still have to sequence my mega tree,convert, and transfer onto sd card then run my show on the Pi. It says video output is that to the lights or to a screen or tv. what is the video output for. can I use this to stream video onto my tree with out sequencing the pixels.
 
rtrip9 said:
so is this just a show player, meaning I still have to sequence my mega tree,convert, and transfer onto sd card then run my show on the Pi.
Click to expand...

I believe the sequences are stored on the flash drive and you can upload them via a web browser, but yes, it just runs your show.

rtrip9 said:
It says video output is that to the lights or to a screen or tv. what is the video output for. can I use this to stream video onto my tree with out sequencing the pixels.
Click to expand...

Video output would be for either a television set or a video projector. As currently constructed, the device won't drive a video signal onto pixels without other software.

HTH.

\dmc
 
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