Distro: PiBox Media Server and Media Player v0.10.0

[mjhammel]

PiBox Media Server / PiBox Media Player v0.10.0 Release Notes
2015-01-15

Additional Information

* Web Site: http://www.graphics-muse.org/wiki/pmwik ... aspberryPi
* Binary Download: http://www.graphics-muse.org/archives/pibox/0.10.0/
* Screenshots: http://www.graphics-muse.org/wiki/pmwik ... Pi/SSV0-10
* Issue Tracker: http://redmine.graphics-muse.org/projects/pibox/issues

General Status
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PiBox Media Server and PiBox Media Player are consumer oriented distributions for distributed media playback in travel trailers without Internet connectivity. The UI is based on GTK+ with Cairo and the system runs on the Raspberry Pi optimized PiBox Developement Platform distribution.

This release marks a fully functional software implementation for both the Media Server and Media Player with a true consumer-oriented UI. All known UI issues are addressed so the user experience should be clean and comfortable.

The Media Server auto mounts media sticks and can play them with the custom front end to the hardware accelerated omxplayer. The front end allows selection of videos and displays poster art based on a database generated on the media stick using the desktop and Java-based VideoLib application. Audio always plays through the Raspberry Pi audio port with video always played through the HDMI port.

The Media Server also exports video directories to the Media Player which automatically mounts them. It plays videos with the same omxplayer front end used by the Media Server.

The default configuration, which is designed to work optimally with the Favi keyboard, provides a simple interface using just the arrow, enter and escape keys, with full keyboard use provided in the network configuration application.

A webcam interface can be played at the same time that video is played on the server and the player. Webcam access is through the web interface, available on both the Server and Player. The web interface uses Basic Authentication and allows for multiple users. Network configuration can also be updated through the web interface.

Extensive investigation has been done to identify the most stable hardware for both the server and player. This includes definition of a specific USB network dongle and integration considerations with displays ranging from HDMI monitors and TVs to LCD touchscreens and projectors.

Where this is headed
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Near term plans include development of some simple hardware components to support battery power, simple cases for use with handheld pico projectors and integration of a multiport USB shield for the Media Server.

The long term plans include integration with BLE devices to provide a wider-scale Internet of Things infrastructure, taking PiBox from the trailer into the home. Additional work is planned for WiFi Direct, improving boot times and overall performance and additional media player apps.

Getting involved
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PiBox is currently a one man project. I'd like to have more users of the system and welcome new developers.

To get started using the system please download the tarball, unpack it and use the mksd card to format your SD card. Then use the mkinstall script to install the distribution to the SD card.

To get started with development, please read the developer wiki on how to build the PiBox Development Platform.
http://www.graphics-muse.org/wiki/pmwik ... i/Software

Contact me at mjhammel@graphics-muse.org or if you're interested in helping out, have ideas for improvement or just want to know how to use the system.

0.10 Development Summary:
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* Customizable launcher app provides new UI
* Added privileged and unprivileged app configuration
* Cleaned up web UI to have consistent appearance
* Changed coloring of server/player UI icons to match web UI icons.
* Add user authentication to web interface and user management component.
* Added MAC ACL to hostap configuration in Web UI.
* Moved to omxplayer master branch
* Moved to Linux kernel 3.14 branch from Rasperry Pi github repository.
* Quieted the startup messages
* Completely fixed keyboard access on first boot
* Made all apps use consistent keyboard navigation
* Fixed poster scaling in videofe
* Added PiClock app

0.11 Plans
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* Android app remote control over wifi

0.12 Plans
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* Hardware related projects
** Custom cases
** Rechargable LiPo battery supply w/ power on/off
** Integrate multiport USB "shield" with Media Server
* Possible BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) dongle integration

0.13 Plans
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* TV app using USB adpater
* Music player app

Changelogs are available from the announcement on the issue tracker.
http://redmine.graphics-muse.org/news/16