TV Box That Plays Video (Looped) on Startup

marcusv on 01/08/2016 - 11:25

I am looking for a TV box that to play a video on loop in an office reception area during office hours.

I currently have a Changhong TV because it can be set to turn on and off at certain times (office hours). Unfortunately you can't set it to autoplay from USB on start up. So, I have a Kaiser Baas Smart Media player connected to this that is on all the time playing a video on loop. However this particular box is a pain because it freezes all the time and needs to be reset.

I am looking at one of the following options:

  • Getting another box that can stay on 24/7 all the time without freezing
  • A box that like the tv can be set to turn on/off at certain times and autoplay a video on loop when it starts up
  • A smaller device that can be powered by the TV USB and will auto play a video on loop when it starts up.

I have considered a raspberry pi but I would prefer something that will work out of the box as it will be difficult to explain to management that I need to spend time tinkering with a contraption to get things set up.

Computing

Comments

  • gtr33m on 01/08/2016 - 12:18
    +6

    My suggestion would be an older raspberry pi. The newer models will draw too much current for the USB port on the the TV, but the old B models will work just fine.

    I've used this image in the past and it just works non stop without hiccups.

    http://www.timschwartz.org/raspberry-pi-video-looper/

    This image is exactly what you are after. Setup and tinker time would be minimal. It loads very quickly, has no interface that anyone can screw with. Just loops video forever until the end of time or the end of the world, whichever comes first. Turning off the TV also stops it, but that's less dramatic.

    My suggestion would be to set it up and then turn off any writes to the SD Card. This will preserve the SD card from any problems that might occur from just killing the power instead of shutting down cleanly.

    • mskeggs on 01/08/2016 - 12:46
      +3

      This place is a fantastic resource. Gotta love OzBargain.

    • ESEMCE on 01/08/2016 - 13:34

      When you say "turn off writes" do you mean slide the little physical "write protect" tab on the SD card?

      • gtr33m on 01/08/2016 - 13:42
        +1

        No, the pi would complain about that and it doesn't exist on micro sd, but it's relatively easy to make the pi file-system read-only.

        https://hallard.me/raspberry-pi-read-only/

        It's not a necessary step, just an added precaution which takes a few extra minutes when setting up. You can still pull the micro sd and make changes on your computer, phone etc. I just think it's a good idea if the normal procedure is to kill the power instead of shutting down.

        • ESEMCE on 01/08/2016 - 14:10

          Thanks..

          I have an original Model B Pi and have had issues with reliability of the system which I suspect to be related to the hard shutdowns it gets.

          Will give this idea a crack!

  • gtr33m on 01/08/2016 - 12:58
    +1

    Should have thought of it before. If you company prefers to buy new, the new model pi zero would be just about perfect for this or the model A+. Both will draw less than 500mA when running so will work on any USB port, even low spec ones.

    • marcusv on 01/08/2016 - 13:52

      Thank you so much for your suggestions! I will give this a go.

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