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====== Raspberry Pi Video Player Setup ======

This will rig a Raspberry Pi to boot into looping the same video (or videos) over and over forever, e.g. for an art installation. The card is configured to be read-only, so this setup should be fairly reliable in the long-term. 

===== Basic Setup =====
  * Install latest Raspberry Pi OS Lite.
  * At first boot, set up account:
    * Username: **user**
    * Set a password.
  * Run ''raspi-config'':
    * Set up **Wi-Fi** and **SSH** (temporary, for setup only).
    * Set hostname (e.g. **videopi**).
  * Update system:
    * ''sudo apt update''
    * ''sudo apt dist-upgrade''
  * Install VLC:
    * ''sudo apt install vlc''

===== Add Video =====
  * Obtain video via ''wget'' or ''scp'' (e.g. with WinSCP).
  * We'll assume filename is ''test.mp4''.

===== Test Playback =====
  * Run:
    * ''cvlc --loop --no-video-title-show --fullscreen test.mp4''
    * Press Ctrl+C to exit.
  * Note: You can trigger video playback via SSH; video will display on the connected screen.

===== Enable Auto-login on tty1 =====
  * Edit file:
    * ''sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/getty.target.wants/getty@tty1.service''
  * Change this line:
    * ''#ExecStart=-/sbin/agetty -o '-p -- \\u' --noclear - $TERM''
  * To:
    * ''ExecStart=-/sbin/agetty -o '-p -f -- \\u' --autologin user --noclear - $TERM''
  * **Note:** This allows full system access to anyone with physical keyboard access.

===== Auto-Playback Script =====

Create ''~/autoplay-on-tty-login'':
<file>bash
#!/bin/bash

# This script auto-plays the video on tty1
if [ $(tty) == "/dev/tty1" ]; then
    echo "Running $0..."
    echo -e '\e[93;41m                                                                                       \e[m'
    echo -e '\e[93;41m  Auto-starting video playback in 5 seconds. Hit Ctrl+C to drop back to the terminal.  \e[m'
    echo -e '\e[93;41m                                                                                       \e[m'
    echo
    sleep 5
    bash ~/playvideo
    echo
    echo -e '\e[93;45m                                                                                       \e[m'
    echo -e '\e[93;45m  Video playback aborted. Exiting this shell will restart video playback.              \e[m'
    echo -e '\e[93;45m                                                                                       \e[m'
    echo
else
    echo "$0: This script only runs on tty1."
fi

</file>

Create ''~/playvideo'':
<file>
#!/bin/bash

# Loop video playback forever until Ctrl+C
/usr/bin/cvlc --loop --no-video-title-show --fullscreen ~/test.mp4
</file>

Append this to ''~/.bashrc'':
<file>
# Launch video if on tty1
bash ~/autoplay-on-tty-login
</file>
Reboot and test. You should be able to press Ctrl+C to drop to a terminal.

===== Optional: Enable TV Out =====

Use ''raspi-config'' to enable TV out instead of HDMI (untested).

===== Make SD Card Read-Only =====

First, leave a warning for future people -- create ''~/CARD-IS-READONLY-BY-DEFAULT.txt'':
<file>
Note: the system is set up so that, by default, the SD card is never written to.
This means that changes you make will go away with every reboot.

If you want your changes to stick, run:

  sudo mount -o remount,rw /media/root-ro

Then make your changes in /media/root-ro -- NOT the regular directory.
So, to change something in the home directory, you'd go to:

  /media/root-ro/home/user/

For reference, here are the steps that were done to make things this way:
- sudo apt install overlayroot
- Edit /etc/overlayroot.conf: set "overlayroot=tmpfs"
- Edit /boot/cmdline.txt: add "fastboot noswap ro"
- Reboot
</file>

To actually make card read-only:
  * Install overlay root: ''sudo apt install overlayroot''
  * Edit /etc/overlayroot.conf, set: ''overlayroot=tmpfs''
  * Edit /boot/cmdline.txt, append (no line break): ''fastboot noswap ro''
  * Reboot.