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blocks:player-setup-pre-7 [2023-10-11 06:20] mattias [PIXILAB Player] |
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- | ====== PIXILAB Player ====== | ||
- | PIXILAB Player is free software that makes a player or interactive kiosk out of an Intel NUC or other PC-style computer, for use with Blocks as a Display Spot. It's based on the excellent [[http:// | ||
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- | This article describes how to make such a player. You will need a wired Internet connection with automatic network configuration (DHCP) for the installation process. | ||
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- | ===== PIXILAB Player System Requirements ===== | ||
- | We recommend using an Intel NUC as the player. For basic applications in HD resolution, you can choose a low-cost, Celeron based model. For most applications, | ||
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- | The player only needs CPU and a minimum of 4 GB of RAM to be installed. No hard drive/SSD is required. For 4k video playback, two RAM modules are recommended to optimize the memory bandwidth. We recommend RAM modules such as SO-DIMM at 2666Mhz or better (but also check manufacturer' | ||
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- | ===Additional storage medium for Block Caching and Offline use=== | ||
- | To use the Block Caching feature, an additional storage device is required. | ||
- | * Internal SSD is recommended för production, providing fast and reliable storage. | ||
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- | :!: Due to unpredictable performance it is not recommended to use the following devices even though they technically may work. | ||
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- | * SD card of the SDHC type, up to 32GB. **NOTE**: SDHX cards or cards larger than 32GB do //not// work. | ||
- | * USB 3.x memory stick. | ||
- | . | ||
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- | ====Manual configurations (Advanced requirements)==== | ||
- | :!: **NOTE:** To configure a player with fixed IP address, or other advanced settings and special requirements such as installation to internal SSD, follow the [[blocks: | ||
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- | If not, please continue with the simplified instructions in this article. | ||
- | ===== Getting Started ===== | ||
- | To create a player, you need a USB stick at least 8GB in size, which will become your bootable player. | ||
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- | - [[https:// | ||
- | - [[https:// | ||
- | - Use Etcher to transfer the ISO image onto your USB stick. | ||
- | - Connect a monitor to the target computer (NUC or other suitable model). | ||
- | - Connect the target computer to a wired network with Internet access. | ||
- | - Move the USB stick to the the target computer | ||
- | - Start the target computer, making it boot from the USB stick. | ||
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- | If the computer doesn' | ||
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- | {{ : | ||
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- | Using a web browser on another computer (e.g., your laptop), go to the [[https:// | ||
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- | {{ : | ||
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- | Enter the ID shown on the target computer' | ||
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- | {{ : | ||
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- | In most cases, only three settings need to be specified: | ||
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- | * The domain or IP address of the Blocks server. | ||
- | * The keyboard layout (if a physical keyboard is to be used). | ||
- | * Whether to show the mouse cursor (if you intend to connect a mouse to the display spot). | ||
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- | :!: **NOTE:** Enter just the IP address or domain name in the text field. Do not append "/ | ||
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- | Additional options can be accessed by checking “Show advanced settings”. Some of these options require more details to be specified, and may reveal additional options. Hover over an option to learn more about it, its use cases and possible values. | ||
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- | {{ : | ||
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- | === Blocks Server Connection Type === | ||
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- | If you're exposing your Blocks server to the Internet, you're strongly advised to use an encrypted server connection (HTTPS). Note that this requires a domain name and an associated certificate to be installed on your Blocks server. | ||
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- | If players are used only on an intranet, and don't connect over the Internet, you do not need to run HTTPS on those players. In general, unless explicitly forbidden by your server' | ||
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- | === Block Caching === | ||
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- | If selected, PIXILAB Player allows the default block (the one dragged onto the spot) to be cached on the player. This requires an additional storage medium to be installed on the player, such as an SD card. This storage medium will be formatted for use for block caching the first time the player is started with this storage medium installed. Once enabled, the default block, including all its media, will be stored on the player. This greatly reduces the amount of network traffic required for playing the block. Furthermore, | ||
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- | :!: **NOTE**: A separate license is needed on your Blocks server to use Block Caching. | ||
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- | === Hardware Accelerated Video Playback === | ||
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- | Enables hardware-assisted video decoding on hardware that supports this. This may improve video playback performance, | ||
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- | === Network Connection === | ||
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- | We strongly recommend that you use a hardware network connection (Ethernet) whenever possible. However, if you must use a wireless WiFi connection, you can enable that here. When enabled, you must then specify the network name (SSID) and password for accessing the network. | ||
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- | === Timezone === | ||
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- | If you need to access local time on the player (e.g., for some custom web content), select the local time zone where the player will be used. | ||
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- | === NTP Server === | ||
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- | If you specify a timezone to access local time on players, you may also want to specify a custom time server used to set the clock in the player. If not specified, a default NTP server will be used (pool.ntp.org). | ||
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- | Once you are happy with the configuration, | ||
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- | :!: **IMPORTANT: | ||
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- | {{ : | ||
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- | Once the target computer has rebooted and finished updating, click " | ||
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- | ==== Making Multiple Players with the same Configuration ==== | ||
- | Etcher can be used to clone the USB stick you just made, for use on other players. Using Etcher, you can also flash several USB drives at the same time. | ||
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- | ===== Player Configuration and Network Booting ===== | ||
- | You may want to configure additional settings on your PIXILAB Player computer, or set up your Blocks system for network booting – thus removing the need for USB sticks. More on those options [[blocks: | ||
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- | [TODO: Make a common document describing BIOS settings for power management, PXE booting, etc] | ||
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- | ===== Video instructions ===== | ||
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- | [[blocks: |