pyPhotoFrameCast: Chromecast Photo Slideshow 🖼️

pyPhotoFrameCast is a Python script that turns your Chromecast device into a digital photo frame. It continuously casts a slideshow of photos from a local directory to a selected Chromecast. This script is ideal for a Raspberry Pi or other single-board computers, allowing you to easily display your favorite memories on any screen with a Chromecast.

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✨ Features

• Customizable Slideshow: Display photos from a specified folder and all its subdirectories.
• Configurable Settings: Easily adjust the Chromecast device name and the time window for the slideshow.
• Remote Management: Control the script remotely via a web browser to initiate a graceful shutdown.
• Device Discovery: Quickly find the names of all available Chromecast devices on your network.
• Error Handling: The script includes robust error handling to manage connection issues and ensure a smooth experience.

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🛠️ How it Works

The script operates in two main parts:

1. HTTP Server: A lightweight HTTP server is started on your local machine (e.g., Raspberry Pi). This server hosts the photo files, making them accessible via a local URL.
2. Chromecast Caster: The main loop of the script connects to your Chromecast device and sequentially casts each photo from the local HTTP server. It shuffles the photo list to ensure a random order.

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🚀 Getting Started

1. Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed on your device:

• Python 3.x
• pychromecast library: You can install it with pip install pychromecast.

2. Configuration

All settings are managed in the config.py file. Edit this file to match your setup:

# config.py
from datetime import datetime

class PhotoFrameConfig:
    # Root directory where your photos are stored.
    PHOTOSBASEDIR = "/media/usb/share/samba/photoframe"
    
    # Port of the HTTP server.
    PORT = 8088
    
    # IP address of the device running the script. You can run the script with -i to find this.
    IP = "192.168.1.2"
    
    # Friendly name of your Chromecast device. Run the script with -d to find it.
    CASTDEVICE = "Livingroom Hub"
    
    # Start and end time for the script to be active.
    START_TIME = datetime.today().replace(hour=17, minute=59, second=0, microsecond=0)
    END_TIME = datetime.today().replace(hour=20, minute=30, second=0, microsecond=0)
    
    # Number of seconds to display each photo.
    TIMEDELAY = 20

3. Running the Script

Open your terminal and navigate to the directory containing the script.

List available Chromecast devices:

Use the -d or --devices flag to find the exact friendly name of your Chromecast device.

python3 pyPhotoFrameCast.py --devices

Find your device's IP address:

Use the -i or --ip flag to get your local IP address. This is needed for the IP setting in config.py.

python3 pyPhotoFrameCast.py --ip

Start the slideshow:

Run the script without any flags to start the slideshow.

python3 pyPhotoFrameCast.py

Run in non-verbose mode:

To silence the output, use the -nv or --no-verbose flag. This is useful when running the script as a background service.

python3 pyPhotoFrameCast.py --no-verbose

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🛑 Remote Shutdown

To stop the script from a web browser, first run it with the -k or --kill flag to get the shutdown URL:

python3 pyPhotoFrameCast.py --kill

This will output a URL like http://192.168.1.2:8088/kill. Whenever you need, simply visit this URL in a web browser (e.g. create a bookmark in your phone), and the script will gracefully shut down.