README

homebridge-omxplayer

A Raspberry Pi (only) Plugin to download and play any YouTube video or a local video file using omxplayer.

New version (2.0) - This plugin is a platform now and have many new features:

Play Playlist - to play the tracks in their order.

Play Playlist Shuffle - to play tracks in a random order.

Play Next Switch - to play the next song in the list.

Pause Switch - to pause/resume playback.

Repeat All - set to true to allow the playlist to repeat itsef when it**s done.

Volume Control Light Bulb - to control the volume of the track, when set to false 100% volume will be used.

Format in config - for choosing the quality of the downloaded file. USE WITH CAUTION - See "Formats" section below.

Path in config - to choose which folder to download the files. when not set, the default persist folder will be chosen.

Output in config - to select your audio output ("both, "hdmi", "local", "alsa"), default to "both.

Example config.json:

"platforms": [
   {
       "platform": "OmxPlayer",
       "name": "Baby Playlist",
       "playPlaylistSwitch": true,
       "shuffleSwitch": true,
       "repeatAll": true,
       "format": "18",
       "path": "remove this row to download to default persist folder",
       "output": "both",
       "playNextSwitch": true,
       "pauseSwitch": true,
       "volumeControl": true,
       "playlist": [
           {
               "switchName": "Coldplay Babies Go",
               "youtube": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7G-hU5Eaxc",
               "loop": false
           },
           {
               "switchName": "Beatles Babies Go",
               "youtube": "https://youtu.be/cF4jiDsifmo",
               "loop": false
           },
           {
               "switchName": "testFile",
               "filename": "my_video.mp4"
           },
           {
               "switchName": "Lullaby",
               "youtube": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAGP3LwyP0M",
               "loop": true
           },
           {
               "switchName": "Lullaby2",
               "youtube": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhh9OQKh-Sc"
           },
           {
               "switchName": "Lullaby3",
               "youtube": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhh9OQKh-Sc"
           }
       ]
   }
]

Why do we need this plugin?

This plugin is great for getting some music and videos into scenes and automations, for example:

It can be used for a "Good Night" scene with a lullaby music for babies (can be done with speakers only connected to Pi).
It can play music videos on TV screen (connected to the Raspberry Pi) when "Arrive Home" is triggered.
it can be connected to a projector and project any video (I used it for the kids room).

How it works

Basically, all you need to do is:

Set the desired youtube url or local filename.
Use this switch in any scene or automation.

when setting a new youtube link, only for the first time,the video will be downloaded which should take a few seconds.

How to install

sudo apt-get install omxplayer

sudo npm install -g homebridge-omxplayer

The raspberry pi should be logged in with the same user that runs homebridge. It is suggested to use auto-login when Raspberry rebooted.

Troubleshooting

Permissions issue

If you're running homebridge on a different user than pi you may have permission issues. Try running the following commands:

sudo usermod -a -G video $(whoami)

sudo chmod 777 /usr/lib/node_modules/homebridge-omxplayer/node_modules/youtube-dl/bin/youtube-dl

Delete any .mp4 files inside your /tmp folder.

Make sure your home folder exists at /home/USERNAME and run sudo chmod -R 0777 /home/USERNAME

Reboot and try again.

Formats

Easy Formats

"best": Select the best quality format represented by a single file with video and audio.

"worst": Select the worst quality format represented by a single file with video and audio.

"bestvideo": Select the best quality video-only format (e.g. DASH video). May not be available.

"worstvideo": Select the worst quality video-only format. May not be available.

"bestaudio": Select the best quality audio only-format. May not be available.

"worstaudio": Select the worst quality audio only-format. May not be available

For Experts

it will only download if this version is available for all your tracks

format code	extension	resolution	note
140	m4a	audio only	DASH audio , audio@128k (worst)
160	mp4	144p	DASH video , video only
133	mp4	240p	DASH video , video only
134	mp4	360p	DASH video , video only
135	mp4	480p	DASH video , video only
136	mp4	720p	DASH video , video only
17	3gp	176x144
36	3gp	320x240
5	flv	400x240
43	webm	640x360
18	mp4	640x360
22	mp4	1280x720	(best)

Credits

This plugin was inspired by homebridge-dummy by @nfarina and the idea for this plugin came from my little brother @nitaybz which has written many other plugins already, so you should definitely explore his repos too: https://github.com/nitaybz?tab=repositories

Usage no npm install needed!