rpi-tulivision/BOOT_SETUP.md

Video Player Boot Setup

This document describes how the video player has been configured to start automatically on boot without IR remote control.

Changes Made

1. Updated Service Files

Both service files have been updated with the following changes:

• User: Changed from pi to tulivision
• Working Directory: Updated to /home/tulivision/rpi-tulivision
• ExecStart: Updated to use virtual environment Python and added --no-ir flag
• Environment Variables: Updated paths for tulivision user
• Removed: GPIO group requirement (no longer needed with --no-ir)
• Added: Better process termination handling

2. Service Files

video-player.service

• Description: Raspberry Pi Video Player (No IR Remote Control)
• Command: video_player.py --no-ir
• Behavior: Starts with default channel (channel 1)

video-player-random.service

• Description: Raspberry Pi Video Player with Random Video Startup (No IR Remote Control)
• Command: video_player.py --no-ir --random
• Behavior: Starts with a random video

3. Management Script

A management script manage_video_player.sh has been created with the following commands:

./manage_video_player.sh start         # Start the video player service
./manage_video_player.sh stop          # Stop the video player service
./manage_video_player.sh restart       # Restart the video player service
./manage_video_player.sh status        # Show service status
./manage_video_player.sh enable        # Enable video player for boot (default channel)
./manage_video_player.sh enable-random # Enable random video player for boot
./manage_video_player.sh disable       # Disable video player services from boot
./manage_video_player.sh logs          # Show service logs (follow mode)

Installation Status

• ✅ Service files installed to /etc/systemd/system/
• ✅ video-player.service enabled for boot
• ✅ video-player-random.service available but disabled
• ✅ Management script available in project directory

Current Configuration

• Active Service: video-player.service (enabled for boot)
• Startup Mode: Default channel (channel 1)
• IR Remote: Disabled (no GPIO access required)
• User: tulivision
• Working Directory: /home/tulivision/rpi-tulivision
• Python Environment: Virtual environment in venv/

Testing Results

• ✅ Service starts successfully
• ✅ VLC initializes without errors
• ✅ Video playback works
• ✅ Service stops cleanly
• ✅ No GPIO access required
• ✅ Automatic restart on failure

Boot Behavior

When the system boots:

1. The video-player.service will start automatically
2. It will initialize VLC without IR remote control
3. It will scan the video directory and create channels automatically
4. It will start playing the default channel (channel 1)
5. If the service fails, it will restart automatically after 10 seconds

Switching Between Services

To switch to random video startup:

./manage_video_player.sh enable-random

To switch back to default channel startup:

./manage_video_player.sh enable

Troubleshooting

Check Service Status

./manage_video_player.sh status

View Service Logs

./manage_video_player.sh logs

Restart Service

./manage_video_player.sh restart

Disable Auto-Start

./manage_video_player.sh disable

Notes

• The service runs without IR remote control, so no GPIO access is required
• Videos are automatically discovered from the configured directory
• Channels are assigned automatically based on alphabetical order
• The service will restart automatically if it crashes
• All logging is sent to systemd journal