tty2rpi Add-On (shows core based pictures and videos on a HDMI or DSI display)

[RobitGames]

Congrats, you've found a bug which I have fixed now.

Once again, thank you! Everything seems to be running properly now. Can't wait to see how this looks when my marquee monitor arrives.

Do you have a Patreon or other way I can support your projects?

[RealLarry]

Congrats, you've found a bug which I have fixed now.

Once again, thank you! Everything seems to be running properly now. Can't wait to see how this looks when my marquee monitor arrives.

Which one did you order? I'm always interested in the used hardware of my users...

Do you have a Patreon or other way I can support your projects?

Many thanks, but not necessary (despite of this I'm having a Patreon). I'm already satisfied if you report issues, bugs, quirks, new/better pictures or just a "thank you"

[RobitGames]

Which one did you order? I'm always interested in the used hardware of my users...

I got this 24" display from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PRC26C3) because it had almost perfect dimensions for my cabinet.

But, as you'll notice, the aspect ratio is not the same as the standard arcade marquee art.

Is there any chance we could get a setting that doesn't stretch the images beyond their original aspect ratio? Having black bars on the side of the image might be preferable over stretching or making a lot of custom marquee images (which is my backup plan).

[RealLarry]

Which one did you order? I'm always interested in the used hardware of my users...

I got this 24" display from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PRC26C3) because it had almost perfect dimensions for my cabinet.

But, as you'll notice, the aspect ratio is not the same as the standard arcade marquee art.

Is there any chance we could get a setting that doesn't stretch the images beyond their original aspect ratio? Having black bars on the side of the image might be preferable over stretching or making a lot of custom marquee images (which is my backup plan).

Aah, phantastic display! I also considered buying this, but it's width is too big for my cabinet, so I bought the 21" one. They should be the same display, apart from their dimension.
Some/many pictures should be okay if stretched or resized, but it makes sense to include an option to keep the aspect ratio per default. I'll prepare an update to this. Thanks for reporting!

EDIT: Implemented

[RobitGames]

Some/many pictures should be okay if stretched or resized, but it makes sense to include an option to keep the aspect ratio per default. I'll prepare an update to this. Thanks for reporting!

EDIT: Implemented

Wow, that was fast! Works great. Thanks again!

[RealLarry]

Some/many pictures should be okay if stretched or resized, but it makes sense to include an option to keep the aspect ratio per default. I'll prepare an update to this. Thanks for reporting!

EDIT: Implemented

Wow, that was fast! Works great. Thanks again!

Always on service. You are welcome

[RealLarry]

Small update, beneath some other small bug fixes:
One can now use the whole zip file of MAME-EXTRAs marquees.zip as a base or as a "last resort" if no other picture is found in PATHPIC. No (more) need to extract the zip file, just point to it's path with variable MAMEMARQUEES in your tty2rpi-user.ini (have a look at tty2rpi.ini for an example).
Instead of MAME's marquees.zip you could also use any other archive as long as it contains PNG pictures in the MAME naming scheme.

Pictures in PATHPIC are preferred, if no picture could be found and MAMEMARQUEES is available, it will be searched there.

[RealLarry]

Info update: I have upgraded my RPi 3A+ from Debian Bullseye to Bookworm today w/o big issues. Upgrade ran flawless as usual.
There were two issues with my RPi 3A+ which I could fix and addressed them here.

[RealLarry]

Debian Bookworm is now the actual version for our Raspberry's. If you are going to upgrade to Bookworm, you may stumble about a change how networking is done now as they are using NetworkManager for managing networks.

• For WiFi setups: After upgrading but before rebooting, create a file named /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/wlan.nmconnection and copy and edit this code snipped

  Code: Select all

  [connection]
  id=YourOwnSSID-Or-Name
  uuid=26cbd98d-c857-4b9e-a313-0a07bea76d55
  type=wifi
  interface-name=wlan0
  autoconnect=true
  
  [wifi]
  mode=infrastructure
  ssid=YourOwnSSID
  
  [wifi-security]
  # for WPA2 or mixed WPA2/WPA3
  key-mgmt=WPA-PSK
  # for WPA3
  # key-mgmt=sae
  psk=YourVeryStrongAndSecretPassword
  

  Edit id, ssid and psk for your needs and disable wpa_supplicant

  Code: Select all

  systemctl disable wpa_supplicant

  Reboot and all should work.

• For LAN setups: TBD

[RealLarry]

Small update: You can now use a small round 1.28" GC9A01 display with 240x240 pixel in size. This enables more SPI based displays, but don't expect too much horsepower from them.

Display in action with 1943kai and N64

To use a GC9A01 display, install mplayer:

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sudo apt install mplayer

Enable the display in /boot/config.txt by removing the # character in front of

# dtoverlay=gc9a01,rotate=90

and notice the ,rotate=90
Either leave it as it is, play with other values (ie 180 or 270) until it fits your need - or remove this parameter completely.

Last step is to add a (new) config line to your tty2rpi-user.ini:

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GC9A01="yes"

Then reboot and you are set.

Connection to the Raspberry Pi GPIOs is
GC9A01 - RPi pin
VCC - 1
GND - 6
DC - 22 (GPIO 25)
RST - 13 (GPIO 27)
BL - 12 (GPIO 18)
DIN - 19 (GPIO 10)
CLK - 23 (GPIO 11)
CS - 24 (GPIO 8)

[RealLarry]

Big update! Almost all SPI/DPI/DSI displays are now supported, as long as there exists a RPi DTO for it. See /boot/config.txt.example for examples.
This obsoletes last update's GC9A01="yes" (but the GC9A01 display is still supported) which is replaced by

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FBUFDEV="no"                          # Set to "yes" when using such a display
FBDEVICE="/dev/fb1"                   # If FBUFDEV set to "yes" then defince the used framebuffer device here

Again, have a look at /boot/config.txt.example what to set and where to set.

Some videos for your happiness, where a simple and cheap Raspberry Pi Zero 2W is used:
GC9A01, SPI, 1.28" 240x240
Adafruit 1947, SPI, 2.8", 320x240
Adafruit 2423, RPi, 2.8", 320x240
MHS3528, SPI/RPi, 3.5", 480x320
Waveshare 19173, RPi, 3.5", 640x480

[RealLarry]

Another update: Cores like Atari2600, Atari800, C64, N64 etc can now show their own ROM/Game pictures!
Just create a new directory under ~/marquee-pictures named exactly like the core itself (ie Atari2600, case insensitive) and drop all your pictures there. Picture names has to be the same name as the ROM/Game itself!

Example:
Core is SNES, game ROM is Super Metroid (Japan, USA) (En,Ja).sfc so the directory has to be ~/marquee-pictures/SNES (or ~/marquee-pictures/snes) and pitcture's filename has to be Super Metroid (Japan, USA) (En,Ja).jpg

Just run update_tty2rpi.sh on MiSTer and update_tty2rpi.sh on tty2rpi to fetch the new update, edit mister.ini on MiSTer and edit the line to read log_file_entry=1 . Restart MiSTer.

; Write out file name under the cursor in browser for external integration
; External application or script may parse the info and do some additional actions and/or send info to 3rd party server.
; Warning: it may slowdown the system or add lag while browsing the files in OSD depending on external app/script.
log_file_entry=1

You can read about this new feature in the discussion it here

[Goyle667]

Debian Bookworm is now the actual version for our Raspberry's. If you are going to upgrade to Bookworm, you may stumble about a change how networking is done now as they are using NetworkManager for managing networks.

• For WiFi setups: After upgrading but before rebooting, create a file named /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/wlan.nmconnection and copy and edit this code snipped

  Code: Select all

  [connection]
  id=YourOwnSSID-Or-Name
  uuid=26cbd98d-c857-4b9e-a313-0a07bea76d55
  type=wifi
  interface-name=wlan0
  autoconnect=true
  
  [wifi]
  mode=infrastructure
  ssid=YourOwnSSID
  
  [wifi-security]
  # for WPA2 or mixed WPA2/WPA3
  key-mgmt=WPA-PSK
  # for WPA3
  # key-mgmt=sae
  psk=YourVeryStrongAndSecretPassword
  

  Edit id, ssid and psk for your needs and disable wpa_supplicant

  Code: Select all

  systemctl disable wpa_supplicant

  Reboot and all should work.

• For LAN setups: TBD

Great addon, I have it working but have to use a network cable as I need to add my wifi settings. I have created the wlan.nmconnection file with my network settings and copied it to the directed location but just need to enter the "systemctl disable wpa_supplicant"

How do you break out of tty2rpi to get the command prompt and enter/change code ? I can ssh in with putty but just get command unknown when entering the "systemctl disable wpa_supplicant" line of code ?

Sorry for all the noob questions but I've only been messing with Linux for a couple of days =/
Thank you for an awesome addition to my Mister arcade setup !

[RealLarry]

Great addon, I have it working but have to use a network cable as I need to add my wifi settings. I have created the wlan.nmconnection file with my network settings and copied it to the directed location but just need to enter the "systemctl disable wpa_supplicant"

How do you break out of tty2rpi to get the command prompt and enter/change code ? I can ssh in with putty but just get command unknown when entering the "systemctl disable wpa_supplicant" line of code ?

That is not that important if you haven't (or can't) disable wpa_supplicant for now. I'm, for myself, still unsure what they did with Debian Bookworm to complicate such things and how to provide an easier way to setup and enable WiFi. This is one of these small things to optimize.
But I'm wondering why you are getting a "command unknown" when logging in per ssh/putty, which isn't expected as normal.

Assuming that the shell (which is what you get when accessing per ssh) is working normal, you could use the program mc (a Norton Commander style file manager with viewer and editor) to review and/or change files if needed. To edit system files you have to start mc with the command

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sudo mc

which is granting "administrator" (root) access.

Another worth try to enable/setup WiFi is to use the program "Raspberry Pi Software Configuration Tool"

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sudo raspi-config

Sorry for all the noob questions but I've only been messing with Linux for a couple of days =/
Thank you for an awesome addition to my Mister arcade setup !

Naah, nothing to thank for. We all started like this.
To get a more detailed sight of your setup, provide some details to me, in which I'm interested in: What Raspberry are you using and what display (brand, name, dimension), please.

[RealLarry]

...and while we're talking about that I've found and fixed a stupid mistake I did, which is overwriting /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/wifi.nmconnection when updating. Maybe this is the culprit on your site.

The example file is now called wifi.nmconnection.example Removed! Is causing issues with NetworkManager.

[Goyle667]

Thanks for the reply Larry, I'm using the "2023-12-11-raspios-bookworm-arm64-lite.img" with Raspberry pi imager to write the image with the extra settings added into the imager with my wifi settings, But I'm guessing your commands overwrite those settings when entered as I have no wifi ?

My Raspberry pi board is a Pi 3 Model B and my screen is this one> https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305356064853
it has all the specs below the listing.

Here is what happens when I try to use some commands with putty>

H2HTJjE.png

I don't know if I have to be in the commands/working directoy for them to work ?

I still would like to know how to break into your program on the pi to get a command promt to be able to input directly ? I've tried control c & x but it just keeps running the program.

I'll try the mc program later and see if I have more luck at editing the wifi file, When I did set up for the tty2rpi lines of code I made a batch file and copied your lines of code and just ran that instead of manually typing all those line of code though, bit of a time saver

Again thank you for all your help

[Goyle667]

Also I've just uploaded my Marquees some of them my custom ones that I made for my Hyperspin cabinet should anyone want them >

dls/Arcade_Marquees.7z

You may need to re-size to fit your needs.

5xequCq.jpeg

[RealLarry]

Thanks for the reply Larry, I'm using the "2023-12-11-raspios-bookworm-arm64-lite.img" with Raspberry pi imager to write the image with the extra settings added into the imager with my wifi settings, But I'm guessing your commands overwrite those settings when entered as I have no wifi ?

That is an open question...did my update brake your wifi setup? That would be an easy task to check and to fix if you would you have Linux, where you could just mount and inspect Raspberry's OS.

My Raspberry pi board is a Pi 3 Model B and my screen is this one> https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305356064853
it has all the specs below the listing.

Ah, great, that is a very similar to my two ones. I'm using one in my MAME arcade setup (standard setup, no special software in use) and again the same for my desktop MiSTer, where I'm doing the development.

Here is what happens when I try to use some commands with putty>
I don't know if I have to be in the commands/working directoy for them to work ?

Ha, yes, but this is a (S)FTP connection, not plain SSH! You have to use the normal Putty (or any other ssh client).
Hence the "unknown command" output - it's complaining about unknown FTP commands! Try ls

I'll try the mc program later and see if I have more luck at editing the wifi file, When I did set up for the tty2rpi lines of code I made a batch file and copied your lines of code and just ran that instead of manually typing all those line of code though, bit of a time saver

Do that with a real SSH connection. Then navigate to the folder /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/ and let us have a look what file(s) are there and what is their content...

[RealLarry]

Thanks for the reply Larry, I'm using the "2023-12-11-raspios-bookworm-arm64-lite.img" with Raspberry pi imager to write the image with the extra settings added into the imager with my wifi settings

Oi! Many thanks for that hint! I wasn't aware of the fact that it can "inject" some settings like WiFi credentials etc. I'll take that into account for the documentation. That makes some things easier - for the user and me
EDIT: Documentation updated to reflect Raspberry Pi Imager

[Goyle667]

Oh that makes sense, You know I didn't even notice that it said ftp by the prompt
To make it even harder my SSID had a 0 which I had put O but I did keep this in mind when I was trouble shooting, I wish they would put a line through zero's

After much editing and rebooting I'm now on wifi ! Thanks for your help. Oh and yes your code when setting up does overwrite any preset wifi settings.

[RealLarry]

Oh that makes sense, You know I didn't even notice that it said ftp by the prompt
To make it even harder my SSID had a 0 which I had put O but I did keep this in mind when I was trouble shooting, I wish they would put a line through zero's

After much editing and rebooting I'm now on wifi ! Thanks for your help. Oh and yes your code when setting up does overwrite any preset wifi settings.

Glad that you got it to work now! Thanks to your hints I have updated the documentation and removed some example files, like the WiFi template. The RPi Imager should be enough and easy to handle when a user is entering his (wifi) credentials.

[Goyle667]

Thanks, is there anyway to have the Mister logo show on boot until the first game is loaded and if no art is found for the game ?

[RealLarry]

Thanks, is there anyway to have the Mister logo show on boot until the first game is loaded and if no art is found for the game ?

The MiSTer logo should be shown after boot/return from a core, until next action. Isn't it?
For the "picture not found" I could define an INI entry where one could set his own file instead of the static ~/tty2rpi-pics/000-notavail.png

I'm preparing the next update for today (or this weekend) where I did some cleanups and a better Find routine (better differentiation) for subfolders, like Atari/ C64/ and so on. I'll take the "picture not found" into account...

[Goyle667]

No just show the tty2rpi logo until 1st game boot but I have got a second marquee folder with my art, your art is still in the default folder though.
Also anyway to mute the ip address display on bootup as I don't need it after setup ?
Many thanks.

[RealLarry]

No just show the tty2rpi logo until 1st game boot but I have got a second marquee folder with my art, your art is still in the default folder though.
Also anyway to mute the ip address display on bootup as I don't need it after setup ?
Many thanks.

Does that mean that you have redefined PATHPIC (defaults to ~/marquee-pictures/) in ~/tty2rpi-user.ini (rpi)?

EDIT: Just rebooted some times, but it is working as designed: RPi boots up, is showing IP adress(es) and tty2rpi logo afterwards and waits for MiSTer. When MiSTer has finished booting and has started the tty2rpi Daemon, the "Cat Video" is played (if video playback is enabled) and is showing the Menu logo then.

Maybe something is needing more time for booting up at your side. Try to increase DAEMONSTARTDELAY (which defaults to 5 seconds) in tty2rpi-user.ini (MiSTer)

[Goyle667]

Does that mean that you have redefined PATHPIC (defaults to ~/marquee-pictures/) in ~/tty2rpi-user.ini (rpi)?

Yes, but I assume your code still looks in the default ini for your artwork first ?

Also I do get the cat video and the Mister screen but then it just defaults to the "Marquee file not available" message when sitting on the mister startup screen, I would like to just display the Mister image all the time at idle. I'm guessing it would also display the Mister image when no artwork is present which is fine by me

Mind you is there a way to detect Mister using an arcade directory to display the "Marquee file not available" message so we can have our cake and eat it ?

[RealLarry]

Does that mean that you have redefined PATHPIC (defaults to ~/marquee-pictures/) in ~/tty2rpi-user.ini (rpi)?

Yes, but I assume your code still looks in the default ini for your artwork first ?

Yes, but only for default settings. It is reading ~/tty2rpi.ini which contains all default settings/variables, then ~/tty2rpi-user.ini for user defined settings/variables, which are overwriting the default ones, if defined.
Don't change any setting in ~/tty2rpi.ini, they'll get overwritten after every update! Only take over the line(s) you want to change and write it/them to ~/tty2rpi-user.ini

Also I do get the cat video and the Mister screen but then it just defaults to the "Marquee file not available" message when sitting on the mister startup screen, I would like to just display the Mister image all the time at idle. I'm guessing it would also display the Mister image when no artwork is present which is fine by me

I still don't get what you are saying, respectively can't follow the details The message "Marquee file not available" only appears if MiSTer is requesting a picture (when a core has changed) and the corresponding picture doesn't exist on your RPi, respectively in the path defined by you.
In my repository you'll find not any core/game picture for copyright reasons.

Mind you is there a way to detect Mister using an arcade directory to display the "Marquee file not available" message so we can have our cake and eat it ?

Not that way, but the new upcoming update lets you define an other path instead of ~/tty2rpi-pics/ where you can (and have to) install your own clock pictures and 000-notavail.png
As a first step, after defining your own directory (after the update is done!), just copy all file from ~/tty2rpi-pics/ to /YOUR-OWN-PATH/ and copy ~/marquee-pictures/MISTER-MENU.png to /YOUR-OWN-PATH/000-notavail.png

[RealLarry]

New update!

Changelog:

• Removed obsolete files

• Updated documentation

• Removed prebuilt Raspberry Pi image

• Subfolder of a specific core is now correctly scanned

• You can now setup your own clock and "picture not available" by setting TTY2RPIPICS in tty2rpi-user.ini (see tty2rpi.ini for details)

[RealLarry]

New update!

Changelog:

• Some small internal rewrites

• For Video playback you can use mpv or mplayer as an alternative

An new INI parameter is VIDEOPLAYER="vlc" which can be set to VIDEOPLAYER="mpv" (or mplayer) tty2rpi-user.ini (RPi).
VLC is great but looks like that it needs between 3 and 8 seconds before starts playing a video, mpv, however, up to 3 seconds only (running a RPi Zero 2W). That's why I'm taking this into account and hope that YOU will report your personal experience.

[RealLarry]

New update!

Changelog:

• For pure framebuffer devices we're using ffmpeg now instead of mplayer. This speeds up fps when playing a video including up/downscaling to the needed resolution and correct aspect ratio. mplayer is using only a single CPU core, ffmpeg is using "I'll take what I need and get"