RaspberryPi Kiosk Slideshow

Use a RaspberryPi to show a full-screen Slideshow (Kiosk-mode)

Installation TL;DR

We assume you have a RaspberryPi with Raspbian installed and a working internet connection.

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install git ntpdate chromium-browser apache2 php libapache2-mod-php -y

git clone [email protected]:timluedtke/raspberryPiKioskSlideshow.git
cd raspberryPiKioskSlideshow
mv -r ./system/lxde-pi_autostart /home/pi/.config/lxsession/LXDE-pi/autostart

ntpdate

To keep the clock of your RaspberryPi up to date we use ntpdate. This is a simple command line tool that sets the date and time via NTP (Network Time Protocol).

Installation - step by step

Basic Setup

For basic RaspberryPi setup you can use most of the available guides, for example this one: https://gist.github.com/blackjid/dfde6bedef148253f987

HDMI Mode

You may need to set the HDMI Mode on the raspi to ensure the hdmi resolution matches your screen exactly. Here is the official documentation: https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/configuration/config-txt/video.md

However I used this one:

(2,82) = 1920x1080 60Hz 1080p

Installation of base software

• Install chromium for showing the slideshow in browser
• Install apache Server with PHP module for rendering the slideshow (based on this guide: https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/remote-access/web-server/apache.md)
• Install nptupdate to keep your Raspi-clock set correctly

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install git ntpdate chromium-browser apache2 php libapache2-mod-php -y

git clone [email protected]:timluedtke/raspberryPiKioskSlideshow.git
cd raspberryPiKioskSlideshow
mv -r ./system/lxde-pi_autostart /home/pi/.config/lxsession/LXDE-pi/autostart

Autostart Slideshow on bootup

To autostart this slideshow directly after bootup there is a ready-to-go file in this repo: ./system/lxde-pi_autostart

With the following command you can move that file to a special directory where raspberryPi automatically executes it on bootup:

mv -r ./system/lxde-pi_autostart /home/pi/.config/lxsession/LXDE-pi/autostart

Based on this Guides:

• http://www.raspberrypi-spy.co.uk/2014/05/how-to-autostart-apps-in-rasbian-lxde-desktop/
• https://gist.github.com/blackjid/dfde6bedef148253f987

Prepare your Slideshow

Everything slideshow-related happens in the ./files folder.

• Put some images into the /files folder. Ideally with the same resultion of the screen (eg. 1920x1080px).
• Edit the slideshow.txt
  • Every line starting with # is a comment line (except the transition delay setting)
  • Every other line shall be either the filename (without path) OR a URL (eg: image.jpg OR https://timluedtke.de)
  • if you want you can set the transition delay in the comment-line to a different value (seconds): # setting-transition-delay=

You are done now :)

If everything is set up correctly, the RaspberryPi shall start chromium in fullscreen directly after bootup and after some seconds of showing the date&time (datetimenow.html) your slideshow shall start and loop endlessly. You're welcome.

Feedback

If you liked what we've done together feel free to give feedback (Gitlab Issues) or send me an photo of your RaspberryPiKiosk Setup. I would love that :) eMail: mail %aht% timluedtke %dot% de