what display?

[Giordano]

Hello,

Let me rewrite the question. I was asking if any of you use a smaller display, but I desperately need to finish a player now for my temporary flat, with a display.

So, my question now: what other display works without writing scripts? Only the official RPI display? https://malnapc.hu/raspberry-pi-7-inch-t...si-800x480

If I need to stick to the same resolution and size, I would still choose comething else because I have bad experience with the official display. My dream would be a small display, even an oled with text only, browsing in the directory structure or selecting radio station. That is all.  - but, as I understand it does not exsits. I'm not good in python to write sw behind it :-(

Thanks!
JG

[Giordano]

Important to mention, I know, I saw in the other threads that some of you use oled display, but as I understand only as a status display, to show what is playing. I'm not interested in that. That is not enough for me. I would like to be able to start music sometime without using my phone/tablet/pc.
Thanks,
JG

[TheOldPresbyope]

Hello,

Let me rewrite the question. I was asking if any of you use a smaller display, but I desperately need to finish a player now for my temporary flat, with a display.

So, my question now: what other display works without writing scripts? Only the official RPI display? https://malnapc.hu/raspberry-pi-7-inch-t...si-800x480

If I need to stick to the same resolution and size, I would still choose comething else because I have bad experience with the official display. My dream would be a small display, even an oled with text only, browsing in the directory structure or selecting radio station. That is all.  - but, as I understand it does not exsits. I'm not good in python to write sw behind it :-(

Thanks!
JG

Hi, JG.

You don't describe what bad experience you had with the official 7-inch display. The one I have has been working fine for over a year.

You could try a small HDMI-based LCD display/touch screen instead. I have experimented with one (it's a 3.5-inch display only; no touch screen) whose board is about the same area as the RPi3B it's mounted on. It works but IMO it's too small for the moOde WebUI---or maybe just for my eyes. (Also, some of us have run into an issue using an HDMI display where the chromium-browser process eventually hogs all of memory. Don't yet know why.)

Your "dream" machine sounds like the MP3 players that were all the rage 20 years ago. I still have my iRiver ifp890. It wasn't Internet-enabled, of course, so it played FM radio stations but other than that it does just what you describe. I would slip it into my pocket before going on long walks.

I think you might have better luck searching other sites such as diyaudio.com, instructables.com, or even the WWW looking for a diy stand-alone music player project or something like that. Off-hand, I don't know of any.

Regards,
Kent

[Giordano]

Hi Kent,

Yes, the old mp3 player style interface would be perfect, but with flac, DSD support, USB DAC and a 4T HDD attached :-)
On diyaudio I just got a suggestion to look and ask here. This stand alone player is not that easy question. I've left volumio some years ago because it could not handle large flac library and other reasons. With moOde I experience better sq somehow, maybe it is just placebo, but another important thing for me is that I never bother to shut down. Just cut power. Rune and Volumio crashes after some time while I have a moOde box for my wife in the kitchen, switched on/off at least twice a day and the config is a few years old now. So, I prefer moOde, there is just a little to solve with the display question. I will digest it that it will be about 7", but the official display from element 14 what I have is poor in contrast, uneven background lighting, unresponsive touch. It is like a cheapest android tablet's display and the tablets for the same cost has ages better display.

Even during booting, with text on black backround it is ugly, but the biggest problem is that I have to knock on the display so it recognize the touch. Sometimes twice, or 3 times. Maybe it sense that I hate it :-)

Yes, I could use my phone. But, I often would just drop my phone into a corner and listen to music. I also used some time ago a dedicated tablet, but than I have to keep charging it, wait for booting ... I just want to simplify.

Thanks!
JG

[fdealexa]

Hi Kent,

Yes, the old mp3 player style interface would be perfect, but with flac, DSD support, USB DAC and a 4T HDD attached :-)
On diyaudio I just got a suggestion to look and ask here. This stand alone player is not that easy question. I've left volumio some years ago because it could not handle large flac library and other reasons. With moOde I experience better sq somehow, maybe it is just placebo, but another important thing for me is that I never bother to shut down. Just cut power. Rune and Volumio crashes after some time while I have a moOde box for my wife in the kitchen, switched on/off at least twice a day and the config is a few years old now. So, I prefer moOde, there is just a little to solve with the display question. I will  digest it that it will be about 7", but the official display from element 14 what I have is poor in contrast, uneven background lighting, unresponsive touch. It is like a cheapest android tablet's display and the tablets for the same cost has ages better display.

Even during booting, with text on black backround it is ugly, but the biggest problem is that I have to knock on the display so it recognize the touch. Sometimes twice, or 3 times. Maybe it sense that I hate it :-)

Yes, I could use my phone. But, I often would just drop my phone into a corner and listen to music. I also used some time ago a dedicated tablet, but than I have to keep charging it, wait for booting ... I just want to simplify.

Thanks!
JG

Hello JG,
could it be an Hardware problem to your flat display?
I have three good experiences with it: as soon I have read your message, I made a short video of one of mine.
Here it is: VIDEO
To be noted that I use the brightness at half of the maximum value (128 on 256).
For your questions on easy command user interface, try to search "buttons" on this forum: I also will do that and will inform you on the results.
Regards,
Francesco

[DRONE7]

Your "dream" machine sounds like the MP3 players that were all the rage 20 years ago. I still have my iRiver ifp890. It wasn't Internet-enabled, of course, so it played FM radio stations but other than that it does just what you describe. I would slip it into my pocket before going on long walks.

Hiya Kent and a very Happy New Year sending to you and yours.  

Yes..the old mp3 player....plenty of them knocking about here.

I set up a car FM sender using MoOde Pi as the input and can perambulate our 2 Acre property listening to FM where-ever I may wander... and have a much more powerful FM broadcast kit for when I walk around the back of the neighbours farm..

[Giordano]

hmmmm....
Thank You for the video!!

The touch sensor seems to be perfect! Do you remember when did you buy it?

I planned to call today the RPI specialized shop, there may be different generations of that display. It is still expensive, but if works well, than OK.

Thanks!

The dream is still a small display with limited info on it, but this will do for now.

JG

[fdealexa]

hmmmm....
Thank You for the video!!

The touch sensor seems to be perfect! Do you remember when did you buy it?

I planned to call today the RPI specialized shop, there may be different generations of that display. It is still expensive, but if works well, than OK.

Thanks!

The dream is still a small display with limited info on it, but this will do for now.

JG

Hi JG,
I bought 3 at different times: March 2020, May 2020, March 2021.
Greetings,
Francesco

[fdealexa]

Hi JG,
Try to have a look to the following threads:
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Regards,
Francesco

[Giordano]

Hi Francesco,

Thank You for your reply, I appreciate that you took the time to link all this!
I'm afraid you misunderstood my goal a bit. The buttons and status display is not what I was looking for, or, to be accurate, it is not enough. The main thing what I want is to select what to play in the directory structure and start/stop. I know the start/stop control works and also the status display, but for selection none of these. The potentiometer to select between the pre-programmed radio stations is interesting, but I will not do. In fact, in my wife's previous player I did built in a 2x16 character LCD, 3 pushbutton. 1 button was to switch to radio and a + - button to seléect between the pre programmed stations. It was stand alone for the programmed radio stations, but I could not start a song from the library without a remote web browser. I see in these project, these are similar. Unfortunately my programming knowledge is not sufficient to create the old mp3 player style menu on a small display.

Still, what you linked is useful to me because now I'm thinking to bild in a small oled display and a rotary sw, even it will not bring what I want, maybe later I will be able to add it. On a relative narrow oled display I can put 4 text lines and it is still well visible, that is I think the minimum.

I'm just adding this to this design and than ordering the lasercut of the housing, I want to listen to music now asap, instead of my ipad.

Thanks!!!
JG