Just wanted to share a project that I am currently working on!
I have a iPad running in my kitchen with Home Assistant used to show the weather, Calendar and other goodies. I wanted my iPad to be turned on all the time for easy accessibility, but was afraid of screen burns. Therefore I turned to the good old days of screensavers.
This plugin is pretty simple. I will start the screensaver after a given idle time (no clicking/touching). The Images are from Unsplash using a given search term (defaults to nature).
To stop the screensaver simply click/touch the screen again.
For more information and installation guide, go visit the repo:
Nice idea. I like the concept, but I donât really like the idea of getting the images from the cloud.
Could this be made to fetch images on a local network? Or failing that a local machine?
Also any plans to make this HACS compatible?
Using unsplash was an easy way to get this project up and running.
How are you thinking âfetch images on a local networkâ? you would need to make a private api for that or make a python service/plugin in hass to generate a json file
All I was thinking is setting a directory from a network share to randomly pull in pics from.
Failing that just pulling from a directory on the local machine.
Thanks
@gabrielmiranda and @danbutter I will try making this an option. but for now my focus is to get the script running flawlessly and as smooth as possible.
It works wonderfully, just that the problem is that the images in the category are repeated in the loop. And donât show all the pictures in the category.
@Abeksis that is correct. Im going to add the possibility to choose how make images to fetch, and make it an option to fetch next page if last image of the current page has been used. The reason this can be an issue is that you can run into the maximum number of api calls on your free version of Unsplash.
I like it, but Iâm trying to avoid integration with too many sites.
For others like me, you could try going down the chromium extension route.
Theres an extension called Photo Screen Saver
that I have installed on my standalone pi kiosk mode, linked it to google photos, one dedicated hassio folder and im away. Can also display time and weather on the page.
May help you out.
R
Is there a way to use an input_select or some other variable as the query for unsplash? That way I can more easily change the category for what is being displayed rather than having to edit the UI every time?
Great idea. Is there a way to set it up to just produce a black screen? I donât want to show pictures; I just want the device to sort of disappear into the wall when not in use. To quote Spinal Tap, âHow much more black could this be? And the answer is none â none more black.â
This would also eliminate the concern about using Unsplash and the cloud.
if your using the mobile app on the device. you cloud remove the lock code for easy open and let the device it self go to black screen. if you want black it seems like the easiest way?
Normally, yes. In this particular situation, the tablet is mounted on a wall in portrait mode, and the power button is difficult to get to. Itâs a lower-end tablet by Vankyo, and doesnât support double-tap-to-wake. So, I canât let the device go to black screeen, because itâs hard to wake it up. Iâm looking for alternatives to get what I want.
The tablet itself uses 9.0, but doesnât implement all of the âauxâ functions. And there are no easy ways to bypass the power button:
Swipe to wake = PWR + swipe
Lock code = PWR + swipe + code
etc.
Not expecting you to change your code; just hoping to stumble on a workaround. Iâve started using WallPanel for Android (vs Chrome), which does pretty much what I want, except the black screen doesnât kill the backlight. So, I have a night light!
