Update on the DIY Digital Picture Frame

In my first post on the frame (found HERE), I discussed using Windows 2000 along with a screen saver application to turn the laptop into a digital picture frame. While this setup worked, it did not stand up to my expectations. The WIFI was sketchy and the machine was very unstable. The software relied on a constant internet connection to fetch pictures from and as soon as the link went down, it was quick to notify the user with an annoying message on the screen. Also, updating pictures was impossible since the connection was down. Something had to be done. A little searching for some DIY software options and other people's projects came up with a plethora of options.

Home screen of McDPF:

From Digital Picture Frame

One sparked my interest, a software set called McDPF. It is based on a linux distribution called DSL (Damn Small Linux) and features a set of applications that work together to provide a simplistic, stable, and functional slideshow that is easily managed from a networked PC. DSL is the "Biz-Card Desktop OS" that only take up 50MB. It was perfect for my application since my frame only had a 4GB hard disk. It would leave me with plenty of storage for pictures. The installation of McDPF was fairly simple! After installing DSL, I copied the backup file for McDPF to my flash drive and booted the machine. After the installation did it's work installing the necessary files, I had to tweak a few settings to make it play nice with DSL. An in-depth explanation of all the installation steps can be found HERE.

Installing DSL:

From Digital Picture Frame

My work space:

From Digital Picture Frame

Once all the software configuration was complete, it was time to copy some photos to the frame to test it. Being already connected to my home network and assigned an IP address, I simply typed the frame's IP into a web browser on another computer on the network. This opened the frame's configuration web page, which allowed me to upload photos, turn the screen on or off, change the duration each photo stays on the screen for, or restart the frame. I was also able to connect to the frame's shared folder, which holds the photos, from my Mac to add pictures directly over the network. As soon as I added some photos, the slideshow began! It was working perfectly. The web access isn't completely done yet since the screen schedule isn't working. I was able to adjust the schedule manually from the frame using Cron. More on this HERE. I have it turn the screen on every day at 6:30am and off every night at 10:30. It can be set as specific as each day if you so desire.

Administration webpage:

From Digital Picture Frame

Manually adjusting the screen schedule:

From Digital Picture Frame

On to the network connectivity issue. My experience configuring WIFI cards in linux isn't all that great. I had used a wired PCMCIA card for setup and the initial copying of photos. I searched around on the DSL wiki and found a list of verified WIFI cards. A lot of them were older cards using only 802.11B or WEP only. I use WPA2 encryption here and wasn't about to change it just for this. I opted to stick with the wired card and create a wireless bridge using my Linksys WAP-54G bridged with my WRT-54G. This made an extension of my wired network, wirelessly. This took some configuration in the WAP but all went well and the frame was assigned an IP by the WRT. I could have bought a WIFI card and installed it using the ndiswrapper tool and configured the WPA but I took the cheaper (free) route for the time being. It gets the job done!

Testing the bridged link:

From Digital Picture Frame

To be able to install DSL, I needed access to the CD ROM drive, which was blocked by part of the wooden structure of the frame. I was able to remove the side and gain access to the drive.I cut a slot in the wood to allow access to the CD drive in the future. While I had it partially apart, I figured it necessary to clean it up a little, smooth out some rough edges, and touch up the paint job a little bit. I added angled feet with soft felt feet to raise it up off the table a little and make it a little more stable. Once it was all touched up and the paint was dry, I put it in theliving room, hooked up the wireless bridge, and started everything up. The frame got an IP and I added some more photos. It was an instant hit! Everyone who came through commented on it(as well as on the photos themselves).

CD sot cut out:

From Digital Picture Frame

Feet:

From Digital Picture Frame

Frame in the living room, running its slideshow:

From Digital Picture Frame

I really like the new software! It is lean and very stable.It has been running non-stop since Christmas day without a glitch! I encourage you to give Linux a try, it is very versatile as you can see here!

Thanks for stopping by!