Messages

1

Thumby / Re: Porting micropython thumby libraries to C?

« on: April 05, 2024, 10:00:30 AM »

I'm starting to look into how i want to make games for the thumby but I realized there's a lot of micropython only functionality like saves and sprites. (I'm addicted to C).

Could someone give me a few pointers and how to reimplement the micropython stuff in C? Here's some of the specific stuff I was trying to figure out:

Where in the micropython fork should I be looking for thumby specific stuff? there's a couple of branches and files, is it all just in rp2? Whats actually loaded on the thumby? there's probably something in the code editor repo i haven't found yet...

For hardware interaction I definitely need to figure out how to load littlefs or whatever filesystem abstraction micropython is using. Is there a specific place in the repo that deals with that? I might just try loading up a littlefs C library..

Also is there any other hardware interactions that C is missing besides the filesystem? I see a sprite system but maybe that's just a nice wrapper around loading sprites and writing them to the buffer.

(anyhow thanks for reading)

Hi,

We don't actually use a fork of MicroPython for the Thumby firmware, we use the vanilla/regular version from the website (1.19.1: https://micropython.org/download/RPI_PICO/). The version we have on our GitHub is mostly for the emulator and testing.

Although we don't build our own MicroPython, I am very familiar with how it works. If you want to use littlefs from C then you can use version that gets pulled in from MicroPython itself (lib/littlefs/lfs2.h). This isn't exactly simple though as you will have to reimplement the prog/sync/erase functions for the RP2040. The documentation on how to use littlefs is in this header: https://github.com/littlefs-project/littlefs/blob/master/lfs.h

There are a couple of different hardware interactions that would have to be implmented in C:

• Init and sending data to the display
• Buttons
• Sound

The sprite portion of the Thumby library just handles pulling data from a sprite and then copying it into the framebuffer at a location. It also does some simple animation type stuff.

2

TinyTV & Tiny Video Player / Re: TV2 can storage be expanded and can it always stay plugged in?

« on: March 20, 2024, 01:47:39 PM »

Looking to keep this on my desk at work and continually play all my favorite show. Can I add any size micro SD and always keep it plugged in

Thanks

TinyTV 2 was not designed to have the card replaced and therefore we do not support it. However, I have heard of brave users taking it about and putting larger cards in.

3

TinyTV & Tiny Video Player / Re: Replace Battery with external Power

« on: March 15, 2024, 09:30:42 AM »

I would like to eliminate the rechargeable internal battery on the Tiny TV and wire it to an external 3 to 5v external DC power source. The external wire connection would have an ON/OFF relay .   Does this sound possible?   Reason the TV is to be installed in a model that I will NOT have access to once the TV is installed.

Which TV are you using? TinyTV DIY, TinyTV 2, or TinyTV Mini?

4

Thumby / Re: Exiting a game

« on: March 07, 2024, 02:58:50 PM »

Hello. I was wondering if there is a soft reset with the thumby? I am using the on)off switch when I've finished playing a game.

It depends on the game. If the game has an end menu then they may allow you to exit back to the main launcher.

5

TinyTV & Tiny Video Player / Re: Can't access the settings menu on DIY kit after update

« on: February 28, 2024, 09:44:03 AM »

Thanks! Where can I read more about how to modify settings.txt?
Also - is there a way to get video file names back instead of channel numbers?

To modify the settings.txt you would just take the SD card out, put it into your computer, and open the file in something like notepad. Descriptions of each setting can be found on the settings page by hovering over the question marks.

There isn't a way to show filenames instead of channel numbers currently.

6

TinyTV & Tiny Video Player / Re: Can't access the settings menu on DIY kit after update

« on: February 26, 2024, 09:41:18 AM »

oh and the SW version is:

Detected Version: 1.2.1

Yes it changed. You can connect your TV to this webpage https://tinytv.us/Settings/ or change the settings in the `settings.txt` file on the SD card.

7

Thumby / Re: How To Program Thumby In C?

« on: February 26, 2024, 09:34:22 AM »

Hello,

I just got my Thumby (two in fact :]), I would just like to ask if it's possible to program it in plain C, without using the web IDE, just using GNU/Linux command line. I understand the IDE is comfortable and good for beginners, but I am used to programming with my own editor and I have a bunch of games written in C that I have ported to many devices which I would like to port to Thumby too. Anyone having any directions or tutorials about this? Thank you :-)

Hi, we have a very hastily made and barebones C++ abstraction over here: https://github.com/TinyCircuits/TinyCircuits-Thumby-Lib/tree/master. It uses the Arduino IDE but it might be a good reference for you.

It depends on other libraries to work. You can find documentation on all of this here: https://thumby.us/CCPP/Environment-Setup/

Let me know if you have more questions!

8

TinyTV & Tiny Video Player / Re: Max Audio Codec Settings?

« on: February 23, 2024, 11:32:22 AM »

Hey there! I see that the default converter puts the audio at pcm_u8 standard with a 10000hz sample rate. I'm trying to do something that requires a bit more articulation in the audio: playing sped up audio that the user needs to slow down after recording externally. What is the highest quality/bit rate/sample rate I can get into the video?

Cheers,

Ryan

The firmware doesn't support any other sample format or sample rate. It doesn't dynamically change to play audio, it is fixed.

If you're OK with programming, you could give our firmware a look and try to change it but there's probably a good reason why it is what it is: https://github.com/TinyCircuits/TinyCircuits-TinyTVs-Firmware

9

Thumby / Re: Thumby not booting properly/unresponsive on boot

« on: January 19, 2024, 11:35:19 AM »

Hi, sorry to hear about your issue.

The fact that it still doesn't work after trying to restore the firmware using the instructions in the FAQ means that the hardware is erroring out or broken in some way.

Please try sending us a message using this form https://tinycircuits.com/pages/contact-us. Please provide the the month and year it was ordered and optimally the email and name of the person who ordered it. This will let us look up the order.

Again, sorry this happened.

10

General Discussion / Re: Always on!

« on: January 19, 2024, 11:28:11 AM »

Hi, that's looking pretty cool!

First, the TVs have a soft off mode that lasts for about 2 minutes. In that time, you can use the remotes to turn them back on, but after that you need to press the top button/switch.

Next, there's no way to bypass that switch other than by physically soldering wires to certain pins on the switch and connecting your own. If you are not familiar with soldering then I do not recommend you try this as you could permanently damage the board.

An alternative to all of this would be to modify the firmware to never fully shutoff, just turn the screen off, like in soft off mode. This way the remote could be used to toggle them on/off. Obviously, the TVs will always need to be plugged into power since the batteries will die.

If you are familiar with programming and Arduino, you can find the code here: https://github.com/TinyCircuits/TinyCircuits-TinyTVs-Firmware. It looks like you would have to remove these lines: https://github.com/TinyCircuits/TinyCircuits-TinyTVs-Firmware/blob/0940ebeb370e1ede4d30c0969dea52f89c328774/TinyCircuits-TinyTVs-Firmware.ino#L261-L263

11

TinyTV & Tiny Video Player / Re: Can I use an ipad

« on: January 04, 2024, 09:57:14 AM »

Can I use an iPad to put vids on tv or do I need a laptop?

You will need a laptop running Windows or macOS. We don't have an app for IOS

12

Thumby / Re: Sprite issues

« on: December 22, 2023, 03:41:13 PM »

I just started learning how to code using blocks but trying to animate a sprite is giving me issues as it loads weirdly. Im ussing the bitmap builder on a 60x13 grid so i can have 5 frames measuring 12x13, can anybody help me to point out what is going on?


Thanks in advance

Try using the sprite block that allows you to set the width and height. Make sure you set the width and height to 12 and 13.

13

TinyTV & Tiny Video Player / Re: videos showing up in random order

« on: December 21, 2023, 01:26:49 PM »

hi, im having an issue where the videos are showing up in a random order different from how I organized the files. i copied the original format of the stock videos where they were number like "1_video, 2_video, 3_video. is the random order intended or am I naming the files incorrectly?

Make sure that playback order setting is alphabetical: https://tinytv.us/Settings/

14

General Discussion / Re: TinyTV ~ continual power

« on: December 05, 2023, 10:24:19 AM »

Hi,
Apologies if this has been asked before...
I'm wanting to power the TinyTV direct from USB, as the TV will be in a hard to reach area.
Is it possible to do this AND play content?

Don't know if there is a difference between the DIY or the prebuilt versions, but happy to use either.
(Was thinking on the DIY version to cut the battery off and connect the wires to relevant charger - but will it play content at same time? )

Thanks for any help and advice

That should be possible. Just plug it in and power it on. If it says it is in USB mode then quickly press the power button to skip past that screen.

I'm pretty sure that if any of our TVs are plugged then they don't auto turn off. Also, you could take the battery out of any of the TVs you use, they should still stay powered on when plugged in.

15

General Discussion / Re: missing remote

« on: December 04, 2023, 02:26:31 PM »

hi,
I  just received my TinyTV2. But it came without the remote.  How can I get the remote?

Thanks,
Paul

Sorry to hear that, please fill out this contact form https://tinycircuits.com/pages/contact-us with the problem.