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Raspberry Pi Zero W with HDMI TV and Jivelite

pCP Team 1 January 2023 pCP 8.2.0 Projects  •
This project is to install piCorePlayer onto a Raspberry Pi Zero W and connect it to a Panasonic TV via HDMI. Also, we would like to add Jivelite for displaying “Now Playing” information.
Warning

Since the introduction of the Raspberry Pi 4B, the HDMI configuration has changed and is continually being developed. This has resulted in a simple piCorePlayer configuration becoming a lot more complicated.

What was used

Hardware

  • Raspberry Pi Zero W
    • Cheap
    • Single core so 32-bit only
    • No ethernet connector
    • No Headphones Jack
    • No default sound card
    • Only one USB connector
  • SanDisk Ultra 8GB SD card—see SD card.
  • Panasonic TV
  • Keyboard

Software

Network Diagram

graph TD Router[Wifi router] Router --> |Wifi| RPi[Raspberry Pi Zero W - pCP] RPi --- |HDMI| TV[Panasonic TV]

Steps

Step 1 - Download piCorePlayer
Warning

The Raspberry Pi Zero W has a single core processor, so you must use the 32-bit Kernel version of piCorePlayer.

Step 2 - Create SD card
Step 3 - Setup Wifi
Warning

The Raspberry Pi Zero W does not have a wired ethernet connector, so you must enable wifi.

Step 4 - Boot piCorePlayer
  • Insert the SD card into the Raspberry Pi Zero W.
  • Connect the Panasonic TV to Raspberry Pi HDMI connector.
Warning

The Raspberry Pi Zero W has 2 USB connectors. For power, you must you the USB connector marked PWR closest to the edge of the PCB.

  • Connect the power cable to the Raspberry Pi.
  • Turn the power on.
Warning

The Raspberry Pi Zero W has no default sound card so you will get the following boot error message:

The Headphones audio device is not compatible with Rpi<Zero><Compute><400> Boards. Audio will need configured.

Because there is no sound card, squeezelite will also fail to start.

Step 5 - Determine the IP address
Step 6 - Access piCorePlayer GUI
  • Type http://<IP address> into web browser, or
  • Type http://pcp.local into web browser.
Step 7 - Select USB audio
  • Select [Squeezelite Settings] > “Audio output device settings” > “HDMI audio”.
  • Click [Save].
  • This will set “Audio output device settings” to “HDMI audio” and set “Change Squeezelite settings” to default values.
Step 8 - Set Output setting
Danger

The “Output setting” will be set to sysdefault:CARD=b1,DEV=0 which will not work. You must reset “Output setting” to sysdefault:CARD=b1. Note the ,DEV=0 is removed.

  • Click [Squeezelite Settings] > “Change Squeezelite settings” > “Output setting” > “more>”.
  • Note the list of available output devices.
Available output devices (click to use):

hw: devices are normally the best choice, but try and decide for yourself:

- default
- plugequal
- equal
- hw:CARD=b1,DEV=0
- plughw:CARD=b1,DEV=0
- sysdefault:CARD=b1
Warning

The CARD=b1 options will only appear if the HDMI cable is plugged in.

  • Click on sysdefault:CARD=b1.
  • This will set the “Output setting” to sysdefault:CARD=b1.
  • Click [Save].
Step 9 - Reboot
  • Click [Reboot] when requested.
Step 10 - Play music
  • Select track/playlist.
  • Click [Play].
Step 11 - Set player name
  • Access piCorePlayer using the IP address in a browser (ie. http://192.168.1.xxx or http://pcp.local).
  • Select [Squeezelite Settings] > “Change Squeezelite settings” > “Name of your player”.
  • Type player name pCP HDMI.
  • Click [Save].
Step 13 - Set hostname
  • Select [Tweaks] > “pCP System Tweaks” > “Host name”.
  • Type host name pCPHDMI.
  • Click [Save].
  • Click [Yes] when requested to “Reboot piCorePlayer”.
Step 14 - Reboot
  • Click [Reboot] when requested.
Success

Stop here if you don’t need Jivelite.

Step 15 - Resize FS
  • Select [Main Page] > [Resize FS].
  • Select [100 MB].
  • Click [Resize].
Step 16 - Load Jivelite
  • Select [Tweaks] > “Jivelite Settings” > [Install].
Step 17 - Reboot
  • Click [Reboot] when requested.
Danger

You should see the piCorePlayer logo screen but Jivelite will not continue to load. This is a result of the development of HDMI drivers since the Raspberry Pi 4B.

Step 18 - Configure config.txt
Warning

config.txt needs changing to accommodate the display of Jivelite.

$ m1

$ c1

$ vicfg

  • Comment out dtparam=audio=on.
  • Comment out audio_pwm_mode=2.
  • Remove comment from #dtoverlay=vc4-kms-v3d.

From this: 

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# onboard audio overlay
dtparam=audio=on
audio_pwm_mode=2

# For Jivelite use with HDMI screens
# Comment out the lines above
#   gpu_mem=xx
dtparam=audio=on
# Then uncomment the following line.
#dtoverlay=vc4-kms-v3d
#

To this: 

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# onboard audio overlay
#dtparam=audio=on
#audio_pwm_mode=2

# For Jivelite use with HDMI screens
# Comment out the lines above
#   gpu_mem=xx
dtparam=audio=on
# Then uncomment the following line.
dtoverlay=vc4-kms-v3d
#

Step 19 - Reboot
  • Click [Reboot] or type $ pcp br.
Step 20 - Configure Jivelite
  • Plug in keyboard.
  • On the Jivelite screen:
    • Select Language.
    • Select Skin.
      • HD Grid Skin (1920x1080)
      • HD Skin (1920x1080)
Step 21 - Save Jivelite configuration
  • Jivelite does not automatically save the Jivelite changes, so you must do a backup.
  • On the Jivelite screen:
    • Select [Settings] > [piCorePlayer] > “Save Settings to SD Card”.
    • For alternative backup options—see piCorePlayer backup
Step 22 - Fix HDMI audio out
Warning

We now have Jivelite displaying nicely but HDMI sound output has been broken.

Note that the ALSA CARD name has changed from b1 to vc4hdmi. This will cause the problems with Squeezelite.

  • Click [Squeezelite Settings] > “Change Squeezelite settings” > “Output setting” > “more>”.
  • Note the list of available output devices.
Available output devices (click to use):

hw: devices are normally the best choice, but try and decide for yourself:

- sysdefault
- iec958
- default
- plugequal
- equal
- hw:CARD=vc4hdmi,DEV=0
- plughw:CARD=vc4hdmi,DEV=0
- sysdefault:CARD=vc4hdmi
- front:CARD=vc4hdmi,DEV=0
- iec958:CARD=vc4hdmi,DEV=0
  • Click on iec958.
  • This will set the “Output setting” to iec958.
  • Click [Save].
Success

Congratulations!

Jivelite keyboard mapping

Extract From InputToActionMap.lua

It can be beneficial to use a keyboard for debugging process. Here is an extract from InputToActionMap.lua that shows the mapping of the keyboard to LMS commands.

charActionMappings.press = {
--BEGIN temp shortcuts to test action framework
        ["["]  = "go_now_playing",
        ["]"]  = "go_playlist",
        ["{"]  = "go_current_track_info",
        ["`"]  = "go_playlists",
        [";"]  = "go_music_library",
        [":"]  = "go_favorites",
        ["'"]  = "go_brightness",
        [","]  = "shuffle_toggle",
        ["."]  = "repeat_toggle",
        ["|"]  = "sleep",
        ["Q"]  = "power",
--END temp shortcuts to test action framework

--alternatives for common control buttons avoiding keyboard modifiers
        ["f"]  = "go_favorites",
        ["s"]  = "sleep",
        ["q"]  = "power",
        ["k"]  = "power_on",
        ["i"]  = "power_off",
        ["t"]  = "go_current_track_info",
        ["n"]  = "go_home_or_now_playing",
        ["m"]  = "create_mix",
        ["g"]  = "stop",
        ["d"]  = "add_end",
        ["y"]  = "play_next",
        ["e"]  = "scanner_rew",
        ["r"]  = "scanner_fwd",
        ["u"]  = "mute",
        ["o"]  = "quit",

-- original
        ["/"]   = "go_search",
        ["h"]   = "go_home",
        ["J"]   = "go_home_or_now_playing",
        ["D"]   = "soft_reset",
        ["x"]   = "play",
        ["p"]   = "play",
        ["P"]   = "create_mix",
        [" "]   = "pause",
        ["c"]   = "pause",
        ["C"]   = "stop",
        ["a"]   = "add",
        ["A"]   = "add_end",
        ["W"]   = "play_next",
        ["M"]   = "mute",
        ["\b"]  = "back", -- BACKSPACE
        ["\27"] = "back", -- ESC
        ["j"]   = "back",
        ["l"]   = "go",
        ["S"]   = "take_screenshot",
        ["z"]  = "jump_rew",
        ["<"]  = "jump_rew",
        ["Z"]  = "scanner_rew",
        ["b"]  = "jump_fwd",
        [">"]  = "jump_fwd",
        ["B"]  = "scanner_fwd",
        ["+"]  = "volume_up",
        ["="]  = "volume_up",
        ["-"]  = "volume_down",
        ["0"]  = "play_preset_0",
        ["1"]  = "play_preset_1",
        ["2"]  = "play_preset_2",
        ["3"]  = "play_preset_3",
        ["4"]  = "play_preset_4",
        ["5"]  = "play_preset_5",
        ["6"]  = "play_preset_6",
        ["7"]  = "play_preset_7",
        ["8"]  = "play_preset_8",
        ["9"]  = "play_preset_9",
        [")"]  = "set_preset_0",
        ["!"]  = "set_preset_1",
        ["@"]  = "set_preset_2",
        ["#"]  = "set_preset_3",
        ["$"]  = "set_preset_4",
        ["%"]  = "set_preset_5",
        ["^"]  = "set_preset_6",
        ["&"]  = "set_preset_7",
        ["*"]  = "set_preset_8",
        ["("]  = "set_preset_9",
        ["?"]  = "help",

        --development tools -- Later when modifier keys are supported, these could be obscured from everyday users
        ["R"]  = "reload_skin",
        ["}"]  = "debug_skin",
        ["~"]  = "debug_touch",

}

More information

3D printed case
Setup Akkordion
The Software and Information is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including without limitation any implied warranties of condition, uninterrupted use, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.
Raspberry Pi is a trademark of the Raspberry Pi Foundation.