Company
Date Published
Author
Sasa Buklijas
Word count
1223
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

This article discusses how to control a massive video display on a cruise ship using Python and the nec-pd-sdk package. The system, which is 17 meters tall, uses 34 NEC X551UN displays connected via SDI and DVI to HDMI active converters. The Linux PCs play video for individual displays, while one additional Windows PC synchronizes playback. To control the displays programmatically, the author used Python and the nec-pd-sdk package to open a connection to each display, test for errors, turn off faulty displays, and then wait for 5 minutes before turning them back on. The code is compatible with Python version 2.7 and later, and it uses a JSON file to store IP addresses of the displays. The author also implemented a system of notifications using files to indicate when and which displays had errors. This example showcases one way to automate tasks related to NEC displays using Python and nec-pd-sdk.