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A free video streaming service that runs on a ESP32

by juanpabloaj on 8/13/20, 10:02 PM with 48 comments

  • by stavros on 8/14/20, 1:57 AM

    A minor plug, if you're doing ESP8266/ESP32 development, you can use the following code snippet and server I wrote to do automatic, secure updates over pinned HTTPS:

    https://www.pastery.net/vmympk/

    This is the server, a single binary (written in Rust):

    https://gitlab.com/stavros/espota-server

    The device will connect to the server (whenever you call doHttpUpdate(), I usually do it on startup), ask for a new version, get the latest version, flash itself with it and then boot.

    Very handy, as it's faster than USB/UART, and you don't have to disconnect from the serial console to use it.

  • by teleforce on 8/13/20, 11:16 PM

    Very nice project, may be can try this at home.

    ESP32 is a little processor that could. The latest version ESP32-S2 is cheaper (unit cost 99 cents), and amongst other capabilities also supports LCD interface and USB OTG!

    https://maker.pro/esp8266/tutorial/a-comparison-of-the-new-e...

  • by ourcat on 8/14/20, 10:39 AM

    Since getting (back) into electronics and writing firmware for microcontrollers a few years ago, and having been through various projects with the 8266 (which blew my mind at the time), I now use the ESP32 for most ideas and project that I have.

    It's been a complete game-changer, hobby-wise.

    Having Wifi and BluetoothLE on-board has been great. And as a long time web and mobile app developer, it's been the perfect way to turn 'things I write' into 'things I can touch'. (And that can 'talk').

    The 'intangibility' of all the code I've written over years has always been a little saddening to me.

    I've also tried a few of the ESP32-CAM boards and they're very impressive. I have a little LiPo powered pocket project in a 3D printed flat case, containing one of them, which, aftter connnecting to WiFi, then sends MJPEG (no audio) to a Node.js script on one of my servers which shows a 'live' feed. (I sometimes stick it to my front door 'peep-hole' too.

    I'll certainly be taking a look at this 'ESPFLIX' project over the weekend.

    Thanks!

  • by squarefoot on 8/14/20, 12:09 AM

    Check also the ESP32-Cam which does this, along with face recognition.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MicAM_A0_lU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnXI-MO1qck

  • by humbfool2 on 8/14/20, 6:02 AM

    This is so Cool! A 99 cents Chip can do so many things. I am using it currently for Automatic Garden Monitoring system[1]. I never realized this small chip can do big things. Very Impressive.

    [1]https://iot-playground.com/blog/2-uncategorised/94-esp8266-s...

  • by conradfr on 8/14/20, 9:24 AM

    I had a chuckle at the loading screen.

    Shameless plug, my father made a (free) ESP8266 & ESP32 wifi webradio project that seems popular and may interest some people in this thread https://github.com/karawin/Ka-Radio

  • by johnklos on 8/13/20, 10:49 PM

    Rossum: You're crazy. I love it. Amazing! Can't wait to try it.

    Especially considering the cost, this would be a wonderful addition to any standard definition TVs still in use.

  • by p1mrx on 8/14/20, 6:14 AM

    I think the most interesting part of this is ESP_8_BIT driving composite video from software using 1 output pin.

  • by monksy on 8/14/20, 2:54 AM

    The Esp32 is such an amazing device. If I had more time I would love to learn more about it. I've just ordered a few more sensors for it.

    I'm pretty excited about it.

  • by redfast00 on 8/13/20, 10:45 PM

    This is really impressive, streaming video + audio on a what is essentially a beefy microcontroller.

  • by tikej on 8/13/20, 11:15 PM

    Very impressive. Masterful hacking. Nice to know how much can still be done with less than a megabyte of memory!

  • by cellular on 8/14/20, 3:18 PM

    Instead of using cloud aws, could an sd card be used?

    Might be cool to have harry potter picture frames for the cost of the sscard and esp (assuming free flatscreen vga with component-in).

  • by etaioinshrdlu on 8/14/20, 4:25 AM

    Does anyone know how they are able to produce such a powerful chip so cheaply? Do they use Chinese fabs?

  • by hutch120 on 8/13/20, 10:54 PM

    Cool! Can you give an overview of the "Amazing AWS Stack" you have implemented?

  • by hombre_fatal on 8/14/20, 11:22 AM

    It seems really fun to develop hardware skills like this. Or for example being able to order an eink display and build my own ereader from basic principles.

    But every time I start learning, it feels like there's so much you have to learn to do so little, and I'm not fundamentally motivated by the physics of hardware.

    Meanwhile, software, being so high level, is extremely actionable early on without a hard dep on knowing how the underlying stack is working. One of the first things I built was a Ruby on Rails web app that my friends and I used to chat in high school before I even could tell you what http headers were, I would learn those later once the initial taste was so actionable and motivating.

    With hardware, in the same amount of time I learned to build a web app that my friends and I used, I probably would have learned to make an LED blink.

    Oh well, it's like playing the piano: I wish my younger self put in the time so that my older self could benefit for free.