Install rAudio.
Ensure a command line prompt is available for entering the commands below (e.g. use SSH, default username 'root', default password 'ros').
Install all the packages needed to build and run cava and mpd_oled
pacman -Syy
pacman -Sy git autoconf automake make libtool fftw alsa-lib glibc gcc i2c-tools
mpd_oled uses Cava, a bar spectrum audio visualizer, to calculate the spectrum
https://github.com/karlstav/cava
If you have Cava installed (try running cava -h), there is no need
to install Cava again, but to use the installled version you must use
mpd_oled -k ....
Download, build and install Cava. These commands build a reduced
feature-set executable called mpd_oled_cava.
git clone https://github.com/karlstav/cava
cd cava
./autogen.sh
./configure --disable-input-portaudio --disable-input-sndio --disable-output-ncurses --disable-input-pulse --program-prefix=mpd_oled_
make
sudo make install-strip
Download, build and install mpd_oled.
cd .. # if you are still in the cava source directory
git clone https://github.com/antiprism/mpd_oled
cd mpd_oled
./bootstrap
CPPFLAGS="-W -Wall -Wno-psabi" ./configure
make
sudo make install-strip
Configure your system to enable I2C or SPI, depending on how your OLED is connected.
I use a cheap 4 pin I2C SSH1106 display with a Raspberry Pi Zero. It is
wired like this.
In /etc/modules-load.d/raspberrypi.conf I have the line i2c-dev.
nano /etc/modules-load.d/raspberrypi.conf
In /boot/config.txt I have the line dtparam=i2c_arm=on.
The I2C bus speed on your system may be too slow for a reasonable screen
refresh. Set a higher bus speed by adding
the following line dtparam=i2c_arm_baudrate=400000 to
/boot/config.txt, or try a higher value for a higher screen
refresh (I use 800000 with a 25 FPS screen refresh)
sudo nano /boot/config.txt
Restart the Pi after making any system configuration changes.
I use a cheap 7 pin SPI SSH1106 display with a Raspberry Pi Zero. It is
wired like this.
In /boot/config.txt I have the line dtparam=spi=on.
sudo nano /boot/config.txt
Restart the Pi after making any system configuration changes.
If, when running mpd_oled, the clock does not display the local time then you may need to set the system time zone. Either set it in the UI Settings / System / Environment / Timezone, or find your timezone in the list printed by the first command below, and edit the second command to include your timezone
timedatectl list-timezones
timedatectl set-timezone Canada/Eastern
You may wish to test the display before following the next instructions.
The next instructions configure MPD to make a copy of its output to a named pipe. This works reliably, but has the disadvantage that the spectrum only works when the audio is played through MPD, like music files, web radio and DLNA streaming. Creating a copy of the audio for all audio sources is harder, and may be unreliable -- see the thread on using mpd_oled with Spotify and Airplay
The MPD audio output will be copied to a named pipe, where Cava can read it and calculate the spectrum. This is configured in /etc/mpd.conf. This file cannot be edited directly, as it is managed by rAudio, but the UI will allow us to include some custom configuration in a separate file. First, copy the configuration file (the destination name is preserved from previous instructions)
cp mpd_oled_fifo.conf /home/your-extra-mpd.conf
Now, in the UI go to Settings / MPD / Options / User's custom settings and click on the slider. A window will open with two boxes to enter custom settings. In the top box, add the line
include "/home/your-extra-mpd.conf"
Click on OK.
Check the program works correctly by running a test command and checking the display while the player is stopped, paused and playing music.
The program can be tested without the audio copy enabled, in which case the spectrum analyser are will be blank.
The OLED type MUST be specified with -o from the following list: 1 - Adafruit SPI 128x64, 3 - Adafruit I2C 128x64, 4 - Seeed I2C 128x64, 6 - SH1106 I2C 128x64. 7 - SH1106 SPI 128x64.
E.g. the command for a generic I2C SH1106 display (OLED type 6) with a display of 10 bars and a gap of 1 pixel between bars and a framerate of 20Hz is
sudo mpd_oled -o 6 -b 10 -g 1 -f 20
The program can be stopped by pressing Control-C.
For I2C OLEDs (mpd_oled -o 3, 4 or 6) you may need to specify
the I2C address, find this by running,
e.g. sudo i2cdetect -y 1 and then specify the address with mpd_oled -a,
e.g. mpd_oled -o6 -a 3d ....
If you have a reset pin connected, specify
the GPIO number with mpd_oled -r, e.g. mpd_oled -o6 -r 24 ....
Specify the I2C bus number, if not 1,
with mpd_oled -B, e.g. mpd_oled -o6 -B 0 ...
For, SPI OLEDs (mpd_oled -o 1 or 7), you may need to specify your reset pin GPIO number (mpd_oled -r, default 25), DC pin GPIO number (mpd_oled -D, default 24) or CS value (mpd_oled -S, default 0).
If your display is upside down, you can rotate it 180 degrees with option '-R'.
Once the display is working, play some music and check the spectrum display is working and is synchronised with the music. If there are no bars then the audio copy may not have been configured correctly. If the bars seem jerky or not synchronized with the music then reduce the values of -b and/or -f.
When you have chosen some suitable options, install and configure an mpd_oled service file so that mpd_oled will run at boot.
Install a service file. This will not overwrite an existing mpd_oled service file.
sudo mpd_oled_service_install
Edit the service file to include your chosen options. Rerun this command any time to change the options. You must include a valid -o parameter for your OLED. If the command appears to hang, allow it some time to complete. If the included mpd_oled options are valid then mpd_oled will start running on the display when the command completes.
Either, run the command with no options, which will open an editor, then
add your options (from a successful mpd_oled test command) on the line
starting ExecStart and after mpd_oled.
sudo mpd_oled_service_edit # edit mpd_oled options with editor
Or, append all your options (from a successful mpd_oled test command)
to the command and the service file will be updated to use these
optiond for mpd_oled, e.g. the following will cause the service to
run mpd_oled -o 6 -b 10
sudo mpd_oled_service_edit -o 6 -b 10
Commands from the following list can be run to control the service (they do not need to be run from the mpd_oled directory)
sudo systemctl enable mpd_oled # start mpd_oled at boot
sudo systemctl disable mpd_oled # don't start mpd_oled at boot
sudo systemctl start mpd_oled # start mpd_oled now
sudo systemctl stop mpd_oled # stop mpd_oled now
sudo systemctl status mpd_oled # report the status of the service
If you wish to uninstall the mpd_oled service (just the service, the command does not uninstall the mpd_oled or cava binaries)
sudo mpd_oled_service_uninstall