pyetherpix 0.1

python implementation of EtherPix output library

python EtherPix library

EtherPix is a large scale display architecture that is driven using UDP/IP. It consists of single pixels that are connected to chains. A number of those pixel chains is then connected to a so called distributor module that receives data over ethernet and distributes it to the pixel chains.

The protocol used on UDP is MCUF (microcontroller unit frame, see http://wiki.blinkenarea.org/index.php/MicroControllerUnitFrame). However, as EtherPix displays can have more than 65536 pixels, multiple MCUF packets are sent for one frame - a single MCUF frame to every distributor. The coordinates of the pixels in the MCUF packets do not correspond to pixel locations, but to pixel addresses. The y coordinate is the number of the output of the distributor and the x coordinate is the number of the pixel in the chain. The number of channels is always 3 (RGB) and the maximum value is always 255 (8 bit per channel).

This library can be used to send the required UDP packets to the EtherPix display to make it show images and/or videos. As the libarary has to know how the pixels are wired and where there are located (i.e. which pixel in the source image they represent), a rather complex config file is needed. Examples of config files can be found in the “pyetherpix/config” and example code showing how to use the library is located in “pyetherpix/examples”.

clone URL: http://git.blinkenarea.org/projects/pyetherpix

URL to web interface: http://git.blinkenarea.org/index.php?p=pyetherpix

about the name: PIXels connected via ETHERnet -> EtherPix