8. Setting up synchronized audio for Internet control of music sequences

If you are using xLights musical sequences, it is possible to allowing Internet viewers to watch and hear your show!  Viewers can select musical sequences that they want to hear from the webpage explained earlier in these instructions.  OBS Studio, a free program that streams video and audio to the Internet, is the key to making this work.  This is how it all works:

 

  1. The video feed from your network camera is piped into OBS Studio running on a computer or laptop.  In my setup, my network camera's video feed is accessible via a webpage link; this link is fed into OBS Studio as a video source.
  2. Your musical sequences and related MP3 files are stored on a Raspberry Pi running Falcon Player.
  3. Audio from the Raspberry Pi is piped into OBS Studio via a 3.5mm audio cable from the Raspberry Pi to the Audio In jack of your computer or laptop.
  4. OBS Studio combines the video & audio into a single feed, sending it to Twitch, an online streaming service.
  5. Internet viewers watch and hear your video feed on Twitch.
  6. As an added bonus, if you purchase a USB sound adapter with dual Audio Out / headphone jacks for your Raspberry Pi, you can send audio to your computer to OBS and audio to an FM transmitter simultaneously.  This way, cars on your road can watch and hear your show, and so can Internet viewers.

 

    

 

How to Build It

First off buy this USB sound board from Amazon or eBay.  It is natively supported by Raspberry Pi and Falcon Player:

 

USB Sound Card Adapter BENGOO External Audio Adapter Stereo Sound Card Converter 3.5mm AUX Microphone Jack for Gaming Headset Earphone PS4 Laptop Desktop Windows Mac OS Linux, Plug Play

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072BMG9TB

 

Also buy this FM transmitter and antenna:

PLL LCD Digital FM Radio Receiver Module 87-108MHZ Wireless Microphone Stereo

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PLL-LCD-Digital-FM-Radio-Receiver-Module-87-108MHZ-Wireless-Microphone-Stereo/272315809627

98cm 38.5" 7 Sections Telescopic Antenna Replacement for FM Radio TV CP

https://www.ebay.com/itm/98cm-38-5-7-Sections-Telescopic-Antenna-Replacement-for-FM-Radio-TV-CP/331919180223

 

Connect the USB audio adapter to your Raspberry Pi, then connect a 3.5mm audio cable from the headphone jack of the USB sound adapter to the Audio In jack of the FM transmitter.  Connect another audio cable from the second headphone jack on the USB sound adapter to the Audio In port of your computer. 

Be sure to power the FM transmitter with a 5V Micro USB power supply.  In order to attach the antenna, connect a wire to the nut at the bottom of the antenna, then solder the other end of the wire to the ANT hole on the FM transmitter's circuit board.

Note: If you would like to 3D print the frame and antenna stand as shown in the above pictures, download the STL files below.  The FM transmitter enclosure can be found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2247929

Last modified on Saturday, 23 February 2019 03:56

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Learn how to make computer controlled, affordable, and Internet capable Christmas lights.

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