You've made it! Time to turn on the TV.
Start the Player
Make sure you've activated the virtual environment (you should see (env) in your prompt), then start the player:
source env/bin/activate
python3 field_player.py
A video window will appear and start playing the scheduled content for your first channel. If nothing plays, double-check that you've built the catalog and generated a schedule in the previous step.
Change Channels
The player starts a web server on port 4242 by default, which gives you a few ways to flip channels:
From a web browser, visit any of these URLs (swap localhost for the machine's IP if you're on a different device):
http://localhost:4242/player/channels/up(channel up)http://localhost:4242/player/channels/down(channel down)http://localhost:4242/player/channels/42(jump to channel 42)
From the command line:
echo '{"command": "direct", "channel": 3}' > runtime/channel.socket
The player watches that file for commands. You can also use "command": "up" or "command": "down" to flip through channels.
Remote Control
FieldStation42 includes a built-in web remote you can use from your phone or any browser. See the Web Remote guide for setup.
For deeper integration with scripts and external apps, check out the Web Console and API.
What's Next
Now that your station is running, here are some things to explore:
- Channel Recipes: Add different channel types like movie channels, loop channels, weather, or pay-per-view.
- Advanced Scheduling: Marathons, slot overrides, and more complex programming.
- Series in Sequence: Play episodes in order instead of randomly.
- Bumps and Commercials: Custom bumps, autobumps, and per-slot commercial settings.
- Scheduling Hints: Seasonal and time-of-day content just by naming your folders.