02-14-2021, 09:38 AM | #1 |
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Project II - The Rolling Plex/Media Server
Because of my (((Relevant Username))), I've decided to take on project 2 of the G05 experience and build a rolling media server in the car for those extra long trips to Disneyland Paris, Italy, Athens, Prague, or wherever we decide to drive to over the next couple years. I'm planning on installing a stainless steel, latching button laser custom engraved with the wifi symbol in the gear shifter area on the poplar trim.
The plan is to use a Raspberry Pi 4, an external hard drive, a router, and iPads as a self-contained media intranet for the rear seat passengers. I tested this today on a Raspberry Pi 3 and it's 100% functionally possible. Waiting for about half the stuff to ship currently and the expensive parts in a couple weeks. Basic premise - Use the stainless steel switch as an "on" switch to a power inverter connected to the rear battery. Power the router and Pi to run Plex on intranet in spare tire area (auto-log in, auto app-start). Mount and power iPads on the back of the seats. Every seat gets a headphone. Use rear 12v outlet for triple USB C headphone charging. Naturally, since my interior is the ivory white vernasca, everything should be as close a match as possible to the color. ---Request for aid--- If anyone can point me in the direction of a video, thread, or pictures where the interior trim on the dash or shifter is removed, i'd be forever grateful. I'm looking on realoem.com to help a bit but it's not giving me much. Either way, I'll test some trim when I'm ready to install and see where it goes. |
02-14-2021, 12:52 PM | #2 | |
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02-15-2021, 01:53 AM | #3 |
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threebabies37.50 |
02-15-2021, 03:42 AM | #4 |
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awesome project... looking forward toreading more about this.
question: 1) will you use the rasp as media server and router in one device? e.g. https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-all-...espoint/301713 2) is it possible to run this over the car's wireless?? |
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02-15-2021, 04:06 AM | #5 | |
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02-15-2021, 04:16 AM | #6 | |
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2) It might be possible to run over the car wifi if you can get into the internal router. In theory, if every device is connected to the car, that would be the intranet we are looking for. Unfortunately, you would have to add the external hard drive to iDrive and have it recognized as a directory. From what i'm seeing, the 2021 had the internal hard drive removed. I wonder if the ports are still there for them, if so it would take some administrator privileages to get the external added to the computer directory. There's a lot of variables on the hard drive that I'm not too saavy on but that would be the hard part of the issue. The next hard part would be linking plex to the specific drive. That all depends on the interface of the "computer" inside the car. If it has some semblance of a standard operating system (linux, windows, mac), then it might take some extra doing to get plex to run on there. All-in-all, it's doubtful. I'd have to do some of my cybersecurity mctrickery to figure "2)" out. I'll have a look and let you know. I'll link a separate thread if I can figure it out or reply if i can't get past the internal wifi router login screen (without breaking something). |
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02-15-2021, 06:29 AM | #7 | |
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I'd be tempted to install a hidden switch somewhere to isolate the supply if necessary for service and maintenance though.
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threebabies37.50 |
02-15-2021, 06:37 AM | #8 |
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Button spot ideas - inside center console next to USB charger and drivers side poplar trim. Here are some photos of the trim removal. For some reason I feel like I want to remove every piece of trim in the car.
I tried to remove the drivers side center console trim and saw some clips but i didn't want to mar the leather. It wasn't popping out like the rest of the trim. The silver trim around the gear selector might be fused with the gear selector and didn't want to move. Again, didn't want to mar it. (ended up marring a bit anyway). It's in there. It's in there good. I removed the center console storage interior trim. The USB charger inside there looks like it has a good spot for a "hidden" 1" push button. The clips were a bit painful to remove. It's supposed to come out in sequence (big piece screws, big piece pry at rear, big piece remove led from mount, remove side pieces pry at top, remove front piece pry at top, remove big piece). I removed the front piece first. Each piece has tabs that slide into the bottom piece. I was poking around the little poplar wood piece and noticed that the HVAC on that side had a lot more give than the rest of the trim pieces. After figuring out you can remove the big white panel, two screws and a little wiggle removes that entire assembly. There looks to be enough room to install the switch on that poplar trim. This location is pretty ideal for wiring and is what i'm leaning towards at the moment. Australia just shipped the switch so i've got time to consider the options while the rest of the stuff comes in. |
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ladra17.50 |
02-15-2021, 06:54 AM | #9 | |
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So I need a power inverter to make everything work. I would have to wire in a 12v cigarette lighter somewhere in the car where the wire gauge could handle that wattage... I might be able to bridge or pirate the 12v from the rear of the car and mount a "new" one to a new location. Thanks for getting this noggin joggin |
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Kas6379.50 |
02-15-2021, 08:28 AM | #10 | ||
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Car switches on - accessory low power supply energises relay - high power relay contacts "make" to switch system on. That way you are isolating the low power capability of the accessory supply from the higher power demands of the Inverter, etc.
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02-15-2021, 08:43 AM | #11 | |
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02-15-2021, 10:05 AM | #12 | |
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If it were me I would want that button out of sight because no matter how good you make it look it will look like an aftermarket add-on and that will detract from how good the cabin of the X5 looks. |
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threebabies37.50 |
02-15-2021, 10:58 AM | #13 | |
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02-15-2021, 03:30 PM | #14 | |
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That area would be your best bet for the switch that you are looking to install. P.S. If you have ISTA + you can get all the repair schematics for the vehicle. It can be found here: https://cartechnology.co.uk/showthre...ighlight=sedoy Hope that helps. Armando |
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threebabies37.50 |
02-16-2021, 12:55 AM | #15 | |
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I didn't even consider getting technician tools. Thanks for this! |
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02-26-2021, 10:41 AM | #16 |
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Soon, it will begin
Last edited by threebabies; 02-26-2021 at 10:41 AM.. Reason: add a picture |
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04-01-2021, 03:41 PM | #17 |
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How did it go?
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04-24-2021, 12:56 AM | #19 |
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So I ran into a couple configuration issues with the setup. Hardware is installed and easy. You need a standard network router (for intranet), external hard drive (for media), and a raspberry pi (computer) acting as the server.
Configuration is the hard part. I installed Ubuntu on the RPi 4 that has a native plex server "app" installed on it. I linked the Plex server to my account and took the media from the external and threw it on there. In theory, the intranet should allow for the media to be pulled from the source if all usable devices are attached to the same wifi (tablets & pi). Startup on Ubuntu is configured for automatic login. The Plex server app is configured to automatically start up. I've gotten the system to work a handful of times but every time i unplug the monitor and keyboard, the automation seems to stop working. I'm going to give it another try today and post some pictures of the setup. |
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04-24-2021, 10:23 AM | #20 |
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Good effort OP. My X5 has the rear seat entertainment screens for which I use 1 TB usb C SSD with videos and music, mostly to keep kids engaged/entertained (i.e., to keep them quiet 😀. I also have a Plex setup at home using Mac Mini and Synology NAS. Keeping an eye on your project to see how it goes.
By the way, there are relays with RF remotes that can connect/disconnect power, not sure if your setup turns on automatically. I use one of this wireless relay to turn on/off my dascams when the vehicle is not used for extended periods of time. https://www.amazon.ca/eMylo-Channel-...YKXQE619ZF3NRV
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04-26-2021, 01:38 PM | #21 |
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Cool project man! I've got 3 small kids (3yo, 5yo & 5yo) myself so I know the struggle of long trips. I've solved it with 3 ipads and netflix pre downloaded content. For connectivity I've got a portable Huawai 4G router which functions as a hotspot in the car. I don't use the cars hotspot since the dataplans are ridiculously priced versus a unlimited data sim from any provider I choose.
First thing comes to mind when I read about rpi's. The sd cards fail after a couple of months. So if you use the external hd to both boot and play, you're good. If you use an sd card for booting, it will fail. Have you thought about a small synology with ssd disk? Connect it to a usb powered compact wifi router and you have an out of the box solution. |
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04-26-2021, 01:59 PM | #22 | |
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A remote controlled relay can turn NAS power on/off by sitting between inverter and NAS.
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