ICTV

YouTube Playlist Video Player

Description

This application is a web-based video player that displays random clips from YouTube playlists. It fetches videos from a YouTube channel, downloads them locally, and serves them through a web interface with a retro CRT TV aesthetic. Perfect for kiosk displays, waiting rooms, or static screens.

Features

• Random video clip playback from your YouTube channel
• Retro CRT screen effect
• Video details overlay (category, title, subtitle)
• Snow/static effect between clips
• Cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux)
• Kiosk mode with auto-launch script
• Accessible over local network

Installation

1. Clone the repository: git clone https://github.com/Jeremy-Bell/ictv.git
2. Install dependencies: cd ictv && npm install
3. Create a .env file in the root directory of the project and add the following variables:

YOUTUBE_CHANNEL_ID=your_channel_id
YOUTUBE_API_KEY=your_api_key

4. Run npm run setup to download the videos from the playlist.

Usage

Standard Mode

Start the server and open in your browser manually:

npm start

Then open http://localhost:3000 in your browser.

Kiosk Mode (Recommended for static screens)

Launch the server and automatically open Chrome in kiosk mode with autoplay enabled:

npm run launch

This will:

• Start the server
• Open Chrome in fullscreen kiosk mode
• Enable audio/video autoplay without user interaction

Network Access

The server is accessible from other devices on your local network. When started, it displays:

Server running at:
  Local:   http://localhost:3000
  Network: http://192.168.x.x:3000

Configuration

The application can be configured using the src/config.js file. Here are the available configuration options:

Paths

• PATHS.VIDEOS: Directory where videos are stored (default: '../videos')
• PATHS.PUBLIC: Public directory for static files (default: '../public')

Setup Options

• SETUP.VIDEO_QUALITY: Preferred video quality (default: 'bestvideo[height<=1080][ext=mp4]/mp4')
• SETUP.REMOVE_SHORTS: Whether to filter out YouTube Shorts (default: true)
• SETUP.VIDEOS_BLACKLIST: Array of video IDs to exclude from processing
• SETUP.COOKIES_FROM_BROWSER: Browser to use for authentication cookies (e.g., "firefox")

Server Configuration

• SERVER.PORT: Port to run the server on (default: 3000 or value from process.env.PORT)
• SERVER.HOST: Host to bind the server to (default: '0.0.0.0' - accessible on local network)

UI Settings

• UI.CRT_EFFECT: Enable/disable CRT screen effect (default: true)
• UI.VIDEO_DETAILS: Show/hide video details overlay (default: true)

Video Settings

• VIDEO.CLIP_DURATION: Default duration for video clips in seconds (default: 30)
• VIDEO.SNOW_DURATION_MS: Duration of the "snow" effect in milliseconds (default: 500)
• VIDEO.CROP_BOUNDS: Object containing crop settings for different video types:
  • podcast: Start/end crop times in seconds
  • jam: Start/end crop times in seconds
  • stunfest: Start/end crop times in seconds
  • misc: Start/end crop times in seconds

Environment Variables

The following environment variables can be set:

• PORT: Override the default server port
• YOUTUBE_API_KEY: Required for fetching video metadata
• YOUTUBE_CHANNEL_ID: The YouTube channel ID to fetch videos from

Example Configuration

{
  "SETUP": {
    "REMOVE_SHORTS": true,
    "VIDEO_QUALITY": "best[height<=720]"
  },
  "SERVER": {
    "PORT": 4000
  },
  "UI": {
    "CRT_EFFECT": true
  }
}

Blacklisting Videos

To exclude specific videos, add their YouTube video IDs to the VIDEOS_BLACKLIST array in the SETUP section.

Browser Requirements

For kiosk/static screen usage, Chrome or Chromium is recommended. The npm run launch command automatically configures Chrome with:

• --autoplay-policy=no-user-gesture-required - Allows audio/video autoplay
• --kiosk - Fullscreen kiosk mode
• --disable-infobars - Hides info bars

Scripts

• npm run setup - Download videos from YouTube channel
• npm start - Start the server only
• npm run launch - Start server and open browser in kiosk mode