[Tfug] Video Kiosk

[Christopher Robbins]

On 9/21/07, George Cohn <gwcohn at simplybits.net> wrote:
>
> I've been asked by a friend who works at a hospital if it would be
> possible to create a stand alone computer system that would play some
> patient education videos.
>
> I'm thinking along the lines of a Linux box, maybe Ubuntu?


What else would you use?

The videos would be short 10 - 15 minute bits played from the hard drive
> with something like mplayer.  Between the videos, the machine would show
> a slide show presentation of information, something like a power point
> presentation.
>
> Audio during the slide show would be something royalty free and innocuous.
>
> The only difficult part of putting this together is a front end that
> would allow the staff to program the times that the videos played, IE:
> Play video one at 8 AM, when it ends, switch to the slide presentation
> until 8:30 AM, play second video, etc.


What about a web-based frontend, where front-end sets cron jobs.  One for
playing the
movie every x minutes, maybe create another video with just slides, a video
that loops
the hospital logo, etc...

Sounds like a viable commercial application here.  ;-)
>
> Anyone have any thoughts on GNU software that could be cobbled together
> to do this?  Preferably Debian or Ubuntu as that's what I'm most
> familiar with.  Or anyone want to develop this as a commercial product?


A couple scripts + Ubuntu + a geek with an open weekend?  :)

    - Chris


-- 
Chris Robbins
Systems Programmer
Department of English - University of Arizona
http://www.homerengineeringcorp.net