4.0-beta1

This is a pre-release/beta image of the forthcoming FPP 4.0. As a pre-release, there are things that are still under development, still some rough edges, etc... However, there are also a lot of new features that need testing as well as feedback from users.

More details about 4.0 are being tracked at: #653

BBB Update: There are "beta2" images for the BBB attached. They are essentially the same as the beta1 images, but a different Linux kernel is being used. Please test to make sure things still work. The new kernel should provide tighter control of timing for pixel strings output from the BBB.

Enhancements

• ALL of the Enhancements/Features listed at: https://github.com/FalconChristmas/fpp/releases/tag/4.0-alpha3
• More unification of style sheets, colors, etc... so look and feel is more consistent
• Add icons onto various menu items and other links
• New Multisync page allows easier/faster control of your entire network of FPP instances.
  • Allow column sorting and filtering
  • Allow excluding individual RFC1918 CIDR blocks from the list
  • Allow restarting FPPD on all/selected instances
  • Allow upgrading FPP on all/selected instances
  • Send "unicast discovery" pings to list of "Additional Remotes" to support advanced discovery across network subnets.
• Support setting a different FPP instance as the source for "git pull" upgrades. (Advanced UI setting)
• Internal updates for running playlists for enhanced position tracking to allow SMPTE/LTC plugin
• LED Panel page now has separate "Width" and "Height" fields to make setting up larger matrices easier
• Add ability to upgrade/update eeproms on Capes/Hats
• Move storage settings to new Storage tab in settings (Advanced UI level) and remove advanced settings page
• On capes/hats with 4 direction buttons, add ability to set the eth0 IP address and other network settings
• Support for the I2C 16x2 and 20x4 LCD displays
• New Kiosk mode image for the Pi that will boot directly to FPP's web page if HDMI monitor and keyboard/mouse is attached

Bug Fixes

• Fix some stuttering with the new VLC based video player
• Fix issues with playlist entries showing length 0.0 when uploaded from xLights on Windows

Incompatibilities

• Moved to jquery 3.5 and removed jquery-migrate. Plugins that rely on older jquery calls may need to be updated.
• Removed support for the "MultiSync CSV Packets". Nothing uses them and the binary packets provide significantly more information.

Upgrade Instructions

It is strongly recommended to do a full "OS Level" upgrade or re-image instead of attempting to upgrade directly from any FPP 2.x or 3.x version. There are several new features that will not work if an OS level upgrade is not done. There are two ways to do so:

• Re-image - you can backup your 3.x configuration, create a new image, and restore the configuration. Full installation instructions are in the FPP Manual.
• In-place upgrade - this is new and requires you to have FPP 3.6.2 (or 4.0-alpha2) or newer already running on the device. Download the appropriate "fppos" file to your computer. Make sure the file extension is still fppos (some browsers will rename it). Upload it to the "File Manager" on the FPP instance. Then go to the about page. Under the normal "Manual Upgrade", a new Upgrade OS button should appear. Click it and wait a LONG time. When done, it should reboot into 4.0-beta1. At that point, go to the Uploads tab of the FPP File Manager and delete the fppos file.

4.0-alpha3

This is a pre-release/alpha image of the forthcoming FPP 4.0. As a pre-release, there are things that are still under development, still some rough edges, etc... However, there are also a lot of new features that need testing as well as feedback from users.

More details about 4.0 are being tracked at: #653

Enhancements

• "Tab Based" settings page - we've tried to collect all the various settings to put them in one place. This is still a work in progress.
• "Interface Levels" - on the UI tab of the Settings page, you can select the "Interface Level" appropriate for you. We are trying to "hide" some of the complex/not frequently needed features from the casual user that gets confused by them.
• New media player - we've replaced the omxplayer media player with a new internal VLC based player for videos. This should be more reliable, particularly on the Pi4 where we are having reliability issues with omxplayer. In addition, the new media player allows syncing SOUND only on remotes.
• New GPIO inputs page to allow GPIO's to trigger any FPP Command. GPIO inputs can also control the FPP OLED menus. Also, support for various I2C GPIO expanders.
• FPPD is now run directly from systemd and will be automatically restarted if it crashes (although it shouldn't crash)
• BUNCH of new API's available to Plugins. Several plugins have been updated/added to use them including the fpp-arcade plugin, fpp-HomeAssistant plugin, etc...
• New Effects that can run on Pixel Overlay Models and trigger-able from FPP Commands. Currently only a few are available. More will come.
• New Playlist editor to allow editing playlist entries, drag/drop, etc...
• New Scheduler editor - more changes planned
• Bunch of updates for detecting and configuring some upcoming capes
• New optimized ColorLight output to handle larger matrices using less CPU load
• New status page to provide more insight into the currently running playlist
• Ability to start a sequence directly from the status page

Incompatibilities

• We've removed some likely unused outputs including the OLA, TriksC and Hill320
• The Perl based API's have been removed. Scripts using the OLD API's should be updated to use the new REST API's
• fppwss - WebSocket API has been removed. Use the REST API's
• GPIO595 configuration has changed. You will need to reconfigure if using it.
• mpg123, mpg321, and ogg123 are no longer installed. Scripts that use these should install them if needed or flip to using ffmpeg or vlc.
• wiringPi and pigpio are no longer installed. Again, scripts that need them should be re-written or have them installed if needed.
• Several playlist entry types are no longer available and should be auto-converted to the "FPP Command" equivalent.
• Auto-upgrade flag removed.

Upgrade Instructions

It is strongly recommended to do a full "OS Level" upgrade or re-image instead of attempting to upgrade directly from any FPP 2.x or 3.x version. There are several new features that will not work if an OS level upgrade is not done. There are two ways to do so:

• Re-image - you can backup your 3.x configuration, create a new image, and restore the configuration.
• In-place upgrade - this is new and requires you to have FPP 3.6.2 (or 4.0-alpha2) or newer already running on the device. Download the appropriate "fppos" file to your computer. Make sure the file extension is still fppos (some browsers will rename it). Upload it to the "File Manager" on the FPP instance. Then go to the about page. Under the normal "Manual Upgrade", a new Upgrade OS button should appear. Click it and wait a LONG time. When done, it should reboot into 4.0-alpha3. At that point, go to the Uploads tab of the FPP File Manager and delete the fppos file.

3.6.2

This is an optional bug fix release that contains a few fixes for issues encountered by users.

Enhancements:

• Support for various "outdoor" panels types for Pi Matrix Hat's
• Allow Pi Matrix GPIO slowdown to be up to 5 for Pi4
• Scripts to allow "in place" OS upgrades (coming soon)

Bug Fixes:

• Fix issues with status UI if one playlist is started while one is already running
• Fix some issues with JSON backups
• Fix problems with restores from some PATHs
• Fix github detection during update

Upgrade Instructions:

If running a 3.6 version already, normally, hitting the "Manual Upgrade" button on the about page should work and we do encourage folks to try this first. However, github has rolled out some changes to their infrastructure which is interfering with the upgrade process in most cases. If the manual upgrade button fails to upgrade, then you will need to FIRST login to the command line via ssh to run some commands. There is an SSH client built into FPP on the Help menu. Username is fpp, password is falcon . Once logged in, run "cd /opt/fpp" then run "sudo git pull". Then exit. Go back to the about page and click the "Manual Update" button again (even though it will say no update available). That should get everything updated.

For older versions, it's recommended to grab the 3.6.2 image from the bottom of https://github.com/FalconChristmas/fpp/releases/tag/3.6.2 , install that.

3.6.1

This is an optional bug fix release that contains a few fixes for issues encountered by users.

Enhancements:

• Add a "Hold Value" output processor to hold the last value if a zero is encountered
• Several enhancements for the PCA9685 "Servo" output:
  • Add a "Center" value to control what the "128" channel value outputs
  • Add ability to control what happens with 0 value (hold, to center, normal, shut off pwm)
  • Fix some issues adding multiple PCA9685 outputs if multiple boards are on the same i2c bus

Bug Fixes:

• Fix problems scrolling multi-line text on Pixel Overlay Models
• Fix problems on PocketScroller related to manual updates
• Fix problems on PocketScroller where the i2c bus wasn't properly being disabled when output 6 was used
• Fix problems with bbg-reportpins.sh script not reporting for pins 1-9 on each header
• Fix several bugs with the "Advanced UI" for the LED Panels
• Add "/" to list of directories for Restore from USB
• Fix ArtNet output causing hang at startup (requires a reboot after update)

Upgrade Instructions:

If you have a system running 3.5.x or 3.6.x, you can go to the FPP about page (about.php) and click on the "Manual Update" button. It should only take a minute or two to upgrade.

For older versions, it's recommended to grab the 3.6.1 image from the bottom of https://github.com/FalconChristmas/fpp/releases/tag/3.6.1 , install that.

3.6

New user installation instructions

For new users, you need to download the appropriate image from the links below. Then follow the instructions found at https://falconchristmas.com/forum/index.php/topic,9372.0.html to "burn" the image on to an SD card. Just extracting/copying the file to a blank SD card will NOT work.

New Features:

• Updated and new "External" wifi drivers for USB devices using rtl88x2bu and rtl8812au chipsets (requires new image)
• Enhancements to fppcapedetect to support new upcoming hardware
• Add ability to use holiday names for scheduling
• Add scheduled playlist end time to the Status page along with actual start time.
• Add ability to extend/shorten the currently running playlist
• New PCA9685 output driver for controlling Servos and other PWM devices
• Support for using Beagles onboard UARTs for PixelNet/DMX/LOR/Renard
• New Backup utility for completely backing up and restoring FPP instances to USB or other FPP instances
• Add ability to start FSEQ files as effects
• New "Advanced" configuration on LED panels with new features to make configuring panels more flexible
• Ability for UDP based outputs (DDP/ArtNet/e1.31) to de-duplicate packets and not send packets if data is identical to previous packet. Conserves network bandwidth.
• For "simple" configuration changes, allow a faster method of fppd restart
• Allow sorting of schedules to provide prioritization of schedules. First schedule entry is run
• Add ability for scheduled playlist to mark what should happen when end time is triggered. (stop gracefully, stop now, stop after current loop)

Changes

• Selection of storage now an Advanced setting and warning added
• Layout of status page updated to make current/next playlist information easier to see/find
• Optimize reloading of scheduler config file to only reload when needed

Bug fixes:

• Fix problems cloning strings across groups on BBB Strings tab
• Fix removal of 8192cu from blacklist when "Kernel" is selected for Wifi drivers
• Fix some HTTP Virtual Display refresh issues
• Lower overhead/optimize PixelOverlay code
• Fix problems on some tables when using a Touch device
• Fixed an issue where the next scheduled playlist could point to the currently running playlist
• Fixed problems with starting the correct playlist when playlists overlapped.
• Fixed potential playlist hangs by adding timeouts to libcurl URL calls.

Upgrade Instructions:

The best way to upgrade from FPP 2.x is to re-image the device. The full OS upgrade to Debian Buster requires a re-image.

If you have a system running 3.x, you can go to the FPP about page (about.php) and click on the "Manual Update" button. At that point, a big green "Upgrade" bar should appear. It may take a long time to upgrade. Likely 5-10 minutes. You will need to reboot after the upgrade is complete to finish the upgrade process.

3.5.9

This is an optional bug fix release that contains a bunch of minor fixes for "annoying" little issues that people are experiencing.

Bug Fixes:

• Fix most of the flicker with scrolling text on a Pixel Overlay model
• Fix some problems with the URL Playlist Entry
• Dynamic Playlist entry not detecting if the playlist is shutting down
• Restart occasionally hanging if HTTP Virtual Display is used
• Using "Insert Playlist after current" not marking the playlist as "scheduled" if the original one was so the scheduler doesn't know to shut down if time expires
• Fix a bug in scheduler with overlapping playlists
• Fix a date range wrap around issues at the end of the year
• Reduce colorlight slow warning
• Fix "negative percentages" for the adjust volume commands
• Fix < and > when viewing scripts
• Fix script parameter parsing issues with script playlist entry
• Fix labels for the Beagle LED's to match the silk screen on the beagles
• Add some logging in FSEQ read code to try and diagnose if something unexpected occurs.

Upgrade Instructions:

If you have a system running 3.5.x, you can go to the FPP about page (about.php) and click on the "Manual Update" button. It should only take a minute or two to upgrade.

For older versions, it's recommended to grab the 3.5.6 image from the bottom of https://github.com/FalconChristmas/fpp/releases/tag/3.5.6 , install that, and then hit the "Manual Update" button on the about page. At this point, there are no images for 3.5.9. Use the 3.5.6 image and hit the upgrade. The changes are relatively small so the upgrade should proceed fairly quickly.

3.5.8

This is a critical bug fix release that contains a fix for a slow memory leak that was introduced in 3.5.6 when running in remote mode.

Bug Fixes:

• When running in remote mode, in some circumstances where duplicate or missing multisync packets are received or received out of order, the FSEQ file will be opened twice with the first occurrence never being released. This leaked both memory and a thread.

Upgrade Instructions:

If you have a system running 3.5.x, you can go to the FPP about page (about.php) and click on the "Manual Update" button. It should only take a minute or two to upgrade.

For older versions, it's recommended to grab the 3.5.6 image from the bottom of https://github.com/FalconChristmas/fpp/releases/tag/3.5.6 , install that, and then hit the "Manual Update" button on the about page. At this point, there are no images for 3.5.7. Use the 3.5.6 image and hit the upgrade. The changes are relatively small so the upgrade should proceed fairly quickly.

3.5.7

This is an optional bug fix release that contains a few fixes for issues encountered by users.

Bug Fixes:

• Fix crash at fpp startup with single channel models in the PixelOverlay file
• Widen unicast address field so address can be seen
• Fix some problems with on the input/output UDP pages related to deleting entries and saving entries
• On crash, if gdb is available, use it to get the stack trace. (gdb available on Pi, not on BBB at this point)

Upgrade Instructions:

If you have a system running 3.5.x, you can go to the FPP about page (about.php) and click on the "Manual Update" button. It should only take a minute or two to upgrade.

For older versions, it's recommended to grab the 3.5.6 image from the bottom of https://github.com/FalconChristmas/fpp/releases/tag/3.5.6 , install that, and then hit the "Manual Update" button on the about page. At this point, there are no images for 3.5.7. Use the 3.5.6 image and hit the upgrade. The changes are relatively small so the upgrade should proceed fairly quickly.

3.5.6

This is an optional bug fix release that contains a few fixes for issues encountered by users. A lot of effort was put into tracking down crashes and other instability issues.

Enhancements:

• Display end channel for Input/Output of e1.31/DDP/ArtNet configuration
• Allow re-ordering of entries in the scheduler editor UI. Allows prioritizing schedule entries (first to match plays)

Bug Fixes:

• Fix CPU utilization % on both MultiSync and About pages
• Fix arguments not being passed to scripts from events/commands
• Fix links to scripts and effects from About page
• Backup/Restore proxy settings
• Fix network settings restore
• Fix zero length backups if binary plugin data in config directory
• Fix problems with WiFi PSK having dollar signs
• Implement new IO read-ahead for reading fseq files to hopefully better deal with slow media
• Larger frame cache and IO cache for read aheads to reduce skips due to slow media
• Reduce CPU usage (particularly on Pi Zero, older Pi's) by only blanking the parts of the sequence data that is actually being output instead of all 8M channels
• Reduce gpu_memory split on older Pi's
• Disable the swap file on Pi's. This should not have been enabled, and contends for media transfer time
• Fix very long strings on BBB pixel capes having pixels stuck on/off
• Remove an invalid log entry with Pixel overlay models
• Multisync - ignore earlier sync packets if multiple packets are received at once, prevents some skips if network delay
• Fix stopped effects leaving data on for various pixels

Upgrade Instructions:

If you have a system running 3.5.x, you can go to the FPP about page (about.php) and click on the "Manual Update" button. It should only take a minute or two to upgrade.

For older versions, it's recommended to grab the 3.5.6 image from the bottom of https://github.com/FalconChristmas/fpp/releases/tag/3.5.6 , install that.

3.5.5

This is an optional bug fix release that contains a few fixes for issues encountered by users. A lot of effort was put into tracking down crashes and other instability issues.

Bug Fixes:

• Delay setting up/configuring audio until after the "boot delay" setting to allow slower cards (like the SBP3) time to fully initialize
• Fix crash if the netlink network monitoring code passes in an invalid network interface index
• Fix problems with Dynamic playlist entries not allowing FPP Commands or stopping properly
• Fix some slight delays if the the output thread decides to stop while waiting for omxplayer to buffer it's contents
• Fix issue of jumping to a new item in a running playlists marks the playlist an non-scheduled and thus wont terminate at the correct stop time

Upgrade Instructions:

If you have a system running 3.5.x, you can go to the FPP about page (about.php) and click on the "Manual Update" button. It should only take a minute or two to upgrade.

For older versions, it's recommended to grab the 3.5.4 image from the bottom of https://github.com/FalconChristmas/fpp/releases/tag/3.5.4 , install that, and then hit the "Manual Update" button on the about page. At this point, there are no images for 3.5.5. Use the 3.5.4 image and hit the upgrade. The changes are relatively small so the upgrade should proceed fairly quickly.