[idea] Erin for Photos ?

[accforgithubtest]

(I am not a developer, but have been learning docker basics for self-hosting purposes. So pls excuse me if i am way off with my thinking here.)

Going thru the readme file, it looks like erin is built on top of caddy file server with UI to play/control the videos.

Can there also be a photos feature in erin itself or would that need to be a separate application ? I found caddy imagefilter, but it doesn't look like a application, but just part of caddy server without ui and cannot display photos but only resize them ?

I am thinking of basically another "photo-wall" type app/ feature that can -

1. Use existing folder based structure and create a photo-wall from all images in the folder and nested subfolders.
2. A Photowall feature that looks similar to something like this. Just an example that looks clean and modern where its not just a fixed sized grid layout, but a better looking tiles of different sizes.
3. A Photoframe/Slideshow/Kiosk feature which just auto-play the photos full screen and width.

I am a big fan of the light weight application and features of both erin and isiah. Isiah kind of replaced portainer for me for basic docker control / monitoring.

I am hoping this type of photowall and photoframe feature in a light weight app like erin will probably be a good self hosted app for photo viewing. (I currently have photoprism and immich self-hosted and they are heavy for just photo-viewing purposes).

[hyyin]

+1

I also believe it will be great if we can give some more precise controls on the video playing by something like container, playlist, or even tag. Otherwise maybe I must set up multiple instances of Erin to separate the video content.

I'm so excited to find Erin, thanks for your work!

[will-moss]

Alright !

Thanks again @accforgithubtest for opening those issues, and for all the great ideas, seriously.

To address every point :

• Add more precise controls to play videos : There is already a per-folder filtering that is implemented. However, I think that I could implement a tag-based filtering system on top of it. It would work that way : Add a metadata (JSON) file along with the video, specify a "tags" array like "[ 'romantic' , 'holiday' , 'children' , 'adventure' ]", and then, filter the videos via a GET parameter in the URL, as in "?tags=a,b,c,d". How does that sound? I guess I could also make a UI for those tags when the controls discussed in the issue #10 are implemented.

• Implement a photowall feature : I have nothing against it, I'm just worried that we'll not obtain a result that is as satisfying as what other projects deliver already (photo-stream looks alright to me, and is filled with very good features). However, if that's not a concern for anyone besides me, and if you're not needing the features of the other projects which we can't implement here (RSS feed for instance, effects on images, etc.), then let's implement it.

• On the photowall feature : Just trying to define a scope before rushing to my code editor, can you please help answer those questions ?

  • Should photos and videos be mixed together ? else, should we distinguish between video and photo mode?
  • When mixed, on mobile, we'd just scroll one after the other. Every file displayed will either be a video, or a photo.
  • When mixed, on desktop, I can't see a proper way to display both videos and photos together, since everything is a vertical scroll at the moment. I mean, I don't think that integrating the videos into the photowall would work, or am I mistaken?
  • Should we reproduce photo-stream's UI entirely?

• On top of the photowall, implement a slideshow/photoframe/kiosk feature : Definitely added to the roadmap. There should be no issue with that once the photo mode is implemented.

• Caddy ImageFilter : Indeed, it looks like it's a plugin for Caddy to help with image treatment (compression, flipping, sharpening, resizing, etc.). It looks very interesting, but it doesn't provide a UI. It certainly would be a good addition in someone's pipeline, should they want to apply transformations to their images.

Thanks a lot once again, as much as for the kind words.

Looking forward to reading from you all.

[hyyin]

@will-moss Thanks for your quick reply. I think your idea is good. I just deployed Erin when I back to home. And the experience is good.

However latter seems I encounter another issue related to cache. (seems there is one because when I moved file to another and restart the container, it still can play)

How can I force refreshing the video cache (especially when I need to update the metadata), could you help on this?

Edit by will : Please see #12

[accforgithubtest]

You are right with the questions on how photowall would wor for both photos and videos together. I was having similar questions myself as well if the photo wall feature might not fit in well within erin, given it needs a screen for displaying the photowall first, then another to display the selected photo, whereas erin currently directly starts with the vertical scrolling videos,as is the purpose of the application. This photos wall might be better off as a separate application. While I agree that there already exists the photo-stream project which provides similar features already, personally I would love to see a light-weight photowall application on top of caddy, with just the additional UI for photowall, and slideshow features.

For supporting photos within erin, would it be easier to just adopt a mixed mode for both mobile and desktop, displaying photos as well as videos as just vertical scrolling content. Everything in erin stays as-is for videos. When its a photo, erin just displays a very tiny icon somewhere on the UI that its a photo, and auto forwards to the next video / photo after 'x' seconds ? There is already a indicator that says next photo/video coming up after x seconds.

[will-moss]

Alright, thanks a ton for your input and insights.

I'll try to summarize and ask for your confirmation one last time before jumping the gun.

Photo mode will be implemented with the following characteristics:

• Videos and Photos will be mixed together, presented in the existing vertical scrolling feed, as is the case for videos.
• Photos will be shown only for X seconds, where X is an environment variable, set at 5 seconds by default.
• The blue time tracker at the top will also work for Photos.
• Once a photo is "fully shown" (X seconds have passed), the app will auto-scroll to the next media, as is the case currently.

Would that work for you and meet your needs?

[accforgithubtest]

Yes, all that sounds perfect. Thanks & Cheers !