v2026.07.04 - YouTube Module, Plex Live TV & Local Files Image Playback

[anthonycaccese]

Summary

YouTube Module

• Add YouTube Module - Adds a simple YouTube module with the following features:
  • Lists videos via YouTube RSS feeds from your curated list of channels
  • Subscriptions View: Browse the latest videos from all of your curated channels in a reverse chronological list
  • Channels View: Select a channel to view its latest videos
  • Save to Watch Later: Save videos to watch later. This is local to 240-MP (on device only), not associated to any account and the list can be cleared in settings at any time.
  • View Watch History: Displays a list of recently watch videos via the module. This is local to 240-MP (on device only), not associated to any account and the list can be cleared in settings at any time.
  • Choose if Shorts are displayed while browsing (default is On / can be toggled in Settings > YouTube)
  • Playback is handled via mpv + yt-dl (please keep yt-dl up to date to reduce the chance of errors)
  • Resume Playback: Resume from your last playback position or restart from the beginning
  • Set Playback Resolution: 480p (default and good for the RaspberryPi), 720p and 1080p
• More details: https://github.com/anthonycaccese/240-MP/wiki/Module:-YouTube

Plex Module

• Add Plex Live TV channel watching (credit @tmcleroy and @snkinard)
  • Adds a minimal Live TV experience to the Plex module — watch currently-live channels from a server that has a tuner + DVR. No DVR/recording features.

Local Files Module

• Add support for image playback
  • Adds image playback support inspired by the comment from imark7777777 in [Idea]: Local Files - Add support for image types #50
  • images can be opened anywhere from within the local media directory
  • they can be looped, shuffled, included in playlists and even mixed with videos in a playlist
  • this also adds a setting to local playback to define the image playback duration (defaults to 5 seconds)

Download

https://github.com/anthonycaccese/240-MP/releases/tag/v2026.07.04

[animelighthouses]

Thanks for the update. The Youtube module is a great idea, and the current functionality works well.

My personal preference would be support for a custom playlist, i.e.:

• Provide 240-MP a link to a public (or unlisted) Youtube playlist ID (in, e.g., 'youtube_custom_playlist.txt').
• 'Custom playlists' appears as a menu option below Channels, Watch later, History, etc.
• The playlists could use the same RSS logic as Channels.

With this, it would be easy to maintain your own 'watch later' playlist(s) through the Youtube app/website/etc. without having to provide any auth to make them available to 240-MP. (The downside appears to be the RSS cap of showing only so many videos, which also applies to playlists as I understand it.)

I've already discovered that 'youtube_watch_later.json' can be used in roughly this way by manually adding videos to the json array, but that's a bit of an onerous workaround for this kind of functionality.

[anthonycaccese]

Great idea, and will look at what's possible. What are your thoughts on support for adding multiple playlists... like a youtube_custom_playlists.txt file that accepts a playlist URL on each line. then in the UI displaying them under a Playlists nav item.

[animelighthouses]

That would be perfect.

If the RSS feed provides the playlist name/title then the Playlist nav item could display just the same as the Channels nav item which is ideal.

[fashb4func-dev]

I just want to say I think this project is absolutely amazing! I went out and bought a CRT the day after watching the video and installed this onto a pi4 the same day. I have been blown away with how fast it has come together and been updated. When I saw the video I thought, 'wow, would be cool if it had live tv support so I can play the channels I make with Ersatz' and then saw it was already being worked on. I thought 'would be cool if I could use NFC tags to pick stuff' and well again already being worked on. I have been wanting for sometime now to find a more intensional and simplified way to watch a show or movie with my 2 and half yo daughter that doesn't involve going into the plex app or youtube. This has seriously changed the way she watches shows and it has been so rad to see how excited she gets when the CRT comes to life. It's kind of changed the way we all of watch tv. If there's some way to make a contribution like patreon I would love to send some coin for your efforts. Also what if we had a Moonlight module? Not sure if this is possible, but would be pretty slick to have retro gaming accessible from this.

[snkinard]

Hey @fashb4func-dev love the setup you have for your kiddos!

I've been following the NFC feature with interest. I'm not sure if you've seen a product called "Yoto", but basically it does something similar but plays audio books. I'm going to eventually get an NFC reader and see if I can set up something similar to that but to play my kids favorite movies (as you mention above).

Moonlight idea is interesting. I had to look up what it was. https://moonlight-stream.org

You should go to the discussion section for this project and start a discussion around it! I could see it fitting in with the other modules in 240mp, but it also introduces a new level of complexity that so far hasn't been dealt with (I.e., sending low latency inputs back across the wire in the other direction). It's worth discussing!

[anthonycaccese]

Thank you for making time to write @fashb4func-dev, you made my day with such a thoughtful note and your setup is awesome!

A big reason for me starting this was to make simple/focused experience without as many options as modern media apps. Basically, something that felt like a VCR from my youth, a text based menu, play, rewind/ff... simple. And my family and I are finding that the single focused list is making it easier for us to decide and be intentional on what to watch too.

So I am more than stoked to hear that its also working well for you and your family ❤️
And thank you for saying this... It's kind of changed the way we all watch tv

Also I have been pretty floored with how amazing folks like @snkinard (cheers dude) have been helping and bringing their own ideas so a huge thanks back to them. They are all a big reason why you're seeing ideas you have come to fruition so quickly.

My only hope is that we continue to evoke that this is a hobby for all of us, to just have fun and build the things that are interesting and exciting to us as well.

Which is also why I don't have a patreon or other way to contribute monetarily...

As an Open Source hobby project the operational expenses for this are fairly low (its mostly time), so to me a donation of your time is much more valuable.

And that time can be a direct code contribution, a test to verify something works or a note like you wrote here just to tell us that things are working well for you and you appreciate that this exists.

Thank you again for making the time ❤️

Cheers,
Ant ☺️