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  maweki
  I have an extremely similar setup for my 3yr old. He has his NFC cards and select from stuff we find suitable. The TV comes on, one episode runs, TV goes off.He's not fighting over the remote and he has agency. And he's certainly not stumbling his way through YouTube on a tablet. No ads. Very nice for him. It's not yet necessary to track his usage. But I'm well prepared for it.Home Assistant works very well for these cases. I'm sad that Netflix&Co. do not publicize their urls/intents/etc. for smart TVs. I'd be happy to call an episode directly.This setup therefore needs to run through my own media server and that's why I sometimes have to resort to pirate-y means, even though I have licenses to watch it.
• jollyllama
  Very interesting that it's NFC is the most bang-for-your buck interface. Feels like a failure of software and hardware (button kit) alternatives.
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  bigfatfrock
  Amazing write up and work in general putting this together - this is such an ideal form of the word "hack" in its incredibly low cost, durability, and usefulness.I was staggered when I saw your build cost list - I know ESPs are in the realm of "Cheap AF" but all of those NFC cards also for $9?! This is one of the few reasons I would shop Alibaba! We're talking around $15 total for the full NFC setup if you can print/rig yourself a case! (yes, of course, another $X for screens, sound etc)I have run into such a crazy amount of cool hacky kid tech in the past couple of days for some reason (this and Makey Makey), and am so lucky to have done so. I can't wait to outfit my kids with this, it is going to blow their minds.I want to hook it up to Jellyfish because I feel Plex is total marketing trash these days but as soon as I can get time I am all over this.
• bilekas
  This is really cool, it actually reminds me of how people thought the future would be in the past."Ah you'll just scan a punch card of course and it will play a movie."You're the hipster Dad now.
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  MBCook
  Awesome.Reminded me of Yoto, an internet radio style thing for kids that uses little NFC cards.https://us.yotoplay.com/Techmoan reviewed it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mQECKOkkqkLess directly was Tonies, an audio player for kids that uses NFC on Skyrim style figures to trigger stories.https://us.tonies.com/Techmoan did a video on that too (it’s how I know about both): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9RbMMJRxzw
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  tzs
  The movies visible in the photos in the article, and their runtimes in minutes, are: 94 The Good Dinosaur 92 Trolls 98 Wall-E 88 The Lion King 103 Moana 81 Toy Story 91 Trolls World Tour 95 Inside Out 103 Frozen II 95 A Bug's Life > We have two boys, and the eldest is permitted a 30-minute TV session in the morning and another in the evening.So...if one of them wants to watch The Lion King or Toy Story they have to split it over at least 3 viewing sessions split over at least 2 days? And for anything else on that list they need to split it over at least 4 viewing sessions?That seems overly restrictive. Yes, limiting kid's TV time is probably a good idea, but would it really hurt to have some flexibility so that they can finish a movie in one session? Maybe let them bank sessions, so they can say skip morning TV for 3 days, and apply that time to the 4th day's evening to get a slot for a whole movie.
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  rhinoceraptor
  I've been buying CDs as well as burning FLAC albums I have on blanks for basically this same reason, the limited choices and slightly higher switching costs is more enjoyable to me. And CDs still cost about as much as they ever did, which means they're much cheaper now with inflation.I found vinyl CD labels [1] that I can print on my color laser printer that look pretty decent, it only takes a few minutes to burn the CD, find an image of a retail disc and put it in the label's Canva template.My car is a 2017 and it still has a CD player, and I also found a fairly inexpensive portable player [2] that charges with USB-C, the anti-skip is pretty impressive now. I can put it in my pocket and walk around or clean the house and I've never had it skip, it will actually spin down the disc when it's read far enough ahead.[1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C2V9D3FD[2] https://klimtechs.com/products/klim-nomad-portable-cd-player...
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  eadmund
  This is an awesome example of the kind of innovation which overlong copyright prevents.There’s no particularly good reason that it should be legally impermissible for someone to build and sell a system like this loaded with movies from before, say, 2010 (or 2000, or whatever), but instead what the prospective entrepreneur would be legally able to include would be … Steamboat Willie, and other films of that vintage (as an aside, while Disney’s had a pretty rough couple of years, I’m pretty sure that Steamboat Willie being out of copyright has nothing to do with any of that).This sort of experience shouldn’t be limited to children of high-tech folks with access to 3D printers: it should be possible for any child — or adult!
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  hlandau
  This is lovely.This feels like a new genre of hardware hacking to me, where someone is motivated to make a device out of compassion for their family or others. It reminds me of this instance where someone designed their own peristaltic pump to ensure their grandfather can eat:https://hackaday.com/2015/11/10/3d-printed-peristalic-pump-h...I seem to recall another similar device to this posted on HN also, but with audiobooks.On an unrelated note, the modern digital age does deprive me of my longtime love of removable media, whether analogue or digital. There's a mechanical satisfaction in having a physical token which is decisively inserted into something. USB drives just don't have the kinetic enjoyment of a floppy disk or tape. (Clearly the next iteration of the OP's design needs a motorised NFC card loader, ATM-style. ;))
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  sodality2
  This is so cool! I do something similar for music - I have posters up for albums, and a small NFC tag is embedded behind the poster, so tapping my phone to the poster’s corner and clicking the notification begins playing it immediately. I really want to make a collection of cassette-or-record-style plastic cards with album art and NFC tags, and hook it up to a speaker, so I can place my album on a pedestal and it starts playing immediately.
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  dmd
  I made a similar system but for music, using QR codes on plastic cards and a webcam, when my daughter was 1. After a year or so we switched to just having a standalone numkey pad where she could just punch in numbers from a jukebox-style catalog. https://github.com/dmd/nkplay/She's now 10, and knows ~100 playlists by number. "I want to listen to 37!"
• wsintra2022
  Loved reading that and realising that the author has hit on something. I do wonder though, who was looking after the house and kids whilst the author spent all the time researching and building!
• ramses0
  For "project adjacent", look at `catt` - Cast ALL the things!https://blog.fuzzymistborn.com/homeassistant-and-catt-cast-a...You can cast YouTube URLs directly, as well as general media files over the local network.My theory is QR-codes up to a camera: http://192.168.1.123/randomvid.php?topic=XYZ => shuf | head -1 | catt --target=$MY_TVYou can even do QR code reading via a web-page, and "add-to-homepage" if you wanted to put it onto an iPad.Obviously the OP project is better thought out, but it's quite good to learn different bits and pieces and strategies about deep linking and internal media.
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  illwrks
  This is great, I looked into doing something similar when my daughter was little. I didn't get very far and she learned how to use the remote control pretty quickly. I honestly think it was better for her to do it the 'old' way as she's pretty digitally savvy (for her age) than I would have expected.I remember when I was little I figured out how to use the VHS to set timers record shows etc, I think making things difficult is useful, it forces some learning to get a 'reward'.
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  jonwinstanley
  This is absolutely awesome.For v2 I'd say the NFC cards be the size and shape of a VHS and you have to leave them in the slot to play. If you take them out it stops playing.Maybe v3 you need to virtually rewind them before they work again? :-)
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  niedbalski
  We realised that even a lot less cool than nfc, just put an inexpensive blueray reader + disc movies next to the tv and no internet connection was the best option for us.
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  cynod
  Ah, that is really cool! I love it.. adds the tactile element back to the experience.Reminds me of this Raspberry Pi + SONOS project from a few years back:https://www.hackster.io/mark-hank/sonos-spotify-vinyl-emulat...I actually set that system up and it was awesome! Really was cool and fun to have the little cards, look through them and then "tap" to start the album. Unfortunately I needed the Raspberry Pi for an emergency and then have never fot around to running again. I fear now, with all the SONOS fun (that has destroyed my 8 speaker setup :'( ), it won't work any more.
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  harshitaneja
  Looks great. I am working on side to learn product design by working on a similar system for music. The idea is to have the tactile feel of a vinyl like system but with the features of a digital library and ecosystem. The base implementation was really straightforward and hardly a few hours but to make it bridge the gap we see with our digital tools emulating analog ones is quite fun to work on. From the latency involved between placing the card to the output from a remote service, the sound dial's latency when paired with bluetooth speakers all take one away from the experience. It's also fun to learn little leathercrafting and concrete moulding for the prototype design.
• NemoNobody
  I love this. I dislike the half hour brackets. Love how the OP frequently talks about his childhood and being able to pick movies - he didn't half a timer going that determined when the movie ended, the movie did.Kids movies are like an hour long. How are kids ever going to develop any sort of an attention span if they never see the ending of things
• braggerxyz
  Nice idea, and great implementation. And I really resonate with the "physical media is great" mantra. That's why I still buy a lot of DVDs of the movies I or my kids like. Last winter we had a two day internet outage, and all of the neighbors came to me for lending DVDs :D That experience reinforced my believe in physical media more than ever!
• mostly_harmless
  Somewhat related: I wanted to track watch time, and perhaps set a time limit with Plex and HomeAssistant. Has anyone come up with a solution I can cheat off of?
• ganoushoreilly
  for anyone that's a retro gamer that plays roms / emulators etc.. there's a great project with tons of great artists making prints called TapTo. Most of the setups are with a Mister FPGA setup, but it works with pretty much any setup with a bit of tweaks. I really dig the idea and may integrate one into an arcade cabinet in the office.https://github.com/TapToCommunity/taptohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73Kx3jwyk0U
• baliex
  Really cool! I want this for my own vinyl so I can physically flip through my collection (with nfc tags stuck on) then place my sleeve of choice on a stand (with embedded nfc reader) to listen to the “vinyl” without having to touch a computer. That would be amazing and you’ve just proved it’s totally doable.
• djhworld
  This is really cool and demonstrates the power of stuff like home assistant really well.I’ve recently rediscovered my old music collection from the pre-streaming days on an old NAS, thousands of mp3s with carefully curated id3 tags etc. I’m almost tempted to create a similar system but for albums!
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  stovestone
  Soon, your sons will learn how to hack into this system, bypass your time limits, use the NFC cards you provided to play other cartoons, or convert your NFC reader into a room door lock.
• nthState
  I'd buy this
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  djangelic
  This is incredible! I want to replicate this at home as well, but I would prefer to use QR codes since they also support URLs. Any reason why you went with NFC instead of QR code? I assume it's doable with a raspberry pi and webcam instead of tapping?
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  juergenpabel
  I build something very similar, but for playing music/audio books in my kids rooms. But this is not why I am commenting: I found "HERMA 5028 Universal" stickers to be a very good fit for rfid/nfc cards; I don't know if they're available where you live, but here in germany they're a great solution for labeling cards.PS: I will also publish my solution once I rewrite a few parts of it (cleanup).
• wlesieutre
  Cool use of NFC tags! I remember seeing a similar idea with album art covering the walls, and you could hold your phone up to read an NFC tag hidden on the back to stream that album on the stereo.Looking for linkEDIT - not the one I remembered but here’s one implementation https://andreasjr.com/blog/interactive-wall-of-album-art/
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  sgt
  Deep links are now possible with Infuse as well:https://support.firecore.com/hc/en-us/articles/215090997-API...I also evaluated Plex but ended up with Infuse as it seemed perfect for my needs. The Apple TV app is great. Plex probably has more features though. I renew it once a year.
• backwoodsbk
  Sweet project! I did something similar a few years back after reading this: https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/tag/#building-an-...
• philjackson
  What a brilliant idea! Not everyone's motivation of course, but I'm sure this has valid business potential.
• passwordoops
  This would also be amazing for tech-disadvantaged seniors!
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  joe8756438
  This rules, high probability I attempt to replicate. I got my 3yo a yoto, which has a similar UX but all audio, highly recommend!
• TomJansen
  This is a very cool project, and I like the nostalgic feel of it! However, this project got me thinking:We are on a forum filled with people working on these super addicting infinite scroll technologies at YouTube, Instagram, maybe even TikTok. At the same time though, this post removing all these addictive technologies has reached the #1 spot on HN (and HN is deliberately made without any of this addicting tech!!)I think it is time for people to really realize how addicting the tech they are making is, without masking it with words like 'friction' and 'engagement'. And hopefully they will slowly work on making their tech a little bit less addictive.Before Covid we had some kind of movement like this, but it has sadly dwindled.
• JansjoFromIkea
  Love seeing fun ideas for NFCs, I went into a bit of a dive on NFC/RFID tech a while back after hearing about the game Dropmix (which used really cool tech I haven't seen anywhere else) and it feels like there could be so much room for fun tactile experiences with some of the protocols.
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  kdamica
  I was just talking with my wife that that we wish there was a streaming service that made the choices more intentional and limited. Like for each show there should only be one episode available a day. This is definitely in the same spirit. Love the idea and implementation!
• calini
  I love this, the tactility of it is super good, and a good break from a world where everything is touchscreens!
• aanet
  This is such a fab project. <3 Cool electronics, simple workflow, 3D printing, and useful service! <3 <3 <3
• robertlagrant
  There's a commercial equivalent we use for audio-only stories called Yoto - really high quality. Same level of agency, but less screen time. Good for bedtimes, but the kids also carry the thing round the house to listen to.
• nolan_wyss
  I don't have kids, but now I really want to build something like that too! Really nice idea and well executed!
• agile-gift0262
  This is great. And not just for kids. I think I'll copy the idea for my music and film collection. Picking up something and tapping somewhere feels like a nicer experience than navigating menus. I wish my e-reader had an NFC reader to do something similar with my books.
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  elthor89
  Man, this is such a fun project. I understand where you are coming from. You can do this with music too. There a lot of children audio books or songs where you have the same “issue” that a parent has to operate YouTube or Spotify.
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  nateberkopec
  Is there an option for an NFC reader that doesn’t require 3d printing or soldering?
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  gus_massa
  I have two small kids and this project looks amazing!Anyway, I have to ask: Is it possible to make a similar project for Netflix and/or YouTube?
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  nanna
  Personally I would just buy my kids a dvd player.Edit: seem the author himself sort of agrees. He buys Blu-Rays and puts them on the Plex. Could just skip the Plex part and let them play the Blu-Rays...
• croisillon
  i found the “thanks to Hans Wurst” part funny: it is a common way to stay anonym while inputting a real sounding name, like John Doe, but nobody really has this name
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  jdenning
  This is really awesome - just had my first kid, and I think I’ll do something similar. Well done OP!
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  greener_grass
  This is fun, but wouldn't some second hand Blu Rays have been simpler?
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  grujicd
  Prints from inkjet printer look amazing. Do these printers still clog up when not used for a month or two?
• navaed01
  I love this! The constraints it applies to selection + the tangible interaction gives children a sense of definitive knowledge and expectation.l and agency. Which are very good for development. Congrats, I love it!
• cr125rider
  This is so cool. I’ve struggled with getting my media setup to work with any automations to call into the Roku and link to any app, let alone app content.
• bluGill
  It looks cool but in my attempts to do this I've discokered it takes too much time I could spend with mx kids or catching up on sleep
• declan_roberts
  Brilliant idea! We do something similar for our "make your own" Yoto cards.
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  doublerabbit
  Heck, even as an adult I would enjoy something like this. I love the idea.
• scopendo
  This is a product.
• hsmchoi
  Projects for others are always exciting and rewarding. Thank you for sharing your experience.
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  resonious
  Really awesome project. This bit made me think though:> First: you have a limited choice of movies to watch. When I was a kid, we didn't have an infinite catalog of movies to watch.Something always rubs me the wrong way with this way of thinking. "X is good because I had X when I was young." I don't necessarily disagree that X is good, but it's definitely not because you had it as a kid.
• hsmchoi
  I always think it's great to do projects for others! I enjoyed reading your review.
• djabatt
  I absolutely love this project. Bravo.
• HippocampusLabs
  Hahaha, this is awesome!
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  jijji
  I like the idea of restricting the time time frame duration of watching movies. I would suggest adding a electric zapper to the couch that when they try to watch movies past a certain time they get zapped at a certain voltage eliciting a negative response.
• lxe
  Fantastic work!
• legendofbrando
  This is so cool!
• Dig1t
  This is adorable and should be a commercial product.
• tinyshi
  Now only problem is get Apple TV remote from my 4 year daughter back...
• dusted
  I did something similar for my granny back when she was alive but no longer able to operate her CD player. http://dusted.dk/pages/easyplayer/The fact that so many people come up with these kinds of solutions POST betamax begs questions. There seems to be some inherent unfairness in how unaccessible stuff is becoming.. It's interesting how we're trading the convenience (of signing up and paying montly for a dozen of rental services) for usability and tangibility..Late Gen X rant incoming: WHEN I WAS A KID.. When I was 3 years old, I could put on the music I wanted to listen to.. It was easy, take the tape out of the case, put it into my cassette radio (if it didn't fit, try flipping it), and press the triangle.. poof, music.. I didn't need to be able to read, there were pictures on the tapes, so I could still find my favourite tunes.. When we got our first video machine, a betamax, it was the same thing, just put the tape into the machine, press the triangle, poof, the movie I had chosen played on the TV..Then came DVDs, I was older then, so it was no problem for me, but, usability wise, DVDs were a step backwards.. You pop it in and press the tr.. No, you're met with unskippable copyright disclaimers and then presented with an animated menu, where you needed to be able to read to understand how to start the movie, suddenly, the movie itself contained (non standardized) ways of starting it, selecting chapters and such.. Sure, we traded the amazing ability to look at deleted scenes for the ability of of a small child to be able to start it.. but honestly, not even worth it..Skip to online streaming services and their crappy apps.. Jesus.. Disney is how big of a company and their app is nearly unusable compared to a stack of VHS tapes..We're putting untold layers of unneeded complexity on EVERYTHING these days, and I'm not even sure we do it because we can, I'm afraid we're doing it because we don't know how not to..The early VCRs, cassette players and CD players were simple due to technological and economical constraints, but those constraints forced an extremely intuitive mode of operation which was transferable between similar devices.We're leaving a world polluted, drowned in untold complexity at all levels for our children, and honestly, we can't even navigate it very well ourselves, even if we have most of the story about how things got to be that way in the back of our heads. Stuff that we understand deeply already seems like complete magic to the younger generations.. We ought to do better, to builder simpler and more BASIC systems at every level, from instruction set architecture through to UI.. The fact people find it reasonable that you almost have to use a "tech stack" is abysmal.. There shouldn't HAVE to be really much of anything between your code and the metal it runs on.All that aside, this is a great idea! I'm going to do something simiar for my kid I think.
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  zer0zzz
  Dang, the level of engineering to recreate what is essentially a VHS
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  lobochrome
  Really cool.But why not just have them handle the blu rays directly? Unless - you ripped them to your Plex and resold them…
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  left-struck
  > And finally, if you're a non-English speaker, Blu-rays will include a dubbed version in your native language. This is a big plus for the kids, especially when they're as young as mine are now.I grew up in a country where English is not the primary language spoken and when I was young all the cool shows and movies were in English. As a kid this was a huge incentive and went far above and beyond any education I had in English in my home country. I can’t overstate how valuable this has been to me as an immigrant to an English speaking country.
• vagrantGato
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