Control FPP Brightness Plugin Remotely

Hey guys, ever found yourself juggling multiple Falcon Player (FPP) instances and wishing you could streamline your lighting control? You know, like adjusting the brightness on a secondary player without having to manually log in every single time? Well, you're in luck! Today, we're diving deep into how you can command your FPP Brightness plugin remotely, specifically from another FPP scheduler or playlist controls. This is a game-changer for anyone running complex Christmas light setups with multiple players, making your dazzling displays even more dynamic and easier to manage. We'll break down the possibilities, explore how to make it happen, and ensure your show runs smoother than ever, even when dealing with different types of lights and varying ambient conditions. Get ready to take your FPP game to the next level!

Understanding Your FPP Setup: The Two-Player Scenario

Let's paint a picture, guys. Imagine you've got a killer setup, right? You've got your main FPP player handling the heavy lifting – the big props, the dazzling pixels, that epic mega-tree. This player is the star of the show. But it's not alone! It’s connected to four other remotes, and you’re already pretty savvy, logging into the main player's FPP interface to tweak the brightness for these remotes, syncing them up with the surrounding streetlights. Smart move, especially when you want that perfect ambiance.

Now, you've got a second FPP player, and this one is a specialist. It's dedicated to some classic, old-school vibes: WS2811 to DC 2-wire lights and DMX to DC lights. These beauties can also be dimmed, and you’ve got the Brightness plugin installed on this secondary player to handle it. This is where things get really interesting. Currently, you're managing the brightness on this dedicated player manually. That means logging in, fiddling with the plugin settings, and then maybe logging out again. It works, but as you know, when you're dealing with intricate show timings, manual adjustments can be a real pain, especially when you're trying to sync things up with your main show.

Think about this common scenario: your main player kicks off a song list. You want the side-yard player (the one with the older lights) to dim down – maybe to 50% brightness, as dictated by a sequence you created in xLights. Then, when that song list on the main player wraps up, you want the side-yard player to snap back to its default 100% brightness. The current workaround involves creating duplicate sequences – one at 50% and one at 100% – and switching between them on the side-yard player. This is functional, but honestly, it’s a bit clunky and doubles your workload. You know the Brightness plugin on that secondary player can do exactly what you want, but it requires that manual click-and-drag on the FPP GUI. What if you could automate that? What if you could send a command from your main player to tell that secondary player's Brightness plugin to dip to 20%, and then send another command later to bring it back up to 100%? That’s the dream, right? And yes, guys, it is absolutely possible! We're going to explore how to make this happen, turning your manual adjustments into seamless, automated commands.

The Power of FPP Commands: How to Automate Brightness

So, the million-dollar question is: Can this plugin be used the way I would like it to? The short answer, my friends, is a resounding YES! The FPP system is incredibly flexible, and leveraging its command structure is the key to unlocking this kind of dynamic, automated control. You’re not just limited to playing sequences; you can send specific commands to FPP to manage various aspects of its operation, including interacting with plugins like the Brightness plugin.

Let's get down to the nitty-gritty. FPP has a robust command-line interface and a network API that allows you to send instructions to it. This is precisely what you can use to control the Brightness plugin on your secondary player. Instead of creating multiple copies of your sequences, each with different brightness levels baked in, you can use FPP's built-in capabilities to adjust the brightness on the fly. This means you can have one master sequence on your secondary player, and then use commands sent from your main player to dynamically alter the output brightness.

How does this work in practice? Well, FPP allows you to execute shell commands or trigger network requests. You can set up FPP playlists or use the scheduler on your main player to send these commands. For instance, when your main player starts playing a specific song list (or even just a particular song), you can configure it to send a command to the secondary player. This command would instruct the Brightness plugin on the secondary player to set its output to a desired level, say, 20%. Later, when that song list on the main player finishes, you can send another command to revert the brightness back to 100%.

This approach is far more efficient and scalable. It reduces the complexity of your xLights sequences and makes your FPP configuration much cleaner. You're essentially treating the Brightness plugin as a controllable element within your show's automation, just like you would control playback or switch between sequences. The beauty of this is that you can integrate these commands directly into your FPP playlists. So, when you build a playlist on your main player that includes a