That’s such a cool idea! I don’t have kids but if I someday do I’ll probably steel your idea. I feel like the digital era makes it “to much” for kids, and having a limited, physical library was a better experience overall.
For audio books this has already be done: https://us.tonies.com/
It is a walled garden ecosystem, though.
Walled gardens suck, so I built this for audiobooks and kid-story podcasts for my kids. No tonies for us, and my kids have way more control over what they listen to. Same base setup with the reader, just different media sources and player targets.
My first thought when seeing this post was “oh like Tonies but for movies, awesome”
Exactly this!
I did this at my house too. I’ve also got a card for turning off the the TV and the lights when the kids are done in that room.
Hadn’t considered using NFC tags to have my kids control other things in the house. Interesting idea!
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Hypothetically, how much would you pay for an NFT of someone else’s kids? I might get crypto rich after all!
Yes officer, this comment right here.
That’s a great idea. I hope they also use the opportunity to educate the kids on what NFCs are and, at least in simple terms, how the setup all works.
Little steps
I’m not saying show them the code. But there are simple ways you can explain to kids what a NFC chip is and how that NFC chip lets them play the movies they want.
Of course. But when a kid has important Good Dinosaur things to do, they’re not going to care
I loved learning about how computers worked when I was a little kid. My (much) older brother taught me all about how the Apple II worked when I was 6, and within a few months, I knew enough to use it myself. I had important games to play, but I still wanted to know how it all worked.
And your sample sized is a biased 1.
What evidence do you have that most children aren’t interested in learning how things work? Because there are a lot of children’s books about how things work.
r/kidsarefuckingstupid
It depends. Children are naturally curious. I think it comes down to how you deal with that as a parent. Our son is interested in pretty much everything we do. As much as possible, we take the time to involve him. Tell him what’s happening, why we’re doing things a certain way, etc…
I assembled the NFC reader together with him, and he did question what it was for. Obviously he doesn’t understand the technical details behind it, but he understand that the box recognizes the cards he put on top of it. That’s enough for now. Maybe in the future I can dive a little bit deeper into it.
This is amazing! If I had kids, I’d now set this up too.
… Maybe for my gf 🤔😂Does it resume from the last time they watched? Does it work with TV shows too and track which episode they are on?
And I’m wondering if these could be adjusted to have the card be “inserted” and turn off when the card is removed?
I have some nfc tags sitting around but they are much thicker. Maybe I can 3d print something those tags can click into and make like a mini vhs player for them
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For audiobook that has been done: https://us.tonies.com/ The moment you lift the figure it stops playing and will resume, when you put it back. Nice concept for little kids and it went really well here in Germany. You will find a Toni box in most middle/upper class households. They are magnetic.
That’s really cool - plus it gives them a chance to learn how NFC spoofing works when they get older.
Was there supposed to be more to this post?
Haha I still have my stack of nfc cards nearby from when I was inspired by that music player project as well.
Maybe you’ll inspire me to actually try it now.
Go for it! If you have some experience with Home Assistant and ESPHome, then this is a simple project. I might do in the future for music as well. I love the physical aspect of browsing the cards and deciding what to watch/listen.
Wow, this is really cool!
I have a similar setup for my MiSTer.
Did the blog say they have two chunks of thirty minutes for TV viewing?
Yes, 30min in the mornings, 30min in the evening.
Great post, thanks for sharing! I’m hoping to dive into the world of hardware projects and 3D printing and this article is quite inspiring :)
Link?
Awesome! Btw your TV is not leveled 😂
