What is cyd-video-player?

CYD Video Player is firmware and a companion desktop tool for turning the cheap ESP32 based CYD touchscreen board into a dedicated video player. It plays video stored on a memory card, with touch controls for things like play, pause, seeking forward or backward, and gestures for adjusting volume and screen brightness. Because the CYD is a small, low power device, it cannot play standard video formats directly. Instead, videos must first be converted into a special format the player understands, using a separate Windows desktop application included with the project called the CYD Video Conversion Studio. This tool takes a regular video file such as MP4, MKV, or AVI, and converts it into a compressed video track, a matching audio track, and an optional index file that allows fast seeking. These three files are then copied onto a memory card in a specific folder, with the audio file needing the exact same name as the video file so the player can keep them synchronized. Setting up the firmware itself does not require writing code. It can be installed directly from a web browser using a flashing tool, or by downloading a ready made firmware file and writing it with a separate flashing utility. After flashing, the touchscreen must be calibrated once by following on-screen crosshair prompts so touch gestures register accurately. On the hardware side, audio output requires wiring an external PCM5102A digital to analog converter chip to specific pins on the CYD board, since the board does not include high quality audio output on its own. The project includes a link to report issues and get support from the developer.