F48v4NS - Pi or No Pi?

[rjhodgefamily]

So just got one of the new F48v4NSs and am trying to plan out the box for it. I know you can run it in pure remote mode which is what I plan on doing in either solution. With the v3 I always had a Pi in the box and then used the IP forwarding and basically the Pi was transmitting the data to the F48v3. Since the v4 can be a player on its own is there any advantage to still setting things up with a Pi in the box? Or should I just go with my plan of having the master and a router in the garage an then run Cat (5e/6/7) cable out to the v4 and have it run without a pi?

Just trying to figure out if there are any advantages/disadvantages to doing things the old way. 

Starting from scratch at a new house and all my old gear stayed with the new owner so they could participate with neighbors.

Thanks,
Richard

[tbone321]

There is no reason to put the Pi in the same case as the F48.  If the master is running FPP and you plan on running a network cable out to the F48, you can let the master send the show data to the F48 over that cable and the switch will keep the show data out of the rest of your network.  You can run the F48 in remote mode but then you would have yet another device to update every time you make a change to your show.  

[rjhodgefamily]

Thanks T-Bone. Yeah the F48 is just one part. With any luck there will be a couple of p10 panels and a mega tree before I am done this year. So no matter what I will have a master sending timing signals out to the remotes. Thankfully since it is one house and not 11 as in the past I will be running hard lines every where instead of trying to keep 30+ Pis in sync over wifi.

I just wasn't sure spec wise if the new v4s could actually handle all the data. I know the sheets say 32k pixels and I doubt I will push anything close to that this year. Just checking if there is still benefit to having the raspberry pi controlling the or if I should just trust that the f48 can handle the double duty.

I wouldn't normally care I just don't want to have to rebuild the box, kind of want a one and done on this.

[tbone321]

As I said, you really don't have to put the Pi in the same box as the F48 and your master can send data to the F48 and control the remotes at the same time.  My current setup also has a Master FPP Pi that does multiple jobs.  It has a Pi Cap on it that runs my landscape lights at night all year long.  It also is connected to a F48V3 which is configured as a controller.  During the Christmas season, it also controls a Kulp K8-PB which is set up as a remote.  And on top of all that, it is also operating a 2 relay board that controls power for the landscape lights and the F48.  I will be upgrading the relay board to a 4 relay board so that the Pi and FPP can control power for the FM transmitter and my DMX transmitter.  

The V4's can handle the data either way, as a remote unit or as a simple controller.  That's really up to you.  I would just build the box without the Pi in it as it really doesn't need to be in there.  It can send data just as easily over your Ethernet connection as it can being directly connected to the F48 and if you later decide to run the F48 as a remote, there would no changes to the case required, just a reconfiguration of the F48 for remote operation. 

[rjhodgefamily]

Thanks! I'll go that route and adjust as needed.

[joeyblasko]

Goofed any posted to wrong thread.  Reentering on that one.