YouTube and Google Photos add-ons for your magic mirror
Bring YouTube videos, Google Photos, and more to your magic mirror, with third-party modules and the MagicMirror² open-source software platform.
Magic mirror
Mention Raspberry Pi to the uninitiated, and they’ll probably ask if it’s “that green thing people use for game emulation and smart mirrors?”. The popularity of magic mirrors has grown massively over the past few years, thanks to how easy it’s become to find cheap displays and great online tutorials.
While big-brand smart mirrors cost upwards of a bajillion dollars, a homemade magic mirror costs pennies in comparison. The basic homemade model consists of a screen (usually an old computer monitor or flatscreen TV), a piece of two-way mirrored acrylic or glass, a frame, and a Raspberry Pi. Once it’s set up, you have yourself both a mirror and a notification board complete with calendar events, memos, and more.
The software most people use for setting up their magic mirror is MagicMirror², a free, group-maintained open-source platform created by Michael Teeuw.
And you know what open-source means…
Third-party add-ons!
The modular nature of MagicMirror² lets third-party developers easily bring their own ideas to the platform. As Brian Cotter explains in the video above, he used AgP42’s MMM-iFrame-Ping and eouia’s MMM-GooglePhotos to integrate YouTube videos and photographs into his magic mirror.
And of course that’s not all! Other magic mirror add-ons let you implement 3D gesture detection or display international currency values, Google Fit totals, and more. Find a whole host of such third-party add-ons in this GitHub wiki.
Brian Cotter
Looking for more Raspberry Pi videos from Brian? Check out his Raspberry Pi playlist and be sure, as always, to subscribe to his channel.
We’re forever grateful to all the content creators who make videos of their Raspberry Pi projects. If you have your own, be sure to let us know the link in the comments!
4 comments
Zach
Hey Alex! Per your commented, I wanted to share my YouTube channel that also has tons of Pi content :) I know you’ve seen it before and featured some of our guides on here, but your readers might not have seen it: https://www.youtube.com/howchoo
AndrewS
Mirror mirror on the wall, who makes the best tiny computer of all?
Brian Cotter
Thank you so much for showcasing my Raspberry Pi build! The Raspberry Pi has been such an incredible learning tool for me!
Steve
Hi Brian,
Where (on the internet) can I get info about 3rd party modules and information for a Magic Mirror experiment.
3rd party modules eg some examples that can help with museum or library exibitions,
Information eg can Magic Mirror displays be distributed in one company office (on one wifi/lan network) AND over multiple wan’s (wide are networks)?
I can be contacted at my personal email at: steve@iway.na
Kind regards,
Steve
Namibia (Africa)