At The Inventory Pot, maker Dillan Inventory is channeling some critical love for the analog days with a tool that nails that retro type whereas sneaking within the perks of recent good dwelling tech. Meet the Trendy VHS Participant, a intelligent venture that makes use of NFC and ESPHome to deliver the VHS expertise screaming into 2025—no magnetic tape required.
As an alternative of old-school tapes, you’ve obtained 3D-printed cartridges that feel and look similar to these traditional VHS cassettes. Every one has a mini film poster slotted into the entrance, doubling as a label that’s each sensible and completely evocative, like sliding in The Goonies with out the rewind problem. The cartridges snap collectively in two components, designed neatly to skip wasteful 3D-printing helps. Tucked inside every is an NFC tag, a tiny chip that’s the key sauce, holding a novel ID that triggers every kind of actions in your good dwelling setup.
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The reader itself is 3D-printed too, with built-in springs that provide you with that excellent clunk while you pop in a cartridge, similar to the actual deal. Beneath the retro shell, there’s an ESP32 microcontroller working the present, paired with an NFC reader board. This isn’t about enjoying precise VHS tapes—nah, the ESP32 sends the NFC tag’s ID to ESPHome, which ties into House Assistant. From there, it could do all types of cool stuff: hearth up a film in your Plex server, activate the TV, dim the lights, and even kickstart your espresso maker in case you’re feeling further. The magic’s in how versatile it’s—ESPHome permits you to script just about something, turning every cartridge right into a customized key in your good dwelling.
The cartridges have a satisfying weight and clear design that make you need to decide them up. The reader’s springy mechanism provides a tactile kick that you just simply don’t get from touchscreens or voice instructions. But it surely’s not simply dwelling previously—due to ESPHome’s open-source setup, it performs good with streaming companies and good units, making it as helpful as it’s nostalgic.
Inventory’s creation can also be tremendous approachable for DIY followers. He’s shared every thing on his web site—3D fashions, ESPHome code, even label templates—free for anybody to make use of. This isn’t some locked-down prototype; it’s a name for makers to leap in. The 3D information are straightforward to print, the electronics are easy to supply, and the software program’s a breeze to arrange with ESPHome and House Assistant. Desire a cartridge that cues up Jurassic Park and tweaks your lights for a jungle vibe? A little bit of code could make it occur.
The actual brilliance right here is the way it ditches the complications of outdated media. No extra fuzzy monitoring, no warped tapes, no “be form, rewind” guilt journeys. You get the enjoyment of dealing with a VHS-style cartridge paired with the moment kick of digital playback. It’s proof you may have nostalgia with out the trouble.
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