Idea for SD card + arduino. Possible?

Using Arduino Project Guidance
1

Hi guys,
I am thinking of combining this bad boy

600×600 109 KB

(Here's a link to the part's info)
with an arduino with an ethernet (or wifi) shield so I can insert it into my basic digital photo frame, and have it once a day (say at midnight when the digital photo frame is off) load a new set of photos onto the SD card so the next day it's different photos it is scrolling through. Maybe from a dropbox folder or a web server...
Anyone have thoughts on if it's even possible to do such a thing as use an arduino to load large files like photos from the web onto SD card?

2

If you're new to Arduino I would forget the whole Wifi/dropbox part. You might do it but it ain't simple.

I would try an easier way to randomize it. But only the photo's already on the SD.

Does the photo frame use a specific folder? You can change folder names overnight. Or add/remove the file extensions overnight for specific files etc.

If you really want dropbox etc I think you're better of using a Raspberry/Orange Pi, add your own screen and just do a slide show with that.

3

Thanks for your reply. I'm not new to arduino, but I certainly wouldn't say I'm a master.
I'm tried the ethernet examples. And I've done a fair bit of I2C and pointers as my projects have required them.

The photo frame just uses the root folder of the SD card and plays the photos in sequential order exactly the same every time each time it's turned on. My main wish is some randomness to the photos shown. So are you saying arduino could select a different bunch of photos each night to rename to include or delete the file extension so the photo frame picks up a different lot of photos each day? That sounds good.

My lesser wish is remotely managing the photos from my computer (or any computer) via the web instead of physically loading them onto the SD card each time a want to add or delete photos. But if this will be far too complex, I can let it go...

4

I think it's doable. But you need to be sure only one devices has access to the card at a time. I have no idea what the photo frame does to the card when it's not powered. And what it does when you power the SD via that dongle. Probably you power the frame as well. So you need to disconnect the card from the photo frame.

Renaming and randomizing can be done. Just look for a SD-card library which supports renaming.

And if you want the full remote managing thing, drop the frame and use a Pi.

5

When you have a project that has to manage large files (and lots of them) an Arduino would be a poor choice- they are very slow and have very little memory. A Yun might be an option but I think an RPi would be better and cheaper.

An Arduino is better suited to projects that must control hardware or collect data from sensors or where very exact timing (at the micro-second level) may be required.

...R

6

That's true, but renaming a file isn't really handling large data. Only the short string of the file name.

7

awesome, thanks for the food for thought guys.

8

septillion:
That's true, but renaming a file isn't really handling large data. Only the short string of the file name.

My understanding is that the interface with an SD Card works in 512 byte chunks. That's 25% of the total SRAM in an Uno.

...R