Cover player part 2: Install firmware on micro SD memory card

You need a Micro SDHC Class 4 memory card with a size of 8GB.
A firmware image will now be installed on it.

Download the latest image (version 1.1.0, build 07/08/2025):

 

Image for the cover player: 

 

 

The operating system of the Coverplayer (like the RoonMatrix) is based on Linux raspberrypi 6.1.21-v7+, OS Nickname: raspbian bullseye.

The zip must now be unpacked. The image is then copied to the 8GB Micro SD memory card.

 

On macOS it works like this:

1. Insert the memory card into a USB card reader of your choice.
2. Now connect the card reader to a free USB port on the computer.
3. Open a terminal.
4. Show all drives with their identifiers: diskutil list.
5. Look here for a suitable drive with 8GB size.
6. The identifier (e.g. /dev/disk21) we will now use in the next command.
7. Navigate to the folder with the image, e.g.: cd /Users/user/Downloads/
8. The command to write the image to the card: sudo dd if=coverplayer-distribution-20250708.dmg of=//dev/disk21 bs=4M
9. Copying may take a few minutes. When the command completes, a new command line will appear in the terminal.
10. After that the command 'diskutil list' show the memory card. This should now contain a Linux partition and look something like this:
    
    
    
    
11. The procedure to get the image onto the memory card should be very similar on Linux function. On Windows you need a program or a suitable command line command that can write an image to a memory card. The file extension here should be changed from dmg to iso so that Windows and Linux can handle it.

Nun muss noch der Name (ssid) und das Passwort deines WLANs angegeben werden, damit der Coverplayer sich mit deinem WLAN verbinden kann.
There is already a prepared file for this, which you can save on the memory card in the main directory of the drive boot can find.
Diese Datei wird nach dem ersten Start des Coverplayer von der Speicherkarte automatisch in ein anderes Verzeichnis verschoben. Für mögliche nachfolgende Änderungen am WLAN Namen, oder des Passwortes, musst du daher die Datei wpa_supplicant.conf in the main directory of boot create new.
The contents of the file look like this:

ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev
update_config=1
country=DE

network={
        ssid='replace-here-your-wlan-ssid-name'
        psk='replace-here-your-wlan-password'
}

In the places with 'replace-here' Start by entering the relevant data for the WLAN here.
For other countries, the country code 'DE' may need to be changed accordingly.

Then the file wpa_supplicant.conf Save to the memory card in the root directory of the SD card.

 

 

Now the memory card can be ejected and inserted into the cover player. The cover player can then be switched on for the first time. 

The device should now obtain an IP address from the WLAN router via DHCP and be visible in the list of WLAN devices in the router.
Here is an example of what it looks like on a FritzBox:

 

The Python scripts and the configuration file

The cover player is essentially controlled via two Python 3 scripts, which are already preconfigured on the memory card.

If you are interested in it and would perhaps like to expand it with additional useful functions, you are welcome to have fun here.

The files roonmatrix.py and (the extension for the cover player) coverplayer.py are located in the FTP folder. To navigate there, type after SSH login enter the following in the terminal: cd FTP

Anyone who would like to participate in the further development is hereby warmly invited to do so.

The scripts are on Github: roonmatrixdevice