How to make a Video player with Esp32S3

DIY ESP32-S3 Handheld Video Player

Can a microcontroller play smooth video with audio? Absolutely. In this project, we push the ESP32-S3 to its limits by building a fully functional video player with an ST7789 display and I2S audio.

📺 Video Tutorial

(Start here! Watch the full build process and demo before diving into the details.)

💡 The Idea

I’ve been spending a lot of time with the ESP32-S3 and high-quality TFT displays recently, and I started wondering: Where is the edge? Just how powerful is this chip?

To find out, I decided to build a dedicated video player. The goal was smooth video playback (MJPEG) with synchronized audio, running entirely on the microcontroller. The result is surprisingly capable!

🛠️ Hardware List

To build this, you need the following:

• Microcontroller: ESP32-S3 Dev Board (Recommended: 16MB Flash / 8MB RAM version for best performance).
• Display: ST7789 TFT Display (Compatible with 240x280 or similar resolutions).
• Audio: MAX98357A I2S Amplifier + 3W Speaker.
• Storage: Micro SD Card Module + SD Card (Formatted FAT32).
• Controls: 3x Tactile Buttons.
• Misc: Wires, Breadboard or Perfboard.

⚙️ Step 1: The Setup (Arduino IDE)

Since the ESP32-S3 isn't installed by default, we need to set up our environment

• Open Arduino IDE preferences and paste the ESP32 Board Manager URL.

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/gh-pages/package_esp32_index.json

• Go to Boards Manager, search for ESP32, and install the latest version.
• Libraries: We need two specific libraries for this project. Search for and install:TFT_eSPI (by Bodmer)JPEGDEC

• Important Configuration: Navigate to your Arduino libraries folder, open the TFT_eSPI folder, and edit User_Setup.h. You need to uncomment the driver for ST7789 and define your specific pin connections to match your wiring.I showed in tutorial.

🐍 Step 2: Preparing the Videos (Python)

We can't just drag and drop MP4 files onto the SD card. The ESP32 needs a lighter format to process frames quickly. We use MJPEG.

I have created a Python script (available in the GitHub repo below) to automate this:

• Install VS Code and Python.
• https://code.visualstudio.com/downloadhttps://www.python.org/downloads/
• Install the Python extension in VS Code.

pip install imageio-ffmpeg

• Open the script terminal and install the required library:

• Place your video files in the input folder and run the script. It will automatically convert, resize (fixed width), and save them to the output folder.

💾 Step 3: Deployment

• Take the converted files from the output folder.
• Copy them to the root directory of your Micro SD card.
• Crucial: Ensure the SD card is formatted as FAT32.
• Insert the card, flash the Arduino code to your ESP32-S3, and reset the board.

🎮 Controls

The interface is simple:

• Button 1 (UP): Scroll up in the menu.
• Button 2 (DOWN): Scroll down.
• Button 3 (PLAY/SELECT): Selects a video to play. Pressing it again during playback returns you to the menu.

Audio Tip: If the volume is too low, check the code for the gain setting (0-21) and adjust it. I found '20' to be the sweet spot.

📥 Code & Resources

You can find the full source code, the Python converter script, and the wiring diagram in the repository below.

Github Repo: https://github.com/derdacavga/video-Player

Youtube Channel : https://www.youtube.com/@DsnIndustries/videos

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