Project: Our Video Christmas card for 2023

We upcycled leftover stock from an advertising campaign to design our Christmas cards for 2023.

Status: finished

Runtime: 2023-11-30 - 2012-12-20

Participants: Raphael Wimmer, Andreas Schmid, Vitus Maierhöfer, Nicole Schönwerth, Leonie Schrod, Marie Sautmann, Martina Emmert

Keywords: Weihnachten, Weihnachtskarte

Background

For the 2023 Christmas card, we upcycled leftover stock from an advertising campaign the MINT Labs Regensburg e.V. donated to us. We decorated the cards to match the festive occasion and designed them with our own content.

You are very welcome to create new videos and new use cases for the Video card, to give it a good home with you or pass it on (maybe with your own message) - so it will have a purpose beyond advertising.


karte-stapel.jpg karte-display.jpg


The card can be controlled using the buttons (middle figure): the left play button starts and pauses the first video, the right play button starts and pauses the second video, the third and fourth buttons control the volume.

The right figure depicts the electronics inside the Christmas card. A controller board with a proprietary microcontroller communicates with all components: four buttons, a speaker, the display, and a magnetic switch. A lithium ion battery powers the device. Sadly we did not manage to overwrite the software on the microcontroller or interface the display directly yet (see this project for more information).

To upload or delete videos, simply connect the card to the computer like a USB stick using the supplied cable (mini USB).

Information on the card and formats:

  • The card plays MP4 videos in various resolutions.
  • MPEG2 and H.264 in Matroska containers are also supported.
  • The available storage space is a luxurious 214 MB.
  • Only files in the top directory are played. Files in subdirectories are ignored.
  • Videos are played in alphabetical order.
  • When the last video has been played, the first video is played again.
  • The two buttons on the left-hand side play or pause the first and second video.
  • If there is only one video on the card, pressing the second play button jumps to the beginning of the video.