Someone made a Now Playing screen for their turntable using a Raspberry Pi

Turntable Now Playing screen using a Raspberry Pi.Credit: Simon_trst / Reddit Published Sep 30, 2026, 1:33 PM EDT Jon is a seasoned journalist who has written definitive coverage of consumer tech at publications like Engadget, Android Authority, and BetaKit. He's an expert on making tech accessible ranging from mobile and PCs to emerging platforms like wearables. When he's not writing, he's going on adventures with ihis family and is an avid photographer. Sign in to your How-To Geek account You don't have to give up the conveniences of digital music when you prefer the sound of vinyl, provided you're willing to put in some work. Reddit user Simon Trost has built a Raspberry Pi-based "Now Playing" screen, the VinylPi64, that automatically detects songs playing on your turntable. A Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W at the heart of the project captures a few seconds of music to send to ShazamIO, which returns track details and album art. It then creates a 64x64 layout (for Trost's Divoom Pixoo-64 display) and shares the content over the local network. It's more ambitious than that, however. Trost originally designed the system for his USB turntable, but it can now switch to Spotify as the source, check Discogs to see if a record is in the collection, fetch lyrics, and generate listening statistics for a web dashboard. You'll know your most-played record without having to look at the wear on the sleeve. Other turntables, displays, and Raspberry Pi computers should work with "adjustments," Trost adds. You'll need a USB interface if you're using a record player that lacks a native port. The device can even sync colors with Home Assistant, and lets you change audio properties like the sample rate and channels. The code for VinylPi64 is available in a GitHub repository. Setting up the software requires command line know-how, and Trost notes that accuracy depends on volume levels, background noises, and Shazam's own ability to detect music. A quiet song might be difficult to recognize, for instance. The DIY machine is straightforward, but clearly has its uses. You can identify songs on a new album, see what your friend is queuing up, or simply add some visual flair to your analog audio setup. If nothing else, it could save you the trouble of reaching for your phone when you hear an unfamiliar tune.