01
Separate storage from playback.
A Cloudflare R2 object bucket became the remote media shelf. The Pi only needs a stable HTTPS address; the video itself does not live in the website repository or on the Pi’s local storage.
Investigation · August 2026 · Capability demo
Remote Media
What if the Pi plays the media without becoming the media library?
After proving native video handoff, this experiment tested a smaller architectural question: could large content live somewhere else, stream on demand, and leave the Raspberry Pi lightweight?
02
Use a real file.
A 10.14 MB MP4 was uploaded to R2 and exposed through a temporary public development URL. Opening the object directly confirmed that it could be delivered independently of the website and the Raspberry Pi.
03
Change content without changing Atlas.
The existing Demo capability already resolved its media source through an environment setting. Pointing that setting at the R2 object changed what “Atlas, demo” played without changing the voice-control code.
04
Stream it to the room.
“Atlas, demo” streamed the test video from R2 through the Raspberry Pi and played it fullscreen on the TCL. In this test the video began in less than a second, then used the native playback and clean-return behavior established in the earlier handoff experiment.
The Pi doesn’t need to carry everything it can use.
The useful capability is separation: media can grow independently while the room computer stays small and disposable. A future library could map names such as demo, reel, project, or object memory to remote assets without turning the Pi into a storage server or coupling those assets to the website.