Tutorial 3 · Community

Backglass Display

A backglass is a second display that sits above the playfield, showing table art, animated videos, and live leaderboard overlays during play. Pinner has built-in support for one — but the hardware, the software image, and the support for that software are all community-driven, not part of the official Team Encoder kit.

🛑 Read this first — community project

The backglass display is not officially supported by Team Encoder. The Raspberry Pi software (PP Enhancer) is built and maintained by community member goolong. A public download is now available (below), and support runs through the Team Encoder Discord.

What this means in practice:

Issues with the backglass go to the Discord #pinner-opi-backglass channel, not through Team Encoder support.
The Pinner cabinet itself is unaffected by anything you do or don't do with the backglass — if you skip it, your kit works completely normally.
Damage caused to your cabinet, monitor, or Pi by the backglass setup is not covered under the Team Encoder kit warranty.

How to get PP Enhancer

⬇ Download — PP Enhancer SD Installer v1.1

Grab the installer directly: Backglass_SD_Installer_v1.1.zip. Unzip it and run the installer app — it downloads PP Enhancer and images your SD card for you, so there's no separate flashing tool to fuss with. Then follow the install steps below.

Download and unzip the PP Enhancer installer Save Backglass_SD_Installer_v1.1.zip and extract it. Inside is the PP Enhancer installer app — it does the SD-card imaging for you in the next section.
Join the Team Encoder Discord for support discord.gg/cZrs9FwBPU — in the #roles channel, react to the message that grants the Pinball role. That unlocks the pinball channels, including #pinner-opi-backglass.
Ask goolong if anything's unusual PP Enhancer is built and maintained by community member goolong. Post in #pinner-opi-backglass (or DM goolong directly) for setup help specific to your hardware.

Hardware you'll need

Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W — the cheap small one with built-in WiFi. The original Zero (1) is not fast enough; you specifically need the Zero 2.
microSD card for the Pi (8GB minimum, 16–32GB recommended).
Backglass monitor — any HDMI monitor that fits the cabinet's backglass area. Most builders use a slim 17–24" panel. Recommended: Acer SB220Q — 21.5" 1080p IPS, slim bezel, fits the backglass area cleanly and pairs well with the Pi Zero 2 W.
Mini-HDMI to HDMI cable (or adapter) for the Pi → monitor.
USB micro to USB-A cable — connects the Pi to the OPi5 Max. This one cable carries both power and data: the Pi is powered by the OPi5 Max, so no separate power adapter is needed. On the Pi, use the port labelled USB (the data port), not the one labelled PWR — the Pi Zero 2 has two identical-looking micro-USB ports, and PWR is left empty. On the OPi5 Max, plug into the top white USB port, right next to the WiFi antenna.
Power supply for the monitor (whatever your monitor uses).

⚠ Why USB serial, not WiFi?

The Pi communicates with the OPi5 Max over a USB serial link (115200 baud). It's not a WiFi connection. The Pi acts as a USB serial device when plugged in, and the cabinet sends commands like "show table X art" or "play multiball video" down the wire. This is way more reliable and lower-latency than WiFi for in-game effects.

Software install (high level)

The PP Enhancer installer app handles the imaging for you — you just need a blank microSD card in your computer. The general shape is:

Run the installer to image the SD card Insert a blank microSD card into your computer, launch the PP Enhancer installer, and pick that card as the target. The installer downloads the latest PP Enhancer and writes it to the card for you — no Raspberry Pi Imager or balenaEtcher, no manual .img handling.
Insert the SD card and wire up the Pi Put the imaged microSD into the Pi and connect the Pi's mini-HDMI to the backglass monitor. Then run the USB micro → USB-A cable from the Pi's USB port (not PWR) to the OPi5 Max's top white USB port, right next to the WiFi antenna. That one cable both powers the Pi and carries the serial data — nothing plugs into the Pi's PWR port.
Power on the cabinet The OPi5 Max powers the Pi over that USB cable, so the Pi boots as soon as the cabinet comes on. First boot expands the filesystem and may take a couple of minutes — you'll see the PP Enhancer splash screen, then it starts listening on the USB serial link and the monitor shows the default backglass art.

Configuring the backglass in Pinner Management

Once the hardware's up, go back to Pinner Management from your phone. Scroll to the Backglass Display card. The connection status at the bottom of that card should show "Connected to PP Enhancer". If it doesn't, tap Reconnect.

Every toggle on the Backglass card, explained

Enable Backglass

Master switch. With this off, the cabinet sends nothing to the Pi (the monitor stays on whatever the Pi shows by default). Turn this on once the Pi is wired up and the connection-status line is green.

Show Leaderboards

When on, after each game the backglass overlays the live online leaderboard for the table you just played. Greyed out until you've saved an API token in the Leaderboards card — that's because leaderboards require the cabinet to be linked to pinball.team-encoder.com.

Leaderboard Timeout

How long the leaderboard stays on screen before reverting to art / video. Choices: Stay On, 10s, 30s (default), 60s.

Leaderboard Font

Cycles through bundled fonts. Use + / − to scroll. Picks one with style + readability that matches your cabinet aesthetic.

Media Mode — Videos / Images

Videos: animated table-specific videos play during attract / between games. Higher CPU on the Pi but looks great. Images: static art per table — much lighter on the Pi. Pick Images if your Pi feels sluggish.

Glow Effects

Adds a soft glow over still images. Cosmetic only, on by default.

Backglass Volume

0–100. The Pi has its own audio output if your backglass monitor has speakers — this volume controls that path. Independent of the cabinet's main audio.

Mute Audio

Hard-mute the Pi's audio. Most builders run muted because the cabinet's speakers handle game audio and the Pi's audio is just video soundtrack.

Sleep Sync

When on, the backglass goes to sleep / wakes up at the same time the cabinet does. Recommended — saves the Pi's monitor backlight when you're not playing.

Reconnect

Re-establishes the USB serial link if it drops. Useful if you unplugged + replugged the cable, or after a Pi reboot. The connection-status text below the button updates immediately.

Troubleshooting

⚠ "Not connected — PP Enhancer not found"

Check, in order: cable plugged into the Pi's USB port (not PWR); cable plugged into the OPi5 Max's top white USB port next to the WiFi antenna (not the cabinet harness); the Pi is actually powered on (green LED visible); the Pi has finished booting (give it 30 seconds after power-on). Then click Reconnect.

⚠ Connected, but the monitor is blank

That's a Pi-side issue, not a cabinet issue. Check the HDMI cable seating, that the monitor is on the right input, and that the Pi's HDMI cable is in the Pi's HDMI port (not the camera port). Power-cycle the Pi if needed.

⚠ Backglass works, but leaderboards toggle is greyed out

You haven't saved an API token. Go to the Leaderboards card in Pinner Management, click Link Cabinet to Leaderboard, complete the registration on the leaderboard site, paste the token back, save. Reload the page and the leaderboard toggle is now active.

For everything else

Discord #pinner-opi-backglass channel, or DM goolong directly. Backglass questions in Team Encoder support tickets will be redirected there.

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