Yes—but it is a DIY controller, not a floppy disk that stores television shows. Mads Chr. Olesen’s FloppyDiskCast uses labeled 3.5-inch disks as physical selectors: insert one to start its assigned online program on a Chromecast, then eject it to pause playback.
What is the floppy disk TV remote?
FloppyDiskCast is a homemade Smart TV controller Olesen built to let his three-year-old choose content without navigating a distracting grid of TV tiles or being carried along by autoplay. Each disk represents a show or playlist, turning a choice on screen into a simple physical action.
It is not a mass-market remote. Reporting by Tom’s Hardware describes the project as a tactile alternative to a Smart TV interface, while The Register reports that Olesen had around eight or nine labeled disks.
How does FloppyDiskCast work?
- Choose a disk. The label and artwork identify the show or playlist it selects.
- Insert it into the modified floppy drive. A rolling switch detects insertion; Olesen added it because his drives did not provide a usable pin-34 disk-change signal, according to The Register.
- Send the selection. An Arduino detects the insertion and wirelessly sends the command to a Raspberry Pi server. The Arduino FDC Floppy library handles floppy interaction after insertion is detected, according to Tom’s Hardware.
- Start the online stream. A short file on the disk identifies a script on the Raspberry Pi. The server uses pychromecast to instruct a Chromecast to play the associated online content.
- Eject to pause. Removing the disk pauses playback; inserting it again resumes it.
Do the floppy disks contain the shows?
No. They hold a short selector string, not video. Olesen explained to The Register that a file called autoexec.sh contains a brief instruction—such as dad-music—telling the server which script to run. The Raspberry Pi and Chromecast do the work of selecting and streaming the content over the network.
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A 3.5-inch disk’s 1.44 MB capacity is far too small for modern video, so FloppyDiskCast depends on network-hosted media. The disks act more like labeled physical buttons than miniature video libraries.
What parts does it use, and what are the trade-offs?
- Modified 3.5-inch floppy drive: reads the disk and provides the physical interface. A rolling switch handles disk-insertion detection where the drive’s disk-change signal was not usable.
- Arduino: detects the interaction and communicates the selection wirelessly; the Arduino FDC Floppy library is used for floppy interaction.
- Raspberry Pi server: maps each short disk command to a script and uses pychromecast to send playback instructions.
- Chromecast and network connection: stream the selected online show or playlist. Olesen said he would remove the Chromecast in a redesign because of excessive latency and connect a computer directly to the TV instead, as reported by The Register.
- 18650 lithium cells: power the unit. Hackaday reports they were used to handle the floppy drive’s current peaks.
The design trades the familiar convenience of a standard remote for a tangible, deliberately limited choice system. Its moving drive, microcontroller, wireless link, batteries, server, and streaming device also create more setup and maintenance than a conventional remote or a basic single-button player. It depends on working floppy hardware and online streaming, and the Chromecast’s latency was a drawback for Olesen.
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Does it improve a child’s independence or attention?
The project’s purpose is to give a young child a concrete way to choose content without navigating the TV interface. That is Olesen’s design rationale, not a demonstrated child-development result: the available reporting does not provide a controlled study or numeric measure of changes in attention, autonomy, or viewing time.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is FloppyDiskCast a product you can buy?
No. It is a maker’s DIY project reported in January 2026, not a commercially available television remote. Recreating it would require the hardware and software pieces above, plus the work of adapting the floppy drive’s detection and power behavior. Its novelty is the physical interface; the actual shows still come from online services.
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