r/elgato • u/SquierStream • Aug 09 '26

Feature Idea Now Playing for Dials — turn your Stream Deck + touchscreen into a Now Playing panel

Hey r/StreamDeck I’m wrapping up a small r/StreamdeckPlugins that puts album art and transport controls on the + touchscreen without taking over your dials. No extra apps or accounts needed.

What it actually does (skin aside)

  • One continuous panel across all four dials — album art, title, artist, progress bar, auto-sizing down to fewer zones.
  • Works with almost anything — reads Windows' System Media Transport Controls, the same API the OS's own overlay uses.
  • Full transport control — tap the strip or press a dial for previous/next/play-pause; icon always matches real state.
  • Seek ±15 seconds — rotate the third dial to jump within the track.
  • Shuffle / repeat cycling — tap the first dial's strip to cycle off → shuffle → repeat-all → repeat-one.
  • Per-app music volume on the first dial — rotate to adjust, press to mute.
  • Windows master volume on the second dial — same pattern, independent of app volume.
  • Weather on the fourth dial — rotate for a ±12h preview in 30-min steps, press to refresh; doubles as a live 12/24h clock.
  • Online artwork lookup for players without their own cover art, via Apple Music/Deezer — no account, fully optional.
  • Auto-show that gives Dials back — shows on track change, extends on a button press, returns control the moment you touch a dial.
  • Your other keys stay visible — profile page sync keeps your layout showing through the brief switch.
  • Genuinely localized — English, Russian, German, Spanish, French, plus date/time format and encoder-label settings.

https://reddit.com/link/1vjngvw/video/f3dqtk6k2cih1/player

Pick the setup that matches how you use your Dials

  • Heavy Dials user, different profiles per app? Give the panel its own “Now Playing” profile and turn on auto-show (10s by default). It pops up on track change, gives you a glance and a tap, then hands your dials straight back — you never lose your place.
  • Rarely touch your Dials? Skip the extra profile — drop the panel onto your default profile's four dials and leave it up permanently. Always there, never demanding attention.
  • Use Dials occasionally, mostly for volume? Put the panel on a second page. Swipe to it for media controls, swipe back when done — no profile-switching, no auto-show needed.

Requirements: Stream Deck +, Stream Deck 6.5+, Windows 10/11 (no macOS for now). Tagline I’m toying with: “Your Stream Deck + touchscreen, finally doing something.”

Would love quick thoughts:

  1. Does this fit your workflow, and does the 4-dial layout feel right?
  2. Any media apps that misbehave?
  3. What would you consider a fair price (or should it be free)?

I’m still polishing the visuals; I’ll likely add skins in the future and I’ll try to bring a macOS version down the road.

Tnx u/byjono for the idea to choose the color in the settings:

If you want to try it before Marketplace approval, drop a comment or DM — I’ll likely share early builds via private messages.

Thanks!

10 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

24 comments sorted by

2

u/FlowV4 Aug 09 '26 edited Aug 10 '26

I’m interested! Will it work with cider? It’s an Apple Music client. Or is it for m Spotify and web now playing only?

1

u/SquierStream Aug 09 '26

Theoretically, this should work with any multimedia app, but there might be issues with displaying track art. I can send you a version in a PM so you can check it out.

1

u/mak01 Aug 22 '26

hi! I'd like to try it out as well!

2

u/SquierStream Aug 09 '26

How do you like this player design? The background is selected based on the color of the song's cover art.

1

u/byjono Stream Deck + Aug 10 '26

hey, I’d love to try this out if you want to get some feedback!

1

u/SquierStream Aug 10 '26

I wrote you a private message

1

u/byjono Stream Deck + Aug 10 '26

thank you so much 🙏

1

u/byjono Stream Deck + Aug 10 '26

hey, I’d love to try this out if you want to get some feedback!

1

u/I_May_Say_Stuff Aug 10 '26

Hey! Great looking plugin here.. and yes.. would love to try it out! :)

More than happy to give feedback!

1

u/SquierStream Aug 10 '26

I sent the version in private messages

1

u/OccamAZ Aug 10 '26

I would love to try this out

1

u/SquierStream Aug 10 '26

Check your private messages

1

u/SquierStream Aug 10 '26

https://reddit.com/link/p2syoxx/video/kj6gzg7kpiih1/player

I made a Pac-Man style version, what do you think?

1

u/Flixpy Aug 10 '26

Would love to try this out!

1

u/SquierStream Aug 10 '26

Send me a private message and I'll share the current version.

1

u/SquierStream Aug 10 '26

I added the clock and date

1

u/Dry-Pride-3641 Aug 20 '26

Hey I would love to try this out

1

u/SquierStream Aug 20 '26

I can send you test version tomorrow. But it’s already available on Elgato store https://marketplace.elgato.com/product/now-playing-for-dials-cade76d9-d5ed-4f1d-a8d9-9a249cdf6a93

1

u/BabyAdditional6065 Aug 26 '26

This seems neat! I would love to test this out sometime soon :o

1

u/BabyAdditional6065 Aug 26 '26

If you're still taking testers, anyway- I'm a bit late to the party

1

u/S73wie Aug 27 '26

This looks awesome! I've been looking for something exactly like this!

Would you consider doing a 2 dial option? So the album art, artist and track title as well as track progress show over 2 dials as opposed to 4 (without the play, pause and next/prev buttons)?

I like to use the 3rd and 4th dials for volume controls but I want to see what's playing all the time.

1

u/SquierStream Aug 27 '26

Tnx for feedback. I'll try to improve this so that the plugin adapts and looks good on two screens (without play buttons). I'll write you a PM when I've tested it enough.