Done any of the media centres come with logic for driving an external
digital box? I use Rogers, and they're slowly moving all the free
channels onto encrypted digital., so despite them being "free", they're
only available via the Rogers digital box.
--dave
On 29/12/15 06:40 AM, Marcelo Cavalcante wrote:
You said you had a RaspberryPi running Raspbian, that is a full linux
distro. You could try openelec, that is a customized distro made only
to run a media center with xbmc/kodi. After the boot, the only X
application you will see running is the media center.
On Dec 29, 2015 5:46 AM, "William Park" <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
You missed "used laptop" which is still the cheapest option. KWLUG
(Kitchener/Waterloo LUG) got them by truck loads.
--
William
On Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 01:38:20PM -0500, D. Hugh Redelmeier wrote:
> | From: Matt Price <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>
>
> | I'm looking to replace my desktop-based xbmc movie playing
box with a much
> | smaller and more energy-efficient ARM-based DIY project. II'd
love to hear
> | what other people recommend for specs. I'd like to build a
system with:
>
> - XBMC is now called Kodi
>
> - it has become semi-mainstream
>
> - it will run under Linux, Windows, Android. I don't know
about OSX
> or iOS (google surely knows)
>
> - there are tonnes of cheap chinese-brand sticks and boxes
that even
> come with it pre-installed.
>
> - From what you said, the amount of storage is going to be an issue.
> Roughly how much storage do you need?
>
> - Raspberry Pi 2 is great in many ways but adding storage
isn't so easy
>
> + is USB 2 fast enough? If so, an external drive would work
(but
> that requires another box)
>
> + do you have a network file server where stuff could be stored?
> (but remember that the Pi's ethernet goes through the USB
bottleneck)
>
> - typical chinese boxes don't have internal store either.
Some have
> native ethernet (faster than the Pi). Few if any have USB 3.
>
> Some local optima:
>
> - Raspberry Pi 2.
> + Well support by community
> - slow expansion storage
> - guess: no hope for proprietary streaming sources like Netflix,
> Shomi, etc
> + Linux!
>
> - cheap chinese-brand TV stick or box (Android)
> + cheap, comes with Kodi
> + can choose models with ethernet
> + some models have a community of modders (creating other ROMs)
> but they are limited since key device drivers are closed source.
> - manufacturers very soon stop releasing new firmware
> - parts of chips are secret and hence hard to support
> - Really important: check if Kodi has native drivers for the
video playback.
> I don't really know how to do that (lots of googling).
> + you can select cost vs features.
> - 32 vs 64 bit ARM
> - 1G vs 2G RAM (an anagram of ARM!)
> - 4G, 8G or 16G flash memory
> - cheap brand or one with a community
>
> - Nexus Player. Currently on fire-sale ($70) meaning it is a
dead product.
> + runs latest Android (Marshmallow)
> + run Kodi and is well-supported
> + runs Netflix including HD (only a few Android devices do HD (for
> some reason that Netflix hasn't explained))
> - won't run Shomi app (for some arbitrary reason)
> + can accept google "casting" from a phone or tablet
>
> - a random (but carefully selected) Android tablet. Pretty much the
> same as cheap chinese-brand stick or box.
>
> - a fair number of Windows-based choices that are like the sticks,
> boxes, or tablets.
>
> For example, right now, Newegg offers this for $139.99 + 4.99
> shipping (- $10.00 if you use Visa Checkout and a coupon):
> <http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883722001>
> It comes with Windows but should be able to run Linux instead
> (not enough "disk" for dual booting).
>
> - some little PCs. Deals come and go.
> Here's one that's almost sold out:
>
<http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=7_1203_1157&item_id=069768>
> This is a real PC and will run ordinary Linux distros just fine.
> It includes a 500G HD. And a power switch. And probably a
remote.
> Takes real power, but nothing like a desktop.
> If you want control, this is the easiest path.
>
> - cheap bare ARM boards from chinese brands. Too much of a
circus for
> me to recommend. Surely there is good value somewhere there
(Banana
> Pi? Cubie Board?) but likely too much adventure if you only care
> about the result (TV!).
>
> | - relatively simple and manageable OS (Raspbian has been nice
on my old RP
> | rev b)
>
> If you want to be in control, it is hard to beat the Pi without
going
> to a full PC.
>
> | - some kind of hobbyist board, raspbi or beaglebone or
whatever seems best;
>
> That sounds like you want control. Lots of these ARM things have
> pain-points. For example, the beaglebones didn't do FullHD
(hardware
> limitation). Most have closed drivers for video. Codecs are a
pain.
> Bootloaders are all different so that a generic Linux distro
cannot work
> (yet).
>
> | - cheapest possible large ssd drive
>
> Most don't take SSDs (or hard drives) except as externals (USB
or NAS).
> If you find your media collection grows, SSD is bound to be too
small
> or expensive. SSDs are great for the OS but don't really have an
> advantage for videos. Since videos are accessed
mostly-sequentially,
> the seek time of a hard drive is not a problem.
>
> Some little PCs come with room for a 2.5" drive. You can get 2.5"
> hard drives up to 1TB. If you need more than 1TB, you need 3.5"
> drives, something little computers don't accommodate.
>
> | - a power button (!)
>
> Not really needed for the really low power ones.
>
> | - a wireless keyboard or other control device
>
> Easy to add via USB or bluetooth.
>
> | - HDMI out
>
> At FullHD. Too early for good UltraHD support.
>
> | - some kind of a box to hold everything together (likely
self-designed out
> | of some very cheap scrap materials)
> | - power source that can drive all these pieces
> | - as little cost as possible
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David Collier-Brown, | Always do right. This will gratify
System Programmer and Author | some people and astonish the rest
[email protected] | -- Mark Twain
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