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" <opengeometry@yahoo.ca <mailto:opengeometry@yahoo.ca>> 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 <moptop99@gmail.com <mailto:moptop99@gmail.com>> > > | 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 > --- > Talk Mailing List > talk@gtalug.org <mailto:talk@gtalug.org> > http://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk --- Talk Mailing List talk@gtalug.org <mailto:talk@gtalug.org> http://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
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-- David Collier-Brown, | Always do right. This will gratify System Programmer and Author | some people and astonish the rest davecb@spamcop.net | -- Mark Twain