Raspberry Pi as a HTPC

morkhans

morkhans

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My guess is many of you will be looking to slap XBMC on your Pi so let's get a thread started :D

Your options at the moment are:
OpenELEC
Site: http://openelec.tv/
Download: http://sources.openelec.tv/tmp/image/openelec-rpi/
Install: http://wiki.openelec.tv/index.php?title=Installing_OpenELEC_on_Raspberry_Pi (Linux) http://www.squirrelhosting.co.uk/hosting-blog/hosting-blog-info.php?id=9 (Windows)
Forum: http://openelec.tv/forum/124-raspberry-pi

Raspbmc
Site: http://www.raspbmc.com/
Download: http://www.raspbmc.com/download/
Install: http://www.raspbmc.com/wiki/user/windows-installation/
Forum: http://forum.stmlabs.com/

Overclocking
Can be done safely as long as you don't mess with voltages
http://www.senab.co.uk/2012/05/29/raspberry-pi-overclocking/
http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=6201

Some Tips
http://mrpfister.com/journal/setting-up-openelec-on-the-raspberry-pi/ps

Issues
Alpha support for USB sound cards: http://forum.stmlabs.com/showthread.php?tid=1052&page=17
 
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I'm running Raspbmc on mine for the moment...

Not getting much of a chance to mess with it too much right now, but that will hopefully change soon enough.
 
My friend installed Raspbmc RC3 which we messed around with, but I struggled with the webserver and airplay services becoming unavailable. So when my Pi arrived I gave OpenELEC a go. Airplay and webserver worked first time, but I find it doesn't always boot first time. I tried some serious 1080p content via SMB share and there was noticeable stutter. I'm don't know if that's something that will be solved over time as the releases become more refined or if it's a physical limit of the HW.
 
The LAN port on the Rpi connects to the SoC via a USB bus, which can't handle 40Mbps transfer rates which is what bluray content requires.
 
morkhans said:
My friend installed Raspbmc RC3 which we messed around with, but I struggled with the webserver and airplay services becoming unavailable. So when my Pi arrived I gave OpenELEC a go. Airplay and webserver worked first time, but I find it doesn't always boot first time. I tried some serious 1080p content via SMB share and there was noticeable stutter. I'm don't know if that's something that will be solved over time as the releases become more refined or if it's a physical limit of the HW.
Click to expand...

Pity about 1080p. Anyone else tried some heavy 1080p stuff?
 
I have,

When the Codecs were right (files about 12Gb) they played just fine for me...
 
ElecEng said:
The LAN port on the Rpi connects to the SoC via a USB bus, which can't handle 40Mbps transfer rates which is what bluray content requires.
Click to expand...

It would possibly help if you did a bit of research before spouting forth,

Yes, the Ethernet port connects to the SoC via USB, but its USB 2.0 so it has a theoretical throughput of 480Mbit/s... that is MORE than enough to handle Bluray which is approximately 40Mbit/s...
 
Nuro said:
Pity about 1080p. Anyone else tried some heavy 1080p stuff?
Click to expand...

It may also have to do with how the content is encoded.

I need to dome some more testing with different files and local disk attached via USB vs over network.
 
My remote worked once, and never again.

any idea why?
 
Is there a way to install OpenElec onto the sd card using windows? The guide above says you need a linux machine :confused:

I'm sure it's possible because I used windows to install Raspbmc but I wanna try the other one

edit: And also, what files do I need to copy over from the raspbmc install so that I don't have to update the whole library again?
 
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stevovo said:
Is there a way to install OpenElec onto the sd card using windows? The guide above says you need a linux machine :confused:

I'm sure it's possible because I used windows to install Raspbmc but I wanna try the other one
Click to expand...

Someone could image an existing install. Other option is to do it with a live CD if you don't want to install Linux.
 
I just got my Pi! I'm can't wait to get home and play with it.

Is there anything in the defualt Pi operating system that can handle video streaming? Or must I skip downloading the Pi OS and just get Raspbmc or OpenELEC right away?
 
Pakka said:
I just got my Pi! I'm can't wait to get home and play with it.

Is there anything in the defualt Pi operating system that can handle video streaming? Or must I skip downloading the Pi OS and just get Raspbmc or OpenELEC right away?
Click to expand...

The default OS is a stripped down desktop with a couple of applications where Raspbmc and OpenELEC are purpose build for media consumption.
 
Im using Raspbmc.

I have a network storage device (mvixbox) with about 2 TB of HD content on it. Testing with the movie Avatar. A 1080HD 11GB mkv HD file I am able to run it seamlessly over the network. There is no stutter or issues.
 
Thanks Morkhans, I'll try one of these in your OP.

Ghoti, that is mighty impressive! I really can't believe this little thing can play full HD movies. My movies never go over 12gb, so most should be able to play, depending on their codecs I guess.

I'll probably copy my movies to a USB HDD or have them played from my main PC over LAN
 
I was actually hoping to put something on the Pi that could handle my videos and download my torrents as well
 
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