Thinking of raspberry pi for a TV box?

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xyeovillian

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#238157 5-Jul-2018 10:22

I would like to build a rasberry pi as a tv box, I currently have an intel nuc and a apple tv connected to my TV, just curious to build a pi for the same purpose running Kodi.

Has anyone done this or similar and where to look for guides and possible tutorials and where to buy the components, I have a searched but there are lots out there!

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#2049571 5-Jul-2018 10:24

It's all pretty straight forward. There are some pre-built images for running Pi as a media box. Google things like RasPlex and similar depending on your flavour of media app. You will find the NUC probably performs better than the Pi though.

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#2049575 5-Jul-2018 10:28

I am using OSMC running on a couple of Pi3s. Works like a charm.

robjg63

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#2049577 5-Jul-2018 10:29

I have an older PI running OSMC - OSMC is an all in one (OS and KODI) package. Super easy to install.

Go here https://osmc.tv/download/ and follow your nose.

You just need an SD card and they have the tools to build the SD card on your windows or MAC, then just pop it in the PI and boot it up.

Wham bam - you have a KODI box up and running.

If you have a TV that supports HDMI-CEC (called various names like Viera link - panasonic or Anynet on Samsnung etc etc), then the TV remote will also work all the navigation on the PI/OSMC box.

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Wiggum

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#2049578 5-Jul-2018 10:30

+1 for OSMC.

timbosan

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#2049583 5-Jul-2018 10:38

I run OSMC on a Pi3, works really well. Ran it on a B+ and it was quite slow navigating menus etc. I can also stream files (movies, etc.) from my server and it handles them all (I have the Pi connected via Ethernet).

There are some forums on here about getting Freeview via Kodi as well. I have used both methods (Apsat and 'he who shall not be named') and now watch all live TV via this method. https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=151&topicid=198716&page_no=25#2023153

Only nice-to-have missing for me is Netflix - have to resort to using the PS4 for that. Although I hear its coming in the next major Kodi release (officially, not via some add-on)

afe66

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#2049798 5-Jul-2018 13:39

I ran rasplex from a b+. Worked ok, menus were slow in hindsight but was happy at the time.

You'd probably struggle to find a b+ now so rasp3 would be better

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#2049843 5-Jul-2018 15:01

I'm running LibreELEC (another Kodi offering like OpenELEC) on a Pi. It's great, and I have a remote control app on my phone. I installed Freeview and TVNZ on demand for TV but I don't actually watch them.

Jase2985

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#2049852 5-Jul-2018 15:09

I'm running LibreELEC on a Odroid C2, which is more powerful than a Rpi, just doesnt have the WIFI/BT, but has GBE and also can hardware transcode H-265 along with play 4k. also has an infrared port so you can control it with a remote, this does take a bit of tinkering to make work but works like a champ with our universal one.

farcus

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#2049906 5-Jul-2018 15:39

OSMC / Kodi is probably the best htpc software for the raspberry pi. You'd want to be using at least a pi 2B to avoid slow menus and addons.
One very important thing to keep in mind when using the pi for a media centre is that you'll need a 2 amp power supply for the pi 2 or a 2.5 amp for the pi 3 . Standard old phone chargers wont have enough grunt to power it consistently.

SirHumphreyAppleby

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#2050331 6-Jul-2018 10:22

Yet another vote for OSMC on the Pi, assuming you're set on using the Pi for this purpose.

For a little extra cash, you can get the Vero 4k from OSMC which will also playback 4k HDR HEVC content. It comes with a power supply and remote (which I don't use as it supports CEC). In terms of performance as a TV front-end (tvheadend), and playing back Blu-ray content, the Pi3 with OSMC is otherwise just as good as the Vero 4k, just more bits to buy, and a bit more fiddling around.

outdoorsnz

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#2050354 6-Jul-2018 10:57

Another vote for OSMC. Works like a charm!

Here is a good site for raspberry pi boards etc and official power supply which is a must.

http://nz.element14.com/buy-raspberry-pi?rd=raspberry+pi

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#2050363 6-Jul-2018 11:07

Yeah I don't know about the pi's depends what else you want to include.

I have a nuc i5 which is perfect, Run's Kodi, Sonarr and sabnz all my tv and movie requirements in one go.

Works very well for me anyway. I always found the pi's sluggish but then again that was on the b+

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timmmay

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#2050371 6-Jul-2018 11:15

I've done it for years. I think I use the OpenElec Kodi distribution, from memory. I so rarely have to do anything like updates I can't really remember.

timbosan

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#2050374 6-Jul-2018 11:18

Jase2985:

I'm running LibreELEC on a Odroid C2, which is more powerful than a Rpi, just doesnt have the WIFI/BT, but has GBE and also can hardware transcode H-265 along with play 4k. also has an infrared port so you can control it with a remote, this does take a bit of tinkering to make work but works like a champ with our universal one.

Good point on the controller. I use my own Windows Media Centre controller, which plugs into the USB port on the Pi, and I just selected the right controller in the OSMC menus, and it works great.

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#2050540 6-Jul-2018 14:58

I use OpenELEC with a Pi 3. I have a hard drive connected to it that contains lots of movies, and I use add-ons to stream content to it as well. I've always been very pleased with it, very easy to set up and just keeps working.

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