<p dir="ltr">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.</p>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Dec 29, 2015 5:46 AM, "William Park" <<a href="mailto:opengeometry@yahoo.ca">opengeometry@yahoo.ca</a>> wrote:<br type="attribution"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">You missed "used laptop" which is still the cheapest option. KWLUG<br>
(Kitchener/Waterloo LUG) got them by truck loads.<br>
--<br>
William<br>
<br>
On Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 01:38:20PM -0500, D. Hugh Redelmeier wrote:<br>
> | From: Matt Price <<a href="mailto:moptop99@gmail.com">moptop99@gmail.com</a>><br>
><br>
> | I'm looking to replace my desktop-based xbmc movie playing box with a much<br>
> | smaller and more energy-efficient ARM-based DIY project. II'd love to hear<br>
> | what other people recommend for specs. I'd like to build a system with:<br>
><br>
> - XBMC is now called Kodi<br>
><br>
> - it has become semi-mainstream<br>
><br>
> - it will run under Linux, Windows, Android. I don't know about OSX<br>
> or iOS (google surely knows)<br>
><br>
> - there are tonnes of cheap chinese-brand sticks and boxes that even<br>
> come with it pre-installed.<br>
><br>
> - From what you said, the amount of storage is going to be an issue.<br>
> Roughly how much storage do you need?<br>
><br>
> - Raspberry Pi 2 is great in many ways but adding storage isn't so easy<br>
><br>
> + is USB 2 fast enough? If so, an external drive would work (but<br>
> that requires another box)<br>
><br>
> + do you have a network file server where stuff could be stored?<br>
> (but remember that the Pi's ethernet goes through the USB bottleneck)<br>
><br>
> - typical chinese boxes don't have internal store either. Some have<br>
> native ethernet (faster than the Pi). Few if any have USB 3.<br>
><br>
> Some local optima:<br>
><br>
> - Raspberry Pi 2.<br>
> + Well support by community<br>
> - slow expansion storage<br>
> - guess: no hope for proprietary streaming sources like Netflix,<br>
> Shomi, etc<br>
> + Linux!<br>
><br>
> - cheap chinese-brand TV stick or box (Android)<br>
> + cheap, comes with Kodi<br>
> + can choose models with ethernet<br>
> + some models have a community of modders (creating other ROMs)<br>
> but they are limited since key device drivers are closed source.<br>
> - manufacturers very soon stop releasing new firmware<br>
> - parts of chips are secret and hence hard to support<br>
> - Really important: check if Kodi has native drivers for the video playback.<br>
> I don't really know how to do that (lots of googling).<br>
> + you can select cost vs features.<br>
> - 32 vs 64 bit ARM<br>
> - 1G vs 2G RAM (an anagram of ARM!)<br>
> - 4G, 8G or 16G flash memory<br>
> - cheap brand or one with a community<br>
><br>
> - Nexus Player. Currently on fire-sale ($70) meaning it is a dead product.<br>
> + runs latest Android (Marshmallow)<br>
> + run Kodi and is well-supported<br>
> + runs Netflix including HD (only a few Android devices do HD (for<br>
> some reason that Netflix hasn't explained))<br>
> - won't run Shomi app (for some arbitrary reason)<br>
> + can accept google "casting" from a phone or tablet<br>
><br>
> - a random (but carefully selected) Android tablet. Pretty much the<br>
> same as cheap chinese-brand stick or box.<br>
><br>
> - a fair number of Windows-based choices that are like the sticks,<br>
> boxes, or tablets.<br>
><br>
> For example, right now, Newegg offers this for $139.99 + 4.99<br>
> shipping (- $10.00 if you use Visa Checkout and a coupon):<br>
> <<a href="http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883722001" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883722001</a>><br>
> It comes with Windows but should be able to run Linux instead<br>
> (not enough "disk" for dual booting).<br>
><br>
> - some little PCs. Deals come and go.<br>
> Here's one that's almost sold out:<br>
> <<a href="http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=7_1203_1157&item_id=069768" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=7_1203_1157&item_id=069768</a>><br>
> This is a real PC and will run ordinary Linux distros just fine.<br>
> It includes a 500G HD. And a power switch. And probably a remote.<br>
> Takes real power, but nothing like a desktop.<br>
> If you want control, this is the easiest path.<br>
><br>
> - cheap bare ARM boards from chinese brands. Too much of a circus for<br>
> me to recommend. Surely there is good value somewhere there (Banana<br>
> Pi? Cubie Board?) but likely too much adventure if you only care<br>
> about the result (TV!).<br>
><br>
> | - relatively simple and manageable OS (Raspbian has been nice on my old RP<br>
> | rev b)<br>
><br>
> If you want to be in control, it is hard to beat the Pi without going<br>
> to a full PC.<br>
><br>
> | - some kind of hobbyist board, raspbi or beaglebone or whatever seems best;<br>
><br>
> That sounds like you want control. Lots of these ARM things have<br>
> pain-points. For example, the beaglebones didn't do FullHD (hardware<br>
> limitation). Most have closed drivers for video. Codecs are a pain.<br>
> Bootloaders are all different so that a generic Linux distro cannot work<br>
> (yet).<br>
><br>
> | - cheapest possible large ssd drive<br>
><br>
> Most don't take SSDs (or hard drives) except as externals (USB or NAS).<br>
> If you find your media collection grows, SSD is bound to be too small<br>
> or expensive. SSDs are great for the OS but don't really have an<br>
> advantage for videos. Since videos are accessed mostly-sequentially,<br>
> the seek time of a hard drive is not a problem.<br>
><br>
> Some little PCs come with room for a 2.5" drive. You can get 2.5"<br>
> hard drives up to 1TB. If you need more than 1TB, you need 3.5"<br>
> drives, something little computers don't accommodate.<br>
><br>
> | - a power button (!)<br>
><br>
> Not really needed for the really low power ones.<br>
><br>
> | - a wireless keyboard or other control device<br>
><br>
> Easy to add via USB or bluetooth.<br>
><br>
> | - HDMI out<br>
><br>
> At FullHD. Too early for good UltraHD support.<br>
><br>
> | - some kind of a box to hold everything together (likely self-designed out<br>
> | of some very cheap scrap materials)<br>
> | - power source that can drive all these pieces<br>
> | - as little cost as possible<br>
> ---<br>
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</blockquote></div>