[GTALUG] best choices for tiny mlinux media centre in 2016?
David Collier-Brown
davec-b at rogers.com
Tue Dec 29 15:47:46 UTC 2015
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 at yahoo.ca
> <mailto:opengeometry at 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 at gmail.com <mailto:moptop99 at 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
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--
David Collier-Brown, | Always do right. This will gratify
System Programmer and Author | some people and astonish the rest
davecb at spamcop.net | -- Mark Twain
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