I tried this on my Panasonic plasma, the USB outputs didn't have a high enough ampage (guessing only 500ma instead of the 1-1.2 amps the Pi needs) and I would get warnings from the TV and Pi. As mentioned, its pennies to leave it running 24/7 which most of us seem to do.
Raspberry Pi - $35 Linux computer
- Thread starter daz
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I tried this on my Panasonic plasma, the USB outputs didn't have a high enough ampage (guessing only 500ma instead of the 1-1.2 amps the Pi needs) and I would get warnings from the TV and Pi. As mentioned, its pennies to leave it running 24/7 which most of us seem to do.
Thanks for the info, downloading at the same time won't be essential. It is very tempting...
Is Youtube available on XBMC and if so can it handle 1080 ok? I know one of my laptops struggles with it!
Soldato
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Mine is okay with 1080p youtube going over a pair of "200Mbps" (but not really) powerline adapters... It also supports airplay and similar, so for example if I load a clip on my Android phone I can click options and then "Send to XBMC" and it'll load it up on the TV - which is cool 
Hello everyone. Another noob to the Pi here, be nice!
I've just got myself a shiny new Panasonic plasma so I've decided as a bit of a project to set up a Pi as an XBMC. I have also wangled a shiny 2TB G-RAID drive from work (USB and FW, mains-powered) which is just sitting waiting to be filled up with something! So, I think I'm going to opt for RaspBMC as it looks the most 'rounded' and is also very popular...
Usefully, it's my birthday in a few weeks so I'm compiling a shopping list (which my folks will no doubt ignore, but hey it's worth a try!).
How does this look to get me going from scratch?
- Raspberry Pi Model B (512MB RAM, UK Model)
- Hostey® UK Micro USB Mains Power Wall Supply Charger For Raspberry Pi - (1000mA / 1A)
- Raspberry Pi Case - Clear
- Edimax EW-7811UN 150Mbps Wireless Nano USB Adapter
- 2M HDMI cable
I'll get hold of a decent SD card and format it with NOOBS/RaspBMC on to get me going. I should be able to get hold of a USB keyboard/mouse, too.
Have I missed anything? I would be aiming to leave it on 24/7 as the power consumption is so low, but I'm not sure about the G-RAID drive. Stupid question, but how much power would that consume?
My eventual plan would be to get it set up as a working XBMC first then investigate how best to get it downloading TV shows overnight (whilst not in use). I was all set on Transmission but have just been reading on Usenet/Sick Beard etc which sounds immense. Infinitely more fiddly though, I presume? I guess we can't talk much about that side of things in here?
Thanks for any advice!
EDIT: Oops I totally forgot about my other question. Once I have all of the above set-up, is there any way in XBMC to stream content to my Android devices? All my searching seems to throw up how to stream from your Android device?
I've just got myself a shiny new Panasonic plasma so I've decided as a bit of a project to set up a Pi as an XBMC. I have also wangled a shiny 2TB G-RAID drive from work (USB and FW, mains-powered) which is just sitting waiting to be filled up with something! So, I think I'm going to opt for RaspBMC as it looks the most 'rounded' and is also very popular...
Usefully, it's my birthday in a few weeks so I'm compiling a shopping list (which my folks will no doubt ignore, but hey it's worth a try!).
How does this look to get me going from scratch?
- Raspberry Pi Model B (512MB RAM, UK Model)
- Hostey® UK Micro USB Mains Power Wall Supply Charger For Raspberry Pi - (1000mA / 1A)
- Raspberry Pi Case - Clear
- Edimax EW-7811UN 150Mbps Wireless Nano USB Adapter
- 2M HDMI cable
I'll get hold of a decent SD card and format it with NOOBS/RaspBMC on to get me going. I should be able to get hold of a USB keyboard/mouse, too.
Have I missed anything? I would be aiming to leave it on 24/7 as the power consumption is so low, but I'm not sure about the G-RAID drive. Stupid question, but how much power would that consume?
My eventual plan would be to get it set up as a working XBMC first then investigate how best to get it downloading TV shows overnight (whilst not in use). I was all set on Transmission but have just been reading on Usenet/Sick Beard etc which sounds immense. Infinitely more fiddly though, I presume? I guess we can't talk much about that side of things in here?
Thanks for any advice!
EDIT: Oops I totally forgot about my other question. Once I have all of the above set-up, is there any way in XBMC to stream content to my Android devices? All my searching seems to throw up how to stream from your Android device?
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Soldato
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Greetings Your shopping list looks good... 2 things I'd check are that the HDMI cable you are going for is a version that can support CEC (allowing you to use the TV remote to control the Pi)... And I would also say if you can replace the 150Mbps wireless adapter with a set of even 200Mbps home-plugs (powerline adapters) it will likely give you better results (in my experience)...
Also, consider OpenELEC rather than raspbmc - it's just a more professional and established distro and I've had a lot of trouble with raspbmc (but only one man's opinion, it really depends who you ask as always!!)
I doubt it will use much power even with the G-RAID (especially if the drive spins itself down when not required)...
You're right, downloading is a no-no for discussion here really, I think we'll leave it here but I can say that it's possible to get something working if you look around on forums etc.
In terms of streaming to your other devices, pretty sure you could just configure it to share the contents of the G-RAID drive over whatever network protocol suits you (NFS for android I expect, Samba/CIFS for anything Windows based or AFP (I think) for Apple)... and then use a file-browser type app on said device to browse to the share and play the content
Your shopping list looks good... 2 things I'd check are that the HDMI cable you are going for is a version that can support CEC (allowing you to use the TV remote to control the Pi)... And I would also say if you can replace the 150Mbps wireless adapter with a set of even 200Mbps home-plugs (powerline adapters) it will likely give you better results (in my experience)...Also, consider OpenELEC rather than raspbmc - it's just a more professional and established distro and I've had a lot of trouble with raspbmc (but only one man's opinion, it really depends who you ask as always!!)
I doubt it will use much power even with the G-RAID (especially if the drive spins itself down when not required)...
You're right, downloading is a no-no for discussion here really, I think we'll leave it here but I can say that it's possible to get something working if you look around on forums etc.
In terms of streaming to your other devices, pretty sure you could just configure it to share the contents of the G-RAID drive over whatever network protocol suits you (NFS for android I expect, Samba/CIFS for anything Windows based or AFP (I think) for Apple)... and then use a file-browser type app on said device to browse to the share and play the content
Thanks for your input. I'll do a bit more research on OpenElec and see how it compares. What are the main advantages, besides speed?
My other question was about a USB hub. I have a non-powered one but I see most people opt for powered hubs. Bearing in mind my G-RAID has its own power adapter, I'd be alright with a non-powered hub wouldn't I? I won't have keyboard and mouse plugged in hopefully so it'll just be the drive and possibly WiFi adapter? Thanks again!
My other question was about a USB hub. I have a non-powered one but I see most people opt for powered hubs. Bearing in mind my G-RAID has its own power adapter, I'd be alright with a non-powered hub wouldn't I? I won't have keyboard and mouse plugged in hopefully so it'll just be the drive and possibly WiFi adapter? Thanks again!
Soldato
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Yeah that ought to be totally fine I would have thought...
OpenELEC (to me) just feels like a bit more of a lean and tightly honed distro... Raspbmc is impressive for sure as the work of one student and a couple of volunteers, but OpenELEC is developed by a bigger team with a longer track-record and it just feels a bit better in most respects. I appreciate that's a pretty vague description but it just has something about it that I can't quite put my finger on that gives me more confidence in it.
Another thing to keep in mind actually is that in general you probably want to install the OS in either case onto a USB drive rather than the SD card... Whichever distro you choose will greatly benefit from some light overclocking, and this runs the risk of corrupting the SD card. The USB install will minimise writes to the SD and hence allow you to push further and avoid any problems.
Unfortunately in your proposed case that means your 2x USB ports would be taken up with the G-RAID and a USB stick, so I guess if you're positive about using a USB WiFi adapter as well then you will need a (powered) hub too...
It's tricky... Apologies if I'm not making things any clearer
OpenELEC (to me) just feels like a bit more of a lean and tightly honed distro... Raspbmc is impressive for sure as the work of one student and a couple of volunteers, but OpenELEC is developed by a bigger team with a longer track-record and it just feels a bit better in most respects. I appreciate that's a pretty vague description but it just has something about it that I can't quite put my finger on that gives me more confidence in it.
Another thing to keep in mind actually is that in general you probably want to install the OS in either case onto a USB drive rather than the SD card... Whichever distro you choose will greatly benefit from some light overclocking, and this runs the risk of corrupting the SD card. The USB install will minimise writes to the SD and hence allow you to push further and avoid any problems.
Unfortunately in your proposed case that means your 2x USB ports would be taken up with the G-RAID and a USB stick, so I guess if you're positive about using a USB WiFi adapter as well then you will need a (powered) hub too...
It's tricky... Apologies if I'm not making things any clearer
Soldato
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Or... you would only need 2x USB (and hence, no hub) if you used powerline adapters and the ethernet connection Or are they not an option?
Or are they not an option?
Soldato
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You can, but they say it can weaken the signal... on the other hand you can get "pass-through" ones which still allow you to use the plug socket through them. I don't expect the cost of some adapters would be much more than the cost of a decent wifi dongle and a powered hub... Think I paid about £25 for mine
Note there is a very slim chance that they won't work depending on the wiring of your house... so what I did was found someone at my work who had some and they let me borrow them for 1 evening to double-check that they work... I wouldn't worry too much though as I know loads of people who use them and none that have said it didn't work for them
Note there is a very slim chance that they won't work depending on the wiring of your house... so what I did was found someone at my work who had some and they let me borrow them for 1 evening to double-check that they work... I wouldn't worry too much though as I know loads of people who use them and none that have said it didn't work for them
Just thought I would give somethign a go this morning.
I have my XB1 hooked up to my Sony TV via a Sony A/V. Put OpenElec on to my rPi, and now have it hooked up to the XB1's HDMI in, and it is being powered by the XB1 USB on the side.
It all just works. The XB1 isn't degrading the image, the rPi is stable and even CEC with my telly's remote is working perfectly. Quite a bonus, am in the middle of ripping all my DVDs to a NAS drive now.
I have my XB1 hooked up to my Sony TV via a Sony A/V. Put OpenElec on to my rPi, and now have it hooked up to the XB1's HDMI in, and it is being powered by the XB1 USB on the side.
It all just works. The XB1 isn't degrading the image, the rPi is stable and even CEC with my telly's remote is working perfectly. Quite a bonus, am in the middle of ripping all my DVDs to a NAS drive now.
Have installed NOOBS on to my SD CArd and then chosen RISCOS as my OS. The LEDs next to the NIC are yellow, green and green, nut I do not get the option of configuring my NIC, only the USB interface. What am I doing wrong here?
Edit: Seems to be working now but I still don't get the option of editing the NIC. Only the USB interface
Edit: Seems to be working now but I still don't get the option of editing the NIC. Only the USB interface
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I know the nic works through the USB controller on pi, so perhaps that's why?
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It probably just follows the usb specification of 500mA, b model pi is rated to use up to 700mA so you could run into issues depending on what you're doing. If you've got keyboard, mouse, xbmc and are steaming 1080 video then you might run into power issues. If it's just sitting there remotely controlled doing something less intensive then you'll probably be fine.
Soldato
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eh mate - I was gunna suggest am old woofrn radio stripout and make a webradio like sqeezebox and have a touchscreenthink I'm getting a B for Christmas, learning Python as we speak, written a couple of scripts for things and working through different problems with it.
Don't fancy reading through all 82 pages, so what kind of things are people doing with the RasPi and where's the best place for a noob to get started?
No idea what I fancy doing yet, something simple like a media server/player would be easiest but want to tinker
Well it took me 2 years to get a case but got the pibow case yesturday as its been sitting in its box since I bought it. Used it a few times but at a loss what to do with it now.
I don't need a media server. As my BR player plays most files and just shove a usb stick on the front of it.
Any other ideas what could be handy to do with it? (256 Edition)
I don't need a media server. As my BR player plays most files and just shove a usb stick on the front of it.
Any other ideas what could be handy to do with it? (256 Edition)
Soldato
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Little webserver to play about with?
Mini-firewall for your internet connection?
Attach to USB weather-station and fix it on your roof/garden?
It depends what your interests are really
Mini-firewall for your internet connection?
Attach to USB weather-station and fix it on your roof/garden?
It depends what your interests are really