Raspberry Pi - $35 Linux computer

  • Thread starter Thread starter daz
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Been testing my 512Mb Pi before giving it to my sister to wrap for xmas (Got check it's working :p )
Grabbed an old 16Gb MicroSD card and chuck it in an adapter and used http://www.raspbmc.com/wiki/user/windows-installation/ to install Raspbmc.

Installed great so I gave it a test and was sad to discover that it was struggling on high bitrate 1080p h264 encodes :-(
So I decided to see if an overclock would fix this, raspbmc has overclocking settings built into the latest build :D

I used the following:

1000MHz ARM
500MHz core
500MHz SDRAM
2 overvolt

A quick re-test and my 15-20Gb 1080P encodes are playing silky smooth now :-)
I've got a fan running silently at 5v to keep the Pi running super cool
 
I am getting a Pi for xmas but thats my play thing, looking at getting one to replace an old mATX sized PC which is currently next to the TV in the living room which is only used for media playback (DVD's, downloads, catch up) so all the reports of smooth playback with a small overclock is promising for my little project :D

Also tempted to set that one up as a small media hub so other computers in the house can stream content from it, but not sure how well it would cope if it was spitting out 1080p over the HDMI then streaming music or other video's over a network.
 
It depends upon your setup as to how much, if any, overclock you will need to get smooth playback.

Firstly you need to reduce file transport overhead, which basically comes down to not using Samba. If you have to use network transfer then go for a lightweight protocol like NFS, otherwise use local storage from a USB memory stick or hard drive.

Secondly you need to optimise your content output. So, verify which audio types your TV and/or Amp can handle natively and make sure the XBMC is configured to pass-through those audio streams instead of trying to down-sample.

Get those bits sorted and your playback should be smooth even without an overclock, although a small overclock will help in situations where you need to down-sample the audio.
 
Thanks for the pointers, I was planning on avoiding samba anyway (previous experiences with it, avoid when I can).

Will look into the audio optimising (not a point I had thought about) and see if some computational expense can be saved there.
 
You'll need to grab the Mpeg2 licence if you want to stream DVD's but it's only a couple of quid so no biggie :-)
I use Samba as it's simply much easier and less hassle then setting up Media servers and what-not, it now works fine with the overclock and an additional bonus to overclocking is that the GUI is much snappier than before :-) Just make sure you keep it nice and cool and you won't have a problem imho.
 
RS sent me an email yesterday to inform me that my Pi had been dispatched. They also said it was an upgraded rev2 board.

Looking forward to playing with it and getting some streaming x264 action going :)
 
Got another two Pis yesterday, put RASPBMC Beta 3 running on all of them. It is much better than RCx AirPlay works brilliantly :)
 
Can anyone suggest a remote that works with PI and XBMC? I no theres an app for my phone, but i want an actual remote aswell so family can still use it when im not there.

Just ordered a 512mb PI and clear case for £35. ( Didnt even know they upgraded them so bonus)

Ive got a 32gb SD already, got spare microUSB chargers. Just need another HDMI I think.
Router is next to where XBMC is going so thats sorted.

Anything else im missing??

Thanks,
Sean
 
seanyc5 said:
Can anyone suggest a remote that works with PI and XBMC? I no theres an app for my phone, but i want an actual remote aswell so family can still use it when im not there.
Click to expand...

I'm sure OCUK sells them but if you look in the forest they do them under the name:

GMYLE® Windows 7 Vista XP Media Center MCE PC Remote Control and Infrared Receiver for Home, Premium and Ultimate Edition

I use this and works perfectly. I would say that it is the up/down/left/right keys that circle the OK button that you use to fast forward/skip and scroll menus etc
 
Don't think so.

I've just taken delivery of my 4th Pi. This one is going up in the loft with the second hifi to run as a SqueezeLite player. Also recieved a blue Adafruit version of the excellent Pibow case, it looks the business.
 
Flibster said:
If you've got an android device...

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.xbmc.android.remote
Click to expand...

That was slightly freaky...

Clicked on the link and had a quick read of the app overview and reviews, then glanced to the left of the screen and saw a green box with the words "This app is compatible with your 3 HTC HTC Sensation Z710e"....

Took a few moments to realise that of course my google account is linked to my phone and i am logged in browsing in Chromium on my Arch desktop!!

Anyway, have ordered a Pi for a christmas present for me from my other half. I couldn't think what i wanted for xmas, then suddenly thought of the Pi, to which she replied (after looking it up), "That's boring!" .... boring is it? We'll see about that when it's running as an HTPC streaming all our films! Mwahahaha :D ;)
 
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