which setup should I pursue htpc/raspberry pi/ something else?
#1
I'm looking to make a standalone XBMC box to have connected to my television here are some of the top things I would love to be able to do:

- have "always on" system or one that is very very fast to boot
- a large hard drive capacity.
- hopefully use XBMC for everything, I don't want to be going into the system to set things up with a mouse/keyboard once everything is setup hopefully
- have the ability to setup all downloads running in the background and ability to add new shows (bittorent or usenet either or) maybe this will be done with a mouse keyboard or ideally through a web interface maybe?
- have some PVR functionality within XBMC. This is something I'm pretty sure is doable but do not know a lot about yet in xbmc. am I able to connect it with my cable provider somehow?
- its gotta be smoooth for playing back 1080p content and menu etc.


What is the ideal way to do this? I want to do as cost effectively as possible and don't mind if I have to work a bit to get everything setup since this is sort of fun for me I hope!

So what do you guys suggest. Is all of this possible? I don't know a lot about raspberry pi, but something tells me that I'll need a full HTPC to be able to accomplish everything here. I could be wrong though.

Any help is appreciated!
Reply
#2
Nothing you mention excludes the Pi. Though there are some possible caveats that you dont mention;
Whats your audio setup like? Do you have a DTS/AC3 capable decoder? Does it take HDMI audio? Do you intend to use just analog stereo or some 5.1+ setup?

1080p is not a problem for the Pi, however for now, DTS audio decoding is. If you have a DTS capable HDMI receiver, or you are content with playing DD5.1 or less, there should be no issue.

Smooth menu's is relative, but what Ive seen the Pi is rather capable of that at least if you stay away from the heaviest skins.

HDD space is just a matter of buying a large enough disk Smile Or several.

Remote management is rather easily accomplished using openELEC. It creates network shares where you can dump your media and other shares where you can edit configuration files, so you can this from any machine in your network. Of course there are plugins for XBMC for bittorrent, AFAIK that works on any platform

I have no experience with PVR on XBMC, but from what I read, it should work on the Pi with the right hardware. You obviously need a USB tuner, as there are no PCI(e) slots. May require some tinkering though, and you will most likely need to buy an MPEG2 licence for a few euro.
Reply
#3
I just bought the zotac ad10 last month from Newegg. Bundle with 64gb ssd 4gb ram all for just over $200. Install windows8, setup wmc w/ hdhrprime and pvr/netflix. Then setup xbmc and navix addons plays anything I throw at it. Couldn't be more happy.
Reply
#4
oops. Wanted to edit, instead I quoted. Wanted to add:

Always on? Well, with ~3-4W peak power consumption the pi probably consumes less power when ON than most HTPCs do in sleep mode.
Reply

Logout Mark Read Team Forum Stats Members Help
which setup should I pursue htpc/raspberry pi/ something else?0