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rflores2323 · 2013-12-12, 15:48

So my girls are getting to the age that they want to watch their own content on long trips in the car. We have a DVD player in the car put the TV screens are small and not hi-res. I was thinking of how to put xbmc in the car. I know that there is a working xbmc android app now so here are my questions regarding the hardware.

I am thinking of getting a wifi hardrive. like the seagate goflex satellite. but can xbmc receive the stream to this hardrive via dlna? I read that there is an app by seagate that works with the hard drive? I dont want to use this app.. I want to use xbmc.

Is the nexus 7 (2012) powerful enough to run xbmc and play mkv 720 rips?

How would I connect xbmc so that I could stream? UPnP or DLNA or can I do samba? Will I be able to have all the metadata show up on xbmc?

or do you have any other suggestions on how to set this up in a car?

Thanks

RF

awp0 · 2013-12-12, 16:58

If you're a DIY kind of guy, then you could get a raspberry pi and configure it to be both media streamer and wifi router. Pretty sure I saw a project documented where someone did just this (designed for in-car media streaming). The XBMC tablets would connect into the raspi's software based wifi router, and they would see the raspi media shares (SMB or NFS or whatever floats your boat). If it were me, I'd package it into a little box, but I wouldn't leave it in the car for fear of heat/cold issues with the hard drive. The more I write, the more I want to do it myself Smile

**Platypus2** · (This post was last modified: 2013-12-12, 17:12 by Platypus2.)

(2013-12-12, 15:48)rflores2323 Wrote: How would I connect xbmc so that I could stream? UPnP or DLNA or can I do samba? Will I be able to have all the metadata show up on xbmc?

If you decide to get a seagate wireless hard-drive I highly recommend;

http://www.hackseagatesatellite.com/

It will give you the ability to stream however you want then, samba / ftp / DLNA. And you no longer have to (or well can't) use the annoying seagate apps either. Then you can just add it as a source in xbmc and it will act like any other NAS - metadata included. Provided you bridge an internet connection to it first (i.e. before putting the xbmc clients in the car) to download the metadata.

rflores2323 · (This post was last modified: 2013-12-12, 17:15 by rflores2323.)

that is a good idea.

(2013-12-12, 17:08)Platypus2 Wrote:
(2013-12-12, 15:48)rflores2323 Wrote: How would I connect xbmc so that I could stream? UPnP or DLNA or can I do samba? Will I be able to have all the metadata show up on xbmc?

If you decide to get a seagate wireless hard-drive I highly recommend;

http://www.hackseagatesatellite.com/

It will give you the ability to stream however you want then, samba / ftp / DLNA. And you no longer have to (or well can't) use the annoying seagate apps either. Then you can just add it as a source in xbmc and it will act like any other NAS - metadata included. Provided you bridge an internet connection to it first (i.e. before putting the xbmc clients in the car) to download the metadata.

that is what I was hoping it could do.. connect via samba direct without the seagate app. Thanks for the link! Big Grin

T800 · 2013-12-12, 17:36

The Nexus 7 1st gen is plenty powerful enough. On the last Gotham build I had it nearly running uncompressed 40GB blu-ray. I think the network struggled before the Nexus did.
I have a Nexus 7 installed on my dashboard and it's great for music although I rarely use XBMC on it. It's too small to navigate whilst on the go.

I like the idea of a Raspberry Pi as a server on a closed network. Very cheap and powered by USB.

Hmm, I have have a spare Pi....

rflores2323 · 2013-12-12, 17:43

T800. but with the Raspberry I would still need to get an external harddrive hooked up to it so why have two devices in the car if the seagate can do it? Plus with the hack above it opens up the seagate so that you can stream it via samba etc..

T800 · 2013-12-12, 18:13

True, how is the seagate powered?

awp0 · 2013-12-12, 18:16

Yeah, I just looked at the seagate and also the "hack" site linked above. If you're content with 500GB then the Seagate looks like a perfect solution for under $100. 500GB is a lot of kids content! It also appears that you could swap in a larger 1TB (2.5") drive later if you want to. My temptation to build the raspi solution is waning....

**Platypus2** · (This post was last modified: 2013-12-12, 18:34 by Platypus2.)

Seagate is battery powered, lasts about 4-5 hours. Not sure exactly how long as I haven't really used it all the way through yet (I mostly turn it on, transfer the video(s) I want and turn it off again) and it depends on the services / # of devices using it I guess. If you can get a car adapter though it probably doesn't matter.

The seagate goflex satellite is 500gb but there is also a newer model, seagate wireless plus, that is 1tb. A 2tb 9.5mm drive also got announced last month so it might worth looking at / waiting for. Also if SSD's ever come down in price they would be perfect for this kind of thing. I'd love to stick a 1tb ssd in one if it wasn't something silly like £500-£600 to do so haha.

awp0 · 2013-12-12, 18:39

Btw, as an FYI, it looks like the custom firmware is $35. The site is a little difficult to understand, but I'm pretty sure that's the case.

rflores2323 · 2013-12-12, 20:25

I dont mind paying for the software as long as future updates are included etc.. I think 500gb is enough also for their movies. Most stuff is in SD (200 movies) and then about another 300 movies in 720p.

so this might be a good solution for the kiddos to have incase entertainment.

Anyone know how we could charge the nexus 7 in the car? I assume just a usb car charger could do it.

adeingolf · 2013-12-14, 15:29

I use exactly this solution - Seagate goflex drive with ipad mini, for when I am out and about.

The "alternative" firmware is very good, if a little awkward to set up. But it also allows me to access the Internet through the goflex while being connected to it at the same time; something the original stock firmware wouldn't allow me to.

I simply transfer files to goflex, connect ipad via wifi, (to both hard drive and Internet), update metadata and all is set for when away from wifi thereafter.

awp0 · 2013-12-17, 16:35

I just thought I would mention that Seagate is currently selling the 500GB Goflex Satellite on clearance for $59, with free second day shipping in the US. I just ordered one, as this price is hard to beat. Used ones on eBay are selling for more than this.

http://shop.seagate.com/store/sgateus/ht...dClearance

Cheers.

~~Ned Scott~~ · 2013-12-18, 00:46

(2013-12-17, 16:35)awp0 Wrote: I just thought I would mention that Seagate is currently selling the 500GB Goflex Satellite on clearance for $59, with free second day shipping in the US. I just ordered one, as this price is hard to beat. Used ones on eBay are selling for more than this.

http://shop.seagate.com/store/sgateus/ht...dClearance

Cheers.

Holy hotcakes, that's awesome! I must resist... must buy Christmas gifts for family first... but I'm... so... tempted...

awp0 · 2013-12-18, 02:37

I know. I don't really need it either. But I'm an admitted gadget junkie and the pull was too strong this morning!