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2015-04-26, 19:37
(This post was last modified: 2015-04-26, 19:37 by Pollypie.)
Long XBMC/Kodi user but with the demise of the Apple TV support, I'm looking for a new solution.Advice? I have a Raspberry Pi 2 for one TV with ARC/CEC that works well, but I can't decide what to go for hardware-wise on an older TV without ARC.
I have no special requirements - standard movie codecs of various types but nothing extreme, and no surround sound. The TV without ARC is also plugged into an old-style hifi amp so it has no remote volume, so being able to change Kodi volume via a remote is essential.
So, I want a good well-supported standard platform that isn't a marginal choice and will be well-supported into the future. The Amazon Fire box seems ideal but I read that it has no true volume control, only volume amplification which can cause distortion. I don't really want to use a Pi, as I'd be stuck seemingly with an iPhone remote app without ARC on that TV. Are there better options without costing the earth or requiring a lot of hacking?
Thanks!
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nickr
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I think you are confusing ARC and CEC. It is CEC that is required for control of the TV via the Pi.
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noggin
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CEC is the system that lets you send data from the Pi to the TV and from the TV to the Pi (i.e. let remote control commands travel in both directions) It has been supported for many generations of TV.
ARC is the Audio Return Channel that lets a TV send its internal tuner (and in some cases internal Smart TV and external HDMI and other inputs) sound DOWN the HDMI cable that connects it to an AVR that is sending pictures UP that same HDMI cable to the TV. It is a more recent addition to the HDMI spec.
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Thanks for the corrections - not up on the technical side, all I know is I want to be able to control my Kodi box volume from a good remote.
To make it clear: I can do this on my CEC-capable TV and my Pi 2, but I want a Kodi box for my non-CEC tv with a physical remote that can control volume that isn't an app. It's not clear to me that the Amazon box is a good choice for this. What choices do I have?
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nickr
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A raspberry pi will work with a USB remote. It is well supported by the kodi developer community. You are familiar with it.
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Thanks for the reply. I feel a bit silly now, I didn't realise there were good Pi USB remotes! Are any of decent quality? Any you or anyone here would recommend?
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Get a Flirc (you can find it on amazon), its a little USB transmitter and you can program it to work with virtually any remote you want.
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The Flirc is excellent, I have my Onkyo receiver remote programmed to do subtitle switching, Play/Pause, shutdown, etc. And the creators are still supporting it.
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When using a Rasp Pi/Pi2, you can also do a home brew IR receiver using the PI's GPIO pins. Just google "raspberry pi gpio remote control"... The parts should cost under $10 and you'll have the satisfaction of doing a little project and learn some stuff...
If you already have a compatible IR remote, then you'll spend $7 at radio shack for the IR receiver IC, and some wire and ends... You don't even really need to solder anything if you get wire leads with female ends; just plug the leads into the IR IC, and the other end into the Pi's GPIO pins.
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nickr
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Any remote that works on linux and has open source drivers should work on rpi.
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