[Pi 4]

Just a few questions, as I'm just starting out. I'm considering replacing my WD Live box with a Pi3 and kodi. I'll mostly be using this to play ISO video files from a connected hard drive. As well as look into the streaming capabilities later on.

How will this compare to the WD and other media players ? Smoothness, ability to handle many video file formats, responsiveness, ect..
Standard TV style remote control ? FF and rewind ?
Ability to play back .ISO files. (to maintain the menus)
Read 3+ Ter hard drives ?


Also, what OS is used for the Pi3/ kodi combination ?
How large of a flash drive is needed ? Speed ?
Power supply ?
Other than a Pi3, kodi, drive, power supply and monitor what else is needed ?


Thanks...

[Ned Scott]

A Pi 3 crushes the WD players, IMO. Buttery smooth and handles most common formats. The big exception is the new-ish HEVC format, but I don't think WD Live did HEVC either.

Aye, Kodi's interface and control methods (remote, smart app, etc) are all designed to act as a native TV appliance.

Not sure on the status of BD ISO files (I don't really have any), but DVD ISO menus should be fine.

As long as the hard drives are self powered, you can read as many USB drives as USB will accept (I figured the number out once.. it's something like 100 theoretical drives, since you have to count hubs as USB devices, and there's a max of 127...)

There's LibreELEC, OSMC, Xbian, and some other speciality boxed lunches that all have their pros and cons.

Samsung EVO mSD cards, 8GB is all you really need, but you might as well get a 16 or 32 because the price is not much more.

Something with a good rating on amazon that is at least 2.5 or 3 amps for the power supply. Bonus points for a good USB cord, or else you'll lose power there.

Some people add a case. Honestly, I just tape the dang thing to the back of the TV or use legos or whatever.

Check out Raspberry Pi (wiki), which has a ton of advice about accessories, tips, etc. Some of the advice is more for the original (and much slower) Pi1, but most of it is universal for all of the Pi models.

[DarrenHill]

Another useful plus it's the Pi has CEC (wiki) built in. So if your TV also supports it, you can generally run Kodi on the Pi via the remote control of your TV. Or if you prefer there are smartphone or tablet based app options like Kore or Yatse.

[Pi 4]

Thanks for your input guys !