Kodi Community Forum

Hi all, my situation is that I have a main HTPC that acts as my main hub/server/TV backend. I have four other TV's in the house and I am trying to find a simple (cheap!) solution to connect them back to my HTPC using Kodi as a front end.

I suppose there are lots of options and so far I've only tried the Amazon Fire Stick but failed pretty miserably when trying to stream large movies and chokes horribly when I try to watch Live TV (I have a MediaPortal TV server running on my main HTPC).

Again, I'm looking for something relatively inexpensive (I have to do 4 of these) with enough horsepower to play large files, steam my Live TV, run a nice(Eminence) skin, and index shares with some speed. Wireless (at least as an option) would be a big plus.

I would like to hear what you all have come up with for something like this.

Hi.
Firstly stay from Android based platforms if you are watching live TV. As you have found you will run into de-interlacing issues and very likely refresh rate switching issues as well. This includes the Amazon Fire TV.

It really is a no brainer for what you want at a cheap price - the RPi2 running Openelec / Kodi. It is more than capable.

Plus a dual band WIFI to avoid interference issues on the 2.4Ghz band - such as the Edimax EW-7811UTC AC600 Dual-Band USB Adapter.
Get a proper 5V/2.0 Amp power supply, preferably ones with the cord attached to the power brick.

You will likely not even need a remote control as HDMI CEC control on the RPi2 will mean you can control Kodi via a TV remote.

http://www.howtogeek.com/207186/how-to-e...ou-should/

Otherwise a cheap BT USB and a PS3 remote control works well, straight out of the box.

Thanks wrxtasy, I'm on Newegg now looking around. There seems to be many versions available. Which one should I be looking at?

By the way the HTPC build you helped me with a couple of months ago (the one I'm talking about in the original post) worked out great. Thank you again for the advice.

Glad to hear the previous recommendation worked out.

Raspberry Pi 2 Model B ARM7 900Mhz CPU Board is the one your looking for.

You might want the Basics Kit:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...-_-Product

or the Modular Case, that looks a bit better and a few more dollars:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...-_-Product


Plus these are the preferred microSDHC cards: (Always go Samsung for best performance)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...-_-Product

and

Dual Band WIFI:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...-_-Product

Thats it, Oh apart from a HDMI cable

The Raspberry Pi 2 Model B is the newest and the same MSRP as the older models. Don't forget that you need a good MicroSD card as well.

Edit: Was beaten by wrxtasy, but I ordered mine from MCM Electronics. Personally, I'd pick up 1 to make sure it fits your needs before buying the other 3.

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/content/en...spberry-pi

Their starter Kits are cheaper than Newegg as well and include a microSDHC card.
at $59.99 you will likely not get cheaper.

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/83-16552RK