I am looking for a cheap device that can support XBMC. Seems like Raspberry fits the bill. It is now available in India from multiple vendors. I am planing to pick this one around 4.7 K INR) as it has the SD card included(and comes pre-installed). Does anyone have any experience with Raspberry pi? I remember a while back it was a rage and lot of folks wanted to buy one.
Cheap XBMC Box = Raspberry Pi ?
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Not bad of an option but remember that raspbmc ui is slow and sluggish on RPi. So if that is not a problem you may very well go this route. you may not need the breadboard and the GPIO cable if this is only for XBMC. So you may check if there are options of buying individually at lower price. I hope you will stream either from a powered USB drive (unless pen drives) or a wired LAN from another PC and not over wifi since wifi adapters draw out lot of power from RPi at times rendering it unresponsive
Thanks. Yes i will use wired LAN for accessing media from NAS.
baijuxavior
Well-Known Member
I recently assembled a Ras Pi for download purpose. It is very easy to configure, so don't buy full kits. All you need is the Pi board, 8GB SD card or micros SD card with SD card adapter, 1A USB charger with micro USB cable, powered USB hub only if you want to add external HDD. If you wish you can add a case and some heat sinks. The total price will come under 4K. I didn't test XBMC on it so can't comment on the performance. I'm using it as a 24x7 download machine.
I am planning to pick this combo - which has board+case8 GB SD card = 4190. This was the cheapest option that is selling in India.
spirovious
Well-Known Member
Anyone tried its soundcard?
baijuxavior
Well-Known Member
My suggestions -
Raspberry PI Model B 512MB RAM Revision 2 0 | eBay ~ Rs.3K/-
Raspberry PI Aluminium Heat Sinks SET OF 3 | eBay ~ Rs. 150/-
Raspberry PI Clear Acrylic Case | eBay ~ Rs.250/-
Verbatim SDHC SD Memory Card 8GB Class 10 Camera 3yr | eBay ~ Rs.350/-
or any 8GB microSD card (Rs 250/-) with a SD card adapter that can be bought locally for Rs.10/-
Amazon.in: Buy MX USB POWER ADAPTOR (SMPS TYPE) Online at Low Prices in India | MX Reviews & Ratings ~ Rs.375/-. This is two amp charger with dual usb port from MX.
http://www.ebay.in/itm/EDUP-Mini-Wi...9?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_203&hash=item3cd9d34d95 for wifi connectivity.
Use coupon codes like VD2HEBAY01 while ordering from ebay to get discount.
Last edited:
Mohanavel
Member
Please check the limitations of bitstreaming in RPi especially HD audio before you purchase. Also one question why are you not going for a dedicated media player? You will get the remote too out of the package
I am actually open for a media player.. but didn't find any option in 3 to 4K range that supports XBMC?
koushik
Well-Known Member
Asus O!Play is a great player and I would prefer it any day over xbmc on rasbpi due to its h/w limitations. Motherboard with atom processor will be a different story all together.
But still to keep it simple, compact and ease of use I would suggest a hd media player like Asus O!Play. The mini version is within your budget but without LAN port.
But still to keep it simple, compact and ease of use I would suggest a hd media player like Asus O!Play. The mini version is within your budget but without LAN port.
Thanks . but my media sits on Synology So LAN port is a must.
koushik
Well-Known Member
It is only the mini version that doesn't have LAN connectivity. You will get numerous other options of different features and price with LAN port.
vinny_wills
Member
My Ras Pi works well provided it has a powered USB adapter i choose 1 amp current in the USB hub which drives the PI and USB hub itn also works fine and for the case i have used my Old credit card see the pic in the below link.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?....157103822963.114599.747122963&type=1&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?....157103822963.114599.747122963&type=1&theater
az2325
Active Member
Hi all,
I assembled a raspberry pi over the weekend.
Thanks to baiju, i got most of the components from online stores without much of a searching effort.
Few changes and additions.
A powered USB hub of 1k.
Amazon.in: Buy Belkin F4U040SA USB 2.0 4-Ports Hi-Speed Powered Desktop Hub (Black) Online at Low Prices in India | Belkin Reviews & Ratings
Class 10, 8GB Sandisk micro sd with adapter.
Amazon.in: Buy Sandisk Mobile Ultra 8GB Class 10 UHS-I microSDHC Memory Card with SD Adaptor (SDSDQU-008G-U46A) Online at Low Prices in India | SanDisk Reviews & Ratings
A USB card reader to write the image to card.
Amazon.in: Buy Quantum Mini USB Card Reader for MicroSD, SD, M2, Memory Stick Online at Low Prices in India | Quantum Reviews & Ratings
I got model B rpi from ebay seller mentioned in baijus post at 2.9k.
The cost break up-
Raspberry Pi - 2880
Clear case - 250
Heatsink -150
USB charger - 350
8gb card - 320
Powered USB hub - 1023
USB Card reader - 110
Total - 5083
Distro used ->Raspbmc
I have purchased 2-3 cables like (stereo -RCA), composite video cable as well but i am not listing the same as most of us have cables left over at home.
I had a spare micro usb cable which could be used with the MX charger.
Altogether, with a 2 A charger, class 10 SD card and a powered USB hub, i could run XBMC without any perfomance issues whatsoever. It read all the movie file formats i gave it. FLACs and mp3 as well.
I am mentioning this since i was very doubtful with perfomance of raspberry seeing reviews all over net and in our forum. I checked many alternatives like beaglebone, cubiebox etc. But most of them didnt have much documentation over net. I am a noob in linux hence couldnt take much of a risk configuring these in case of issues.
I am satisifed by the perfomance till now. Will update issues if anything come on my way
The negatives i could find -
Lack of a proper remote here. If you have an android phone, i think there are apps available. Currently using my PC's mouse to control the XBMC.
The picture doesnt look that great on my 21inch philips crt tv. May be because i am comparing it with the picture quality of Oppo 981 played on same tv and raspberry might give better video on HDMI.
The default analogue out of raspberry is not that great. FLAC's were fine but 320kbps mp3 lacked details. I am planning for an ODAC in near future.
Do let me know if anybody has any queries in setting up raspberry pi for xbmc.
Regards,
Antony
I assembled a raspberry pi over the weekend.
Thanks to baiju, i got most of the components from online stores without much of a searching effort.
Few changes and additions.
A powered USB hub of 1k.
Amazon.in: Buy Belkin F4U040SA USB 2.0 4-Ports Hi-Speed Powered Desktop Hub (Black) Online at Low Prices in India | Belkin Reviews & Ratings
Class 10, 8GB Sandisk micro sd with adapter.
Amazon.in: Buy Sandisk Mobile Ultra 8GB Class 10 UHS-I microSDHC Memory Card with SD Adaptor (SDSDQU-008G-U46A) Online at Low Prices in India | SanDisk Reviews & Ratings
A USB card reader to write the image to card.
Amazon.in: Buy Quantum Mini USB Card Reader for MicroSD, SD, M2, Memory Stick Online at Low Prices in India | Quantum Reviews & Ratings
I got model B rpi from ebay seller mentioned in baijus post at 2.9k.
The cost break up-
Raspberry Pi - 2880
Clear case - 250
Heatsink -150
USB charger - 350
8gb card - 320
Powered USB hub - 1023
USB Card reader - 110
Total - 5083
Distro used ->Raspbmc
I have purchased 2-3 cables like (stereo -RCA), composite video cable as well but i am not listing the same as most of us have cables left over at home.
I had a spare micro usb cable which could be used with the MX charger.
Altogether, with a 2 A charger, class 10 SD card and a powered USB hub, i could run XBMC without any perfomance issues whatsoever. It read all the movie file formats i gave it. FLACs and mp3 as well.
I am mentioning this since i was very doubtful with perfomance of raspberry seeing reviews all over net and in our forum. I checked many alternatives like beaglebone, cubiebox etc. But most of them didnt have much documentation over net. I am a noob in linux hence couldnt take much of a risk configuring these in case of issues.
I am satisifed by the perfomance till now. Will update issues if anything come on my way
The negatives i could find -
Lack of a proper remote here. If you have an android phone, i think there are apps available. Currently using my PC's mouse to control the XBMC.
The picture doesnt look that great on my 21inch philips crt tv. May be because i am comparing it with the picture quality of Oppo 981 played on same tv and raspberry might give better video on HDMI.
The default analogue out of raspberry is not that great. FLAC's were fine but 320kbps mp3 lacked details. I am planning for an ODAC in near future.
Do let me know if anybody has any queries in setting up raspberry pi for xbmc.
Regards,
Antony
May be you should try this: Raspberry Pi gets its own sound card
Found the information on this thread
az2325
Active Member
Thanks captain. Was thinking of ODAC since i can re-use it with any PC as well.
Regards,
Antony
Regards,
Antony
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