raspberry pi 2 as media player

[venkatcr]

WD is offering two drives for Raspberry Pi. One is 340GB at around $32 and the other is 1TB at $80.

Western Digital US Online Store - Product Information

Western Digital US Online Store - Product Information

The 'Game is Afoot' as Sherlock Holmes loves to say. If you can get some version of Ms Office, and a browser, you have a full fledged PC at less than $150 all told.

Of course you can get a HTPC or a media player for much less.

Cheers

 

[saikatbiswas82]

WD is offering two drives for Raspberry Pi. One is 340GB at around $32 and the other is 1TB at $80.

Western Digital US Online Store - Product Information

Western Digital US Online Store - Product Information

The 'Game is Afoot' as Sherlock Holmes loves to say. If you can get some version of Ms Office, and a browser, you have a full fledged PC at less than $150 all told.

Of course you can get a HTPC or a media player for much less.

Cheers

To be specific... The drive is 314gb. [emoji4]

However, it will be connected via USB 2.0 only which again is a bottleneck for rpi I guess.

I believe, orange pi or banana pi can use this drive's potential. IMHO.

 

[regeHA]

WD is offering two drives for Raspberry Pi. One is 340GB at around $32 and the other is 1TB at $80.

Western Digital US Online Store - Product Information

Western Digital US Online Store - Product Information

The 'Game is Afoot' as Sherlock Holmes loves to say. If you can get some version of Ms Office, and a browser, you have a full fledged PC at less than $150 all told.

I have placed an order, but will only be getting the first week of April.

Videos at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7lalk2P8ME and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H7Zh6qJdOs.

Of course you can get a HTPC or a media player for much less.

Media player yes, but it will be extremely limited in terms of what the Pi offers in distros and the development behind it.

HTPC for less than $150, that I'd like to know.

 

[regeHA]

To be specific... The drive is 314gb. [emoji4]

However, it will be connected via USB 2.0 only which again is a bottleneck for rpi I guess.

There is a 1 TB version and its cheap. Just around the price point of external 1 TB on Amazon. Might end up costing twice when it arrives on the eastern horizon.

You can overcome the USB 2.0 limitation with something like this, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FFJ0RKE/. It won't really give gigabit speeds, but I've seen speeds consistently around 200 mbps and more. That's actually good and compares to most entry level SSDs and USB 3.0 HDDs.

 

[saikatbiswas82]

There is a 1 TB version and its cheap. Just around the price point of external 1 TB on Amazon. Might end up costing twice when it arrives on the eastern horizon.

You can overcome the USB 2.0 limitation with something like this, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FFJ0RKE/. It won't really give gigabit speeds, but I've seen speeds consistently around 200 mbps and more. That's actually good and compares to most entry level SSDs and USB 3.0 HDDs.

Actually by the term 'bottleneck' I didn't want to mean speed. Rpi's lan and USB controller is built on same chip. So if both lan and USB HDD is connected together, there might be issues while playing anything and thus will hurt performance IMHO.

So I don't recommend or use myself any usb hdd with RPI.

Just for a quick info for everyone - LAN drives are better than usb hdd with moving parts when Audio quality is concerned.

 

[regeHA]

Actually by the term 'bottleneck' I didn't want to mean speed. Rpi's lan and USB controller is built on same chip. So if both lan and USB HDD is connected together, there might be issues while playing anything and thus will hurt performance IMHO.

So I don't recommend or use myself any usb hdd with RPI.

I've read a lot on this, but I've actually never seen any limitation myself.

Even for 4K video and DSD audio the USB 2.0 + ethernet shared bus is more than enough. 4K video needs 25-30 mbps max, the Pi 2 gives me 65 mbps transfer speeds for USB devices connected to it. I've tested extensively with USB 2/3, normal HDDs, SSDs, and even pen drives.

The limitation is more in the minds of folks who have not actually stress tested the Pi or the exotic audiophile who needs to spend $18,000 on a NAS server to actually call it "audiophile".

More than that I've even checked the h/w in most streamers like Aurender, Auralic, etc. and they have the same ARM chip and specs as the Pi 2 and 3. Underlying OS is also Linux or an MPD distro

But even otherwise I did read somewhere that there will be a Pi 3A model without ethernet. Only BT and Wi-Fi and USB, so that should free up the Pi even more.

PS: I've not really played 4K on the Pi, just stating that the 65 mbps b/w is more than enough for any media consumption on the Pi.

 

[saikatbiswas82]

I've read a lot on this, but I've actually never seen any limitation myself.

Even for 4K video and DSD audio the USB 2.0 + ethernet shared bus is more than enough. 4K video needs 25-30 mbps max, the Pi 2 gives me 65 mbps transfer speeds for USB devices connected to it. I've tested extensively with USB 2/3, normal HDDs, SSDs, and even pen drives.

The limitation is more in the minds of folks who have not actually stress tested the Pi or the exotic audiophile who needs to spend $18,000 on a NAS server to actually call it "audiophile".

More than that I've even checked the h/w in most streamers like Aurender, Auralic, etc. and they have the same ARM chip and specs as the Pi 2 and 3. Underlying OS is also Linux or an MPD distro

But even otherwise I did read somewhere that there will be a Pi 3A model without ethernet. Only BT and Wi-Fi and USB, so that should free up the Pi even more.

PS: I've not really played 4K on the Pi, just stating that the 65 mbps b/w is more than enough for any media consumption on the Pi.

To be very honest I haven't tried any USB hdd with RPI2 and believe me - I wont be trying any in near future with RPI2.
Audio quality or SQ cannot be judged by specs or any measuring equipment. The ultimate measuring tool would be our ears. So I will keep the maths aside and follow what experts say.
I have done some reading too before coming to this conclusion. And if anybody like to use USB HDD with RPI, he/she can use it without further hesitation.
As RPI3 has a dedicated wifi controller, I see no harm in using a SSD type HDD with the USB port.

 

[venkatcr]

Someone called KodeKutters has tried the RPI3 as a Kodi system. He seems very happy with it - https://youtu.be/w2z5UHCeu6o. What else do you need for an HTPC?

I will start assembling my audio and video players based on RPI3 from the middle of April. I will be able to give a personal comment then.

Cheers

 

[saikatbiswas82]

Checked this yesterday
Thanks anyway.

 

[regeHA]

Chromium OS For All SBC, including Pi 3.

Site- Chromium OS for SBC
Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/ChromiumRPI/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUX_1R21NXs, seems a bit of a workaround, might not be for the non-techies.

I'll be trying Android over the weekend, and then probably give Chrome OS a shot after that.

 

[regeHA]

Amazon Alexa on the Raspberry Pi.

This looks like a really cool weekend project, installing Amazon's Alexa on the Raspberry Pi. You will need a microphone connected to the Raspberry Pi, so in this instance the Raspberry Pi 3 will be a better option as you can connect a wireless Bluetooth microphone to the Raspberry Pi 3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frH9HaQTFL8

 

[venkatcr]

Sorry, but what is Amazon Alexa?

Thans

 

[regeHA]

Sorry, but what is Amazon Alexa?

Thans

Alexa is the Amazon AI, the same as Siri for iPhone, Cortana for Microsoft, and Google Now for Android.

More details at http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-SK705DI-Echo/dp/B00X4WHP5E.

Amazon lets developers integrate Alexa, the voice AI into their apps and h/w.

It's actually limited out of the Amazon ecosystem, but works very well in the US especially for Prime members. I got it to play music, change radio stations, latest news, and even order items on Amazon, all with voice commands.

With additional h/w like the Pi and Arduino you can even setup home automation like turn off the lights, close the doors, open the garage door, etc. with voice commands.

 

[blackscorpio]

Yes, TeraDak U9VA from A&B Systems.

what voltages and amps options avaliable on this one? specs are not clear to me.

How much is the landing cost with shipping?

I am thinking of getting one to use either with RPi or SB Touch.

 

[regeHA]

what voltages and amps options avaliable on this one? specs are not clear to me.

How much is the landing cost with shipping?

I am thinking of getting one to use either with RPi or SB Touch.

Honestly I'm a noob with anything electric. All I know is the Pi needs 5V and 3A.

I just took Rikhav's word and ordered.

Shipping by Registered Mail is $11.50 to India, I did not see any other options.

Same for Singapore too, but also have Singapore EMS that costs $30.

I ordered for Singapore via Registered Mail.

 

[rikhav]

The site says USB is 5 volt 2A and
dc Jack is 9 volt 1a

Just yesterday we powered up a peactree dac and raspberry pi with digi+ card togather from the same power supply

Both ran without any issues

 

[saikatbiswas82]

The site says USB is 5 volt 2A and
dc Jack is 9 volt 1a

Just yesterday we powered up a peactree dac and raspberry pi with digi+ card togather from the same power supply

Both ran without any issues

That's great to know.

 

[srikar2011]

Guys,

I have B&W bookshelves. Planning for a DAC for my media player. Which DAC's are superior? Raspberry Pi with Hifiberry DAC or anyother external DAC's like Arcam DAC. Does any one experimented with both of these.(external DACs n Pi). Also how is the sound quality of Raspberry pi when listening to music.

If you people say pi is good for music, then I will add hifiberry DAC or good card for the PI till I raise funds for extenal DAC. If I feel PI is very good for music, then will drop the idea of adding external DAC to my media player and continue with PI.

Thanks
Srikar

 

[saikatbiswas82]

Guys,

I have B&W bookshelves. Planning for a DAC for my media player. Which DAC's are superior? Raspberry Pi with Hifiberry DAC or anyother external DAC's like Arcam DAC. Does any one experimented with both of these.(external DACs n Pi). Also how is the sound quality of Raspberry pi when listening to music.

If you people say pi is good for music, then I will add hifiberry DAC or good card for the PI till I raise funds for extenal DAC. If I feel PI is very good for music, then will drop the idea of adding external DAC to my media player and continue with PI.

Thanks
Srikar

I see no harm in using RPI & hifiberry dac+ combo. There is another option as well fro RPI dac. It's iqaudio pi-dac+.

A better external dac would be better always. But as you said...start off with dac+ or pi-dac+ and save some money for a better dac in future. IMHO.

I haven't heard any expensive Audiopeople pc setup yet. But pi is better for music than a regular HTPC.

 

[hifiramr]

Raspberry Pi is a gem.Why you spend $3000 for an external dac this is why we make a cleaver idea with raspberry to build a music server to play your favorite tracks via your phone.

The biggest plus point is we can have excellent music server under $200 with USB HDD and good raspberry dac chip no extra cables needed dac will work directly with raspberry so there will not be a signal loss you just need a good os like Volumio and 5v 2A power supply thats it.

Personally I have used many external dac you will not find too much difference in between them I have used even 50k dac and I have sold it after getting a chinese cheap Rs2500 dac with wolfson dac chip that was an excellent product.But Raspberry will be far superior than those.

There is only one think is important that is a pure noiseless power supply thats it