raspberry pi 2 as media player

[MaSh]

Congratulations on your purchase. Which dac do you have?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Its connected straight to my Marantz receiver via hdmi.

 

[regeHA]

Its connected straight to my Marantz receiver via hdmi.

If your Marantz has Wi-Fi then please install MinimServer and start streaming wirelessly. Its the best IMHO.

While I'm a fan of the Pi and recommend it, not many are fans considering the shared bus for ethernet and USB. That makes it limited even for audio extraction via USB according to some folks. Not according to me since the numbers don't add up.

The only limitation for a Pi is in a NAS setting where the 100 mbps will take a really long time in backup and sync of TBs of data. For movies and music its more than perfect.

However, I'm not a fan of USB... I prefer optical - so either get something like HiFiBerry Digi+ or wireless to AVR/CCA and optical from there.

YouTube is your best place to discover all things Pi. Tons of tutorials on it.

Apart from media server/streamer you can consider a torrentbox, a VPN server, multi room music player, Kodi for both video and TV streaming, local DropBox (https://piratebox.cc/), Pirate Radio (I'm yet to do this), and a ton more.

 

[MaSh]

If your Marantz has Wi-Fi then please install MinimServer and start streaming wirelessly. Its the best IMHO.

While I'm a fan of the Pi and recommend it, not many are fans considering the shared bus for ethernet and USB. That makes it limited even for audio extraction via USB according to some folks. Not according to me since the numbers don't add up.

The only limitation for a Pi is in a NAS setting where the 100 mbps will take a really long time in backup and sync of TBs of data. For movies and music its more than perfect.

However, I'm not a fan of USB... I prefer optical - so either get something like HiFiBerry Digi+ or wireless to AVR/CCA and optical from there.

YouTube is your best place to discover all things Pi. Tons of tutorials on it.

Apart from media server/streamer you can consider a torrentbox, a VPN server, multi room music player, Kodi for both video and TV streaming, local DropBox (https://piratebox.cc/), Pirate Radio (I'm yet to do this), and a ton more.

I managed to install Kodi on it. It used my wifi connected to connect to the internet. As of now, no plans to use it for streaming. I will understand it more by playing Music and Movies via my hard disk connected to it via USB. Pi is connected to Marantz via HDMI.

Did the basic setting up last night. Will go through the tutorials today and move ahead.

EDIT: Marantz does not have Wifi, however, it is connected to the router via ethernet. I use that for Airplay.

MaSh

 

[sam9s]

^^ Was that your intended purpose? I thought I remember you wanted to use it as a music streamer, and not like a video media player .... may be I got confused. Marantz need not to have wifi in order for you to play music from it. As long as its conneted to your LAN (which I believe it is) you can push music wirelessly (I think you are already doing that via Airplay). If your marantz can act as UPnP server (like my x1000 does) then you can use that as well to browse your lib and play music off it ....

And BTW congratts on your purchase .... Enjoy the Pi world ...

 

[mgdelhi]

Pardon my ignorance.

I read from experienced members that optical or coaxial output is better from RPi. So, it is good to use HifiBerry Digi+ and use Digital output to your AVR (in comparison with using HifiBerry DAC+ analog audio output).

It means, we should leave it to AVR/Amp to convert digital output to analog. Now if we just want to send digital audio to AVR/Amp, why should we use HifiBerry Digi+ or other USB -> SPDIF converters (like Musical Fidelity V-Link USB/SPDIF converter)?

Can't we do it with a converter which costs less than Rs.1,000 and locally available.

PCM2704 USB DAC USB TO S Pdif Sound Card Decoder Board 3 5mm Analog Output | eBay

Or there is some difference in digital output quality also?

I know I am missing something but not able to figure out.

PS: I own above PCM2704 converter (for Onkyo AVR) and Hifiberry DAC+ (for an amp without digital input) and placed order for CCA today. I am just experimenting and learning new things with different combinations.

 

[MaSh]

^^ Was that your intended purpose? I thought I remember you wanted to use it as a music streamer, and not like a video media player .... may be I got confused. Marantz need not to have wifi in order for you to play music from it. As long as its conneted to your LAN (which I believe it is) you can push music wirelessly (I think you are already doing that via Airplay). If your marantz can act as UPnP server (like my x1000 does) then you can use that as well to browse your lib and play music off it ....

And BTW congratts on your purchase .... Enjoy the Pi world ...

Hey Hi,

Intended purpose is to just play Music and Movies off my hard disk. No Streaming needed (well not yet!!). Yes Marantz is connected via lan cable and its used for Airplay. I think it can be used like a server, however, I dont intent to use it for anything more than being a receiver and powering the speakers. Hence, was contemplating between a HTPC and a Pi. Have gone in for Pi to taste waters with it.

The Sound Quality is way way better than the Bluray player, playing the same music from the same hard disk. The details and clarity is an eye opener. This is when I am running Kodi as is, no tweaks or anything yet.

Would love to get tips and tricks to improve the sound if possible. Also, would like to know how to increase the buffering. There is slight jitter once in a while, while playing. Also, when something is playing and I am in navigating the settings, the sound is a bit jittery. Did not get time to check for unnecessary services if any. Do let me know which resource hungry services can be disabled to rid jitter. Also, whether Kodi is fine or any other Media Player is better?

MaSh

 

[regeHA]

Hey Hi,

Intended purpose is to just play Music and Movies off my hard disk. No Streaming needed. Yes Marantz is connected via lan cable and its used for Airplay. I think it can be used like that, however, I dont intent to use it for anything more than being a receiver and powering the speakers. Hence, was contemplating between a HTPC and a Pi. Have gone in for Pi to taste waters with it.

The Sound Quality is way way better than playing the same music from the same hard disk via the Bluray player. The details and clarity is an eye opener. This is when I am running Kodi as is, no tweaks or anything yet.

MaSh

Are you using Kodi to play music?

You need to try MinimServer and/or Moode Audio Player. They are truly exceptional for audio. Other than that you can also try a ton of MPD forks, but I found Moode to be the best.

 

[MaSh]

Are you using Kodi to play music?

You need to try MinimServer and/or Moode Audio Player. They are truly exceptional for audio. Other than that you can also try a ton of MPD forks, but I found Moode to be the best.

Yes using this one OSMC .

Thank You. Will try out Moode once back in Bangalore. Does it play Movies too or only Music?

MaSh

 

[sam9s]

Hey Hi,

Intended purpose is to just play Music and Movies off my hard disk. No Streaming needed (well not yet!!). Yes Marantz is connected via lan cable and its used for Airplay. I think it can be used like a server, however, I dont intent to use it for anything more than being a receiver and powering the speakers. Hence, was contemplating between a HTPC and a Pi. Have gone in for Pi to taste waters with it.

The Sound Quality is way way better than the Bluray player, playing the same music from the same hard disk. The details and clarity is an eye opener. This is when I am running Kodi as is, no tweaks or anything yet.

Would love to get tips and tricks to improve the sound if possible. Also, would like to know how to increase the buffering. There is slight jitter once in a while, while playing. Also, when something is playing and I am in navigating the settings, the sound is a bit jittery. Did not get time to check for unnecessary services if any. Do let me know which resource hungry services can be disabled to rid jitter. Also, whether Kodi is fine or any other Media Player is better?

MaSh

First ...

Kodi will play movies flawlessly, however, I did not find kodi good for music at all. Even on my modest stereo setup I was not ok with kodi playing music. On the contrary, when it comes to movies I have not found anything that is better than Kodi. Hence my suggestion, Kodi for movies and MoOde for Music, on 2 separate Rpis or an HTPC for Kodi and Rpi for MoOde.

Second ...

Setting up streaming service is way better than running media directly off Harddrive. Reason ease of use, being able to play any song from any connected device. Better media management, etc etc .... .For this all you need is MoOde running connected to your receiver, a UPnP server like MinimServer, running on Rpi. I believe MoOde also acts as a UPnP server called MoOde DLNA. OR your Marantz can also act as the same. So you have UPnP to browse your music and a Player MoOde to play the music, which also acts as renderer so any music on the network can be pushed to MoOde for you to enjoy.

 

[MaSh]

First ...

Kodi will play movies flawlessly, however, I did not find kodi good for music at all. Even on my modest stereo setup I was not ok with kodi playing music. On the contrary, when it comes to movies I have not found anything that is better than Kodi. Hence my suggestion, Kodi for movies and MoOde for Music, on 2 separate Rpis or an HTPC for Kodi and Rpi for MoOde.

Great. This clears up a lot of things. I am already seeing an improvement in music via Kodi.

So unless I am more fluent with this new toy, I guess I will continue with Kodi as it can play both Movies and Music. As I get a better hang of it, will add another Pi. An HTPC just for Kodi for movies is a good idea, but then wouldn't a decently built HTPC play music too? Wouldn't it make the Pi redundant?

MaSh

 

[rikhav]

Great. This clears up a lot of things. I am already seeing an improvement in music via Kodi.

So unless I am more fluent with this new toy, I guess I will continue with Kodi as it can play both Movies and Music. As I get a better hang of it, will add another Pi. An HTPC just for Kodi for movies is a good idea, but then wouldn't a decently built HTPC play music too? Wouldn't it make the Pi redundant?

MaSh

Try moode audio once for pure audio and that will make you listen music only via moode audio
If not 2 RPI's maybe you can use to micro SD cards if access to RPI is not a big issue

 

[MaSh]

Try moode audio once for pure audio and that will make you listen music only via moode audio
If not 2 RPI's maybe you can use to micro SD cards if access to RPI is not a big issue

Its that good is it? You guys have tempted me enough to try it. And yes, 2 SD Cards is certainly doable. Thanks for that tip.

MaSh

 

[sam9s]

Great. This clears up a lot of things. I am already seeing an improvement in music via Kodi.

So unless I am more fluent with this new toy, I guess I will continue with Kodi as it can play both Movies and Music. As I get a better hang of it, will add another Pi. An HTPC just for Kodi for movies is a good idea, but then wouldn't a decently built HTPC play music too? Wouldn't it make the Pi redundant?

MaSh

Define "decent" ..... For good audio quality, both hardware and software should work together in tandem. I would not recommend kodi as a decent grade software for music playback..... but that's IMHO ...so if you are comfortable with how it sounds ..well..... by all means continue with it ..

 

[MaSh]

Define "decent" ..... For good audio quality, both hardware and software should work together in tandem. I would not recommend kodi as a decent grade software for music playback..... but that's IMHO ...so if you are comfortable with how it sounds ..well..... by all means continue with it ..

Hmm Yeh I understand what you are saying and totally agree. My requirement is Movies and Music. Kodi at the moment seems to be the only the one that can do both, without me adding anything else to the chain. Only music will not cut it for me.

I did download Moode today after coming back to Bangalore. I see there is an IMG file in the zip. Do I just put it on the SD card or is there any other way to do it? OSMC was an executable that did everything.

MaSh

 

[sam9s]

YOu need to write the image file on the SD card with something like win32diskimager (Google) and then just insert the SD card in the Rpi, connect the LAN, display if you want to see the boot process, else not needed .... and power ... let it boot, then from a computer that is connected to the same lan as Rpi, go to browser and type .. http://moode/ and this shall bring you the moode interface ... set it up accordingly from settings (top right corner) and enjoy.....detail instructions below ...

http://moodeaudio.org/docs/readme.txt

 

[MaSh]

YOu need to write the image file on the SD card with something like win32diskimager (Google) and then just insert the SD card in the Rpi, connect the LAN, display if you want to see the boot process, else not needed .... and power ... let it boot, then from a computer that is connected to the same lan as Rpi, go to browser and type .. http://moode/ and this shall bring you the moode interface ... set it up accordingly from settings (top right corner) and enjoy.....detail instructions below ...

http://moodeaudio.org/docs/readme.txt

Brilliant. Thank You so much. Have made a node of this.

BTW, after spending few more hours with it, it was not the Pi being jittery, it was the bad quality HDMI cable that came bundled with it. Changing the cable has got it sprinting.

MaSh

 

[saikatbiswas82]

Brilliant. Thank You so much. Have made a node of this.

BTW, after spending few more hours with it, it was not the Pi being jittery, it was the bad quality HDMI cable that came bundled with it. Changing the cable has got it sprinting.

MaSh

For Audio applications, you might find USB or s/pdif to be superior to HDMI. Again this statement is subjective. The improvement might depend on the USB or the s/pdif devices itself.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[rdevakumar]

I have tried couple of images with my Pi2 (Raspian, Ubutu Mate, Openelec) and finally settled with Openelec. My requirements are playing video, audio files from USB and YouTube. However, none of the above are satisfying all the above. I am not sure if any OS can support YouTube smoothly for HD videos (Raspian browser is able to play YouTube videos, but it is not smooth). Is there any OS image which is having a good option for YouTube?

One small issues I am facing with the Openelec /Kodi is that, I am getting small hissing noise in the speakers. I am connecting the speakers (AudoEngine A5) with the 3.5 mm jack.

 

[saikatbiswas82]

I have tried couple of images with my Pi2 (Raspian, Ubutu Mate, Openelec) and finally settled with Openelec. My requirements are playing video, audio files from USB and YouTube. However, none of the above are satisfying all the above. I am not sure if any OS can support YouTube smoothly for HD videos (Raspian browser is able to play YouTube videos, but it is not smooth). Is there any OS image which is having a good option for YouTube?

One small issues I am facing with the Openelec /Kodi is that, I am getting small hissing noise in the speakers. I am connecting the speakers (AudoEngine A5) with the 3.5 mm jack.

Rpi's inbuilt dac (read 3.5mm Jack) is not good at all. If you can, buying a hat board like hifiberry dac+/iqaudio pi-dac+ or a dedicated dac will improve performance IMHO. Btw, are you using a charger more than 2amp rating?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[regeHA]

@rdevakumar - Asking one device to do everything is too much... and that's even for AVRs costing 1000s of dollars. Even a computer that does everything does not do everything the best or even good enough.

The Pi has h/w capabilities that are way too on the low end to be a multi-tasking machine.

However, the good news is there are tons of cheap devices that put together cost very less and will still achieve everything more than a single device can.

On the lower side.
1. Raspberry Pi.
2. Chromecast Video.
3. Chromecast Audio.
4. Roku Streaming Stick.
5. Amazon Fire TV Stick.

Every single one of them is cheap.

On the higher side (not by much) you can consider.
1. Roku 4.
2. Amazon Fire TV.
3. NVIDIA Shield.
4. Apple TV.
5. Blu-ray players.
6. Playstation.
7. Xbox.

Probably not what you are looking for... but most of us are using Pi not because its cheap, but because it beats out even PCs that cost over 40-50K in terms of sound quality. Its hands down the best source/transport for audio especially at its budget. For the rest like Kodi and video its not the powerhouse and will bog down once you start adding plugins and addons and want HD audio and video. The Pi is really not meant for that. Get a Roku or a build a PC with Kodi for video streaming.

Want even cheaper then a ton of Android streaming sticks on the likes of Ali Express.