Turning a Tv to a Smart TV ! Buy a raspberry pi ?

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RakaKaKaka

RakaKaKaka

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I have a sony Full hD tv. problem is it plays only 1-2 outdated video formats and i cant be converting every movie etc. that i have. I want the cheapest solution to allow me to plug a pendrive/card to some device that can play it and send signal through HDMI to the TV. I heard the raspberry pi can do same with some customization etc. , not sure though. I only need to play 1080p movies which are like 6-10gb, nothing more. Whats the most VFM way?
 
I am using RPi3 with my TV and I have to tell you, it's much better than buying a smart TV or Chromecast (and the likes).
I have installed the Raspbian OS and SSH server is enabled. In addition below are the apps that I use to control the Pi from my phone:
1. JuiceSSH (for command line needs)
2. Universal Remote (as keyboard/mouse replacement)
3. OMX remote (to control omx player)
4. RaspiCast (to stream youtube videos, as well as videos, music, and pictures from my phone)

In addition, I can download stuff without switching on the TV directly on the Pi.

Oh, and for best results, use a router with USB port where you can connect an external HDD and mount it on the Pi on startup. This way, you can watch your downloaded stuff on your mobile, tablet, etc. even when your Pi/TV is off.
 
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vyral_143 said:
Rpi 2, Android Stick/Boxes are good solutions.
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RPI 3 is for 3500 approx with all cables and all. pi2 is for 200-300 only lesser. How about google chromecast ? Its there for 2200 on ebay. That would also work right ? does it need a special router to stream as i have a standard airtel wifi modem.
 
sharad said:
I am using RPi3 with my TV and I have to tell you, it's much better than buying a smart TV or Chromecast (and the likes).
I have installed the Raspbian OS and SSH server is enabled. In addition below are the apps that I use to control the Pi from my phone:
1. JuiceSSH (for command line needs)
2. Universal Remote (as keyboard/mouse replacement)
3. OMX remote (to control omx player)
4. RaspiCast (to stream youtube videos, as well as videos, music, and pictures from my phone)

In addition, I can download stuff without switching on the TV directly on the Pi.

Oh, and for best results, use a router with USB port where you can connect an external HDD and mount it on the Pi on startup. This way, you can watch your downloaded stuff on your mobile, tablet, etc. even when your Pi/TV is off.
Click to expand...
Whats the advantage of a Pi3 over chromecast. Pi3 costs nearly double ? i dont need to download stuff using it
 
I think it's better to get Android stick/Android tv box, most of tv channels have their apps for android get them on android stick and you will not need DTH connection. I own rpi2 but for watching hindi tv channel there are not much good channels on kodi
 
RakaKaKaka said:
Whats the advantage of a Pi3 over chromecast. Pi3 costs nearly double ? i dont need to download stuff using it
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Double of what? AFAIK Chromecast new model retails for Rs. 3399, whereas the Pi costs Rs. 3000. You can buy a mem card for approx. 400, so it costs the same. I use my mobile charger for power, and made a box out of old mouse box.
Of course, setup is a little difficult but its completely satisfying.

As for advantages, I have already mentioned them in my post. Simplest difference is that Pi is a PC, and applications are limited by your imagination+ability to Google. Chromecast is a platform and you are limited to whatever comes in the package. :)

YMMV
 
I am using Remix Mini with my Videocon FHD TV. earlier was using Asus O!Play HD. remix is much better than OPlay, I feel..
 
suds said:
I think it's better to get Android stick/Android tv box, most of tv channels have their apps for android get them on android stick and you will not need DTH connection. I own rpi2 but for watching hindi tv channel there are not much good channels on kodi
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i have sony , colors , star and zee and forgot what all ,...what else do you need on kodi
 
sharad said:
Double of what? AFAIK Chromecast new model retails for Rs. 3399, whereas the Pi costs Rs. 3000. You can buy a mem card for approx. 400, so it costs the same. I use my mobile charger for power, and made a box out of old mouse box.
Of course, setup is a little difficult but its completely satisfying.

As for advantages, I have already mentioned them in my post. Simplest difference is that Pi is a PC, and applications are limited by your imagination+ability to Google. Chromecast is a platform and you are limited to whatever comes in the package. :)

YMMV
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getting a chromecast 1 for 2200. Not much feature change in chrome 2. Pi just the board costs 2900 + power adaptor + case + memorycard +heatsinks as pi3 can get hot. All it makes it cost 4500 around.

I just want zero lag while playing those fullhd hq movies.
 
If you are going to play properly encoded stuff, get a Chromecast. If you are going to just torrent stuff from the internet and play, without knowing the codecs and likes, just get a H265 box - @avi and @Party Monger can suggest good ones. This will be future proof as well.

As for me, since my maximum usage is with Plex and Youtube, I am fine with the Chromecast 1.
 
@^ what is a properly encoded stuff ? i have a few hd movies over 8GB. I guess they are good quality X264 ones only. i have shortlisted the Beelink media box at 3k total as it can play 265 also. Any better option AVI , PARTYMONGER ???
 
I got a Tronsmart Vega S95 - META from AliExpress last month.... plays everything beautifully I though at it. I have attached a 1TB external 2.5" hard drive formatted in NTFS -- works great. bought it for $80.
 
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Wintel w8 pro is good. Plenty of reviews online. Has its faults too. It has windows so can be used for more than just media. Trust me, these android boxes get old very very quick.

My primary usage is small size x265 rips. They do well on this. Even the bigger size ones will. I think other than 10bit files, all others will do well. Also has windows. If the wifi is bad, a 250 rs dongle should do the trick. But then it also has LAN. :D
 
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RakaKaKaka said:
@^ what is a properly encoded stuff ? i have a few hd movies over 8GB. I guess they are good quality X264 ones only. i have shortlisted the Beelink media box at 3k total as it can play 265 also. Any better option AVI , PARTYMONGER ???
Click to expand...

properly encoded means that you have encoded/know the codecs and profiles so that the device(s) can natively play it (aka hardware decoding) without need to use CPU decoding.
 
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