Most of recent TV sets are already packed with bunch of hi-tech stuff that change the way we perceive watching TV. In the past we were bound to a range of channels, even though having satelite at home gave us quite a wide rande of it - counted in hundreds. The Internet added completely new possibilities. Almost every TV available today has internet connectivity. We do not any longer have to stick to what is beeing broadcasted but we choose ourselves what to watch and when.
What if you have an old TV without RJ45 socket or WiFi? Do you have to buy special subscription or decoders to access a large entertainment centers?
No, you can have it all for free with Raspberry Pi.
All you need to do is download Raspbmc Linux image and put it on SD card, which you then insert to Raspberry Pi.
Then you plug Raspberry Pi to internet - Raspbmc has DHCP configured by default so it will boot and start setup automatically after you tun it on.
Then you also plug it to TV with HDMI cable and watch things happen.
Now..hm... I don't have a keyboard, how to steer my new media centre?
XBMC offers a few possibilities of remote control.
I found Yatse on my Andorid smart phone the easiest way.
You can then add audio and video plugins that allow you to watch or listen to various media channels, search through Youtube or Vimeo and many, many others...
Still don't forget you have a small computer on board so you can do other stuff with it, program, setup webserver, etc. If you'd like to connect to it even for such a prosaic thing as uploading some files, you can access it through SSH.
Here's a good tutorial how to do it.
E.g. to upload file to /tmp folder on Pi:
The default pi password is raspberry
If you want you can configure WiFi on Raspbmc like this.
You can also play with XBMC and try extending it with new features. Have a look at development tutorials here.
If you'd like to have access to media channels in your local language, like me in Polish, you'd probably find some plugins for your language in the web. I found some for mine.
Have fun !
What if you have an old TV without RJ45 socket or WiFi? Do you have to buy special subscription or decoders to access a large entertainment centers?
No, you can have it all for free with Raspberry Pi.
All you need to do is download Raspbmc Linux image and put it on SD card, which you then insert to Raspberry Pi.
Then you plug Raspberry Pi to internet - Raspbmc has DHCP configured by default so it will boot and start setup automatically after you tun it on.
Then you also plug it to TV with HDMI cable and watch things happen.
Now..hm... I don't have a keyboard, how to steer my new media centre?
XBMC offers a few possibilities of remote control.
I found Yatse on my Andorid smart phone the easiest way.
You can then add audio and video plugins that allow you to watch or listen to various media channels, search through Youtube or Vimeo and many, many others...
Still don't forget you have a small computer on board so you can do other stuff with it, program, setup webserver, etc. If you'd like to connect to it even for such a prosaic thing as uploading some files, you can access it through SSH.
Here's a good tutorial how to do it.
E.g. to upload file to /tmp folder on Pi:
scp file.mp4 pi@192.168.1.105:/tmp
The default pi password is raspberry
If you want you can configure WiFi on Raspbmc like this.
You can also play with XBMC and try extending it with new features. Have a look at development tutorials here.
If you'd like to have access to media channels in your local language, like me in Polish, you'd probably find some plugins for your language in the web. I found some for mine.
Have fun !
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