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Use your Raspberry Pi as an awesome media portal for listening to music, watching videos, and viewing pictures.
As an old-school XBOX modder, the first thing I wanted to do with my PI was turn it into a media portal. XBMC (Xbox Media Center) is an open source front end for Linux that used to only be available for the Xbox. These days, it is now available for PCs, Linux Distros, Boxee boxes, and most importantly Raspberry Pi.
I used a special Linux distribution built for the Raspberry Pi to build a media center, Raspmc (http://www.raspbmc.com/).
OpenElec is another option (http://wiki.openelec.tv/index.php?title=Building_and_Installing_OpenELEC_for_Raspberry_Pi) .
Setup: Flash Raspmc or OpenElec to an SD Card
Follow instructions on the respective sites to flash a version of XBMC to an SD card. I didn’t have any problems. However, I’d recommended checking searching through forums if anything comes up. If you are having a problem, it’s possible that someone else has had the same one. Once you’ve flashed XBMC to your SD card, plug it in to the PI and power it up. You now have a Raspberry Pi Media Center.
Notes:
Make sure you have a wired internet connection for the first boot. Raspmc will need it to complete the installation and download updates.
There are some great Android and iPhone apps that you can use to control Raspmc. I use the official XBMC remote App on my iPhone. I also have a retired Droid that I use as a remote also.
There are add-ons for YouTube and other video/music sources. Play around with the options to find the video add-ons you want.
Recommended components:
SD card (4GB or larger)
Micro-usb power supply
Wireless keyword with touchpad
WiFi dongle
USB card adapter
Raspberry Pi enclosure
Powered USB hub
HDMI cable
Additional storage for media (USB flash drive, external hard drive, etc…)
Ethernet cable
| Product Name* | Description | Supplier | ||
| Raspberry Pi Model BRaspberry Pi Model B | Raspberry Pi model B | Raspberry Pi |
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| Raspberry Pi Power SupplyRaspberry Pi Power Supply | 120-240v to 5V power supply with micro USB connector | Raspberry Pi |
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| Enclosure for Raspberry PiEnclosure for Raspberry Pi | Clear Plastic enclosure for Raspberry Pi | Multicomp |
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| 8GB PNY Class 10 SDHC Card | 8GB Class 10 high performance SD memory card | PNY |
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| USB 2.0 External Hard Drive | USB 2.0 self-powered external hard drive | |||
| Ethernet CableEthernet Cable | 9.8 ft (3m) category 5e patch cable | Pro Signal |
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| HDMI CableHDMI Cable | 6.5 ft (2m) male to male standard HDMI cable | Molex |
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| Wi-PiWi-Pi | 802.11 b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi module for Raspberry Pi | Element 14 |
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| Mini Wireless USB Keyboard and TrackpadMini Wireless USB Keyboard and Trackpad | Wireless Mini Keyboard with Trackpad and USB Reciever | Adafruit |
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| USB 2.0 HubUSB 2.0 Hub | 7 port self powered USB 2.0 hub | Adafruit |
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| USB Memory Card Reader | 56-in-1 USB 2.0 memory card reader / writer | IOGear |
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*Products and resources listed are listed to help members build their own Pi Projects. They are suggestions and listed for educational purposes. For substitutions of any parts, please post a question asking the original author.
