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Can the Raspberry Pi manage a really good job as a media center/server?

nlcarter

Greetings:

 

Obviously I'm interested in building a media center on a Raspberry Pi.  I've already got a DVR built on a 1B+.  I've seen and read several posts regarding this type of endeavor.  Adafruit even has a kit for doing this, https://www.adafruit.com/product/3114 .

 

However, the specs of the video output, on even the newest Pi 3B+, seem to be wanting when it comes to being able to actually push really good quality video.  1080p30?  The same Broadcom VideoCore IV GPU that appears to have been the same workhorse as on the original Pi?

 

So, has anyone actually built a streaming media center on a Pi that can provide a practical review of it?  Back to my original question: Can the Raspberry Pi manage a really good job as a media center?  Not just, can it run the software.  I'm pretty sure it can do that.  But, can it push excellent quality video to a large screen modern television that will satisfy, through it's built-in HDMI port?

 

I look forward to the many replies!

 

Thanks!

  • 0

    Hi Neil,

     

    This is a very popular use-case for the Pi - possibly hundreds of thousands of Pi's are deployed in this way, so I think it must meet such needs for 1080p.

     

    By the way, the new Pi 3Bplus has an advantage for media server (as opposed to media center) capability. Since it has a better network interface, it should be possible to stream 4k video. So, if the TV supports streaming (google 'DLNA'), then the Pi's HDMI connection isn't even needed, and you could just use the Pi for streaming movies off attached storage, and play them on any TV in the home.

  • 0

    I did it. 

    What I liked was the fact that the server was always up.  It would auto reboot after a power failure.

    However I quickly discovered it was not stable.  Movies would take forever to start streaming and would stop multiple times when watching a movie because it was bufferin.  I had a Raspberry Pi 3 at that time.  Maybe the new Pi 3 B+ would resolve this issue.  Also, multiple Plex clients at the same time was way too much for a Pi server.  I gave up and installed Plex server on a second hand Mac Mini.  It rocks.

     

    If you have other Raspberry Pi projects in mind, purchase the new Pi 3 B+ (Nothing less) and try it.  If you want peace of mind, try something else. 

     

    If you have an old PC or MAC, you can install the Raspberry Pi OS on it and try it:

    https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/stretch-pcs-macs-raspbian-update/

    https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/pixel-pc-mac/

  • 0 in reply to shabaz

    @shabaz:  thanks for the response!  First, I'm wanting to get this somewhat confirmed, not just 'should be possible'.  Second, I'm already running a DLNA server, Serviio, on my Synology NAS, running the video recorded from my DVR through my Blu-Ray player to the television.  I'm looking for something that can handle streaming from internet sources with excellent video performance.  Thanks, again!

  • 0 in reply to vlaine

    @veronique laine:  thanks for the response!  I, too, am hoping the 3B+ will perform better, but again, I'd like to get this somewhat confirmed.  I would only have one client.  Thanks, again!

  • 0

    @Neil and @veronique laine - Can you please help me fix a situation(My apologies, since I am asking some thing unrelated to the current discussion).

     

    Problem Case 1:

     

    I was trying to process the IP CCTV CAM(HIK VISION) video live stream inside R PI 3(Ubuntu Mate 16.04 & OpenCV 2.4) using Ethernet cable, I am able to get the video stream, but its very very slow(at least a five minute lag). Can you please enlighten me to understand the reason?

     

    Problem Case 2:

     

    I was trying to process analog CCTV Camera(HIK VISION) video live stream video live stream inside R PI 3(Ubuntu Mate 16.04 & OpenCV 2.4), but here, since I was told both DVR and R PI needed to be in the same network(Meaning: Similar IP Address), I had connected the DVR feed to wifi modem and I took the output feed from wifi modem to R PI 3, Please correct me, If this approach is wrong, as its very slow but working