[SOLVED] Living room pc, what am I needing?

mindwave65

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Feb 25, 2019
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Ok I have tried raspi4 and rockpi x and just not getting what I thought.
For some reason I can't get the raspi4 loaded with libreelec to output to my tv. So I tried a small lcd and got no sound. Worse when I tried to view videos the quality was horrible. Stutter, smear, out of sync, you name it. So I was told it wasn't strong enough to decipher .mkv files. Even low Rez wasn't cutting it.
So I tried the rock pix thinking the x86 version would do what I needed, no go.
I have an old nuc, that so far with win10 and VLC seems to handle anything bi throw at it. But that seems like acwsste.
If you have ideas, suggestions you name, I'll listen. I have not tried my other low end x86 board, the name escapes me, but my atomic pi smoked, wrong pay.......
 
Solution
I personally find a NUC to be a tremendous way to stream and multitask to a TV. Easy to hide out of the way as well. If you already have it on hand, and it's working it's certainly not a waste.
I use a PC on my main (smart) TV. Mostly it's because we can't seem to sit down and just watch a program through without some interruption. It's far easier to pause/minimize and do something else while I wait than it is to stare at a pause screen that will time out, go to a different smart app and then have to FF through, etc to get back where you were. It's also super handy for looking things up on the fly and such, although my guess would be you young folks with good eyesight and a smart phone do that differently nowadays....(lol)

There is a...

punkncat

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I personally find a NUC to be a tremendous way to stream and multitask to a TV. Easy to hide out of the way as well. If you already have it on hand, and it's working it's certainly not a waste.
I use a PC on my main (smart) TV. Mostly it's because we can't seem to sit down and just watch a program through without some interruption. It's far easier to pause/minimize and do something else while I wait than it is to stare at a pause screen that will time out, go to a different smart app and then have to FF through, etc to get back where you were. It's also super handy for looking things up on the fly and such, although my guess would be you young folks with good eyesight and a smart phone do that differently nowadays....(lol)

There is a channel called Explaining Computers that has good reviews of a lot of the SBC segment and while reviewing always does video playback tests. If you are set on something like a Pi, it would be a good place to start reviewing. ETA Prime is another to check.
 
Solution

Wolfshadw

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Have to agree. If it's working as is, then keep with it.

I've also used a PC for my home theater experience. It was installed with a Ceton InfiniTV 4 card for cable television viewing/recording and a Blu-Ray drive for movies (from Netflix). I used an NMediaPC case so it looked like just another component and hooked it up to my surround sound system. Worked like a charm for years!

-Wolf sends
 
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Wolfshadw

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IIRC didn't the RIAA kill the usability of devices like that for the 'average' user due to piracy?

Not that I'm aware of. I didn't have any issues recording anything I wanted, but there were a number of items that could not be transferred to any other device. SIliconDust had been working on a new unit as late as last year, but since the FCC said that cable companies no longer needed to support Cablecoards, that (and cord cutting) pretty much killed the industry.

-Wolf sends
 
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mindwave65

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Feb 25, 2019
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See for YEARS I had a full tower pc w/ lots of HD and a capture card plugged into my cable box for a dvr, than i started copying my DVDs when my DVD Jukebox got out of sync. But for the last 5 + years everyone is raving about Libreelec, and the like running off of Raspberry Pi's etc.

Now I have videos in just about every format known, which is part of the issue, .mkv. mp4, mp1 mog avi mov you name it I have it, probably about 15TB worth
"Hi my names Mindwave and Im a data Junkie"

and everytime I think I have a solution PART of it isnt right.

When I went from a RSPI 3 to 4 I was SURE my issues would be resolved

THEN I couldnt get anything to display on my TV when running libreelec (not even the desktop)

So I tried the Rock Pi-x which is an x86 clone - that one would require me to convert 2 of my external HDs and thats not worth it.

Even with the drive it would read, it wasnt great perfoemnece

I Hoped the Atomic Pi would do it, but used the wrong psu and that went up in smoke :(

I have a Latte Panda here somewhere, but Im afraid of the same issue as the NUC

I REALLY want a central video APP, if I run VLC I can choose files etc. but everyone else in the house complains its too complicated......
 

punkncat

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If your system is powerful enough PLEX is a pretty good way to go. You direct it to your repository and check a couple of boxes and it's up. Many smart TV and Android devices can utilize apps for access. In my own experience with that I would not use anything weaker than R3/i3 for that setup, on the system where the repository lies.
 

mindwave65

Commendable
Feb 25, 2019
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Just an update. All the myriad of YouTubers and diy folks building media PCs from their sbc all seem to forget to use one vital word.

Consistency

See if all your videos are Avi or MP4 (1 or thenother not a mix) and you have them all loaded on one drive connected to the device or gathered in a NAS your golden.

But try and use a rpi4 on libreelec or almost anything else to access 20 TB OF movies and tv shows, to that are a mix of Avi MP4, mkv, h254, .Dsf (whatever that is) spread across several different drives in different formats, partitions, sys files. And hour asking for blood shooting from your eyes, the headache is so far.

Amazingly a $50 nuc booting libreelec off a USB key works amazingly well.......

I have more SBC's than anyone but Upton should have, and I s! Learning things.

First lesson, don't try to cross the Atlantic in a kayak.

It CAN be done.

I just don't have that much spare time in my life.......thanks for all your suggestions
 
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