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Kodibuntu System requirements
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02-05-2015 1:58pm#1
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Thanks for your reply
I'm looking to use it for the TV tuners,streaming and p2p streams
The only system that I've tried using is xbmc and that was on my laptop but if openelec would be better in happy to give it a go! What would the advantage be?
Thanks again
Openelec is built with one function in mind ..... running Kodi and Kodi plugins.
It is dedicated to the task.
It is lightweight.
It is in constant development.
Do a bit of googling to see what others say
There might be tuner driver limitations for some hardware ... hence the warning about carefully choosing the tuner cards.
There is another alternative if your situation warrants it ...... you could divide the functions between two devices ....
1. A backend PC with HDD and tuner cards to handle all the data storage, tuning, recording etc
2. A small quiet client device at the TV to do the display and connected to the backend.
Both devices in that set up can be low-end hardware .... for instance I have an old P4 box as the backend with tuners and HDD, and a R-Pi 2 as the client device. A Celeron NUC would also do as client device at the TV.
That set up does depend on your physical environment ... but thought I should mention it.0 -
Johnboy1951 wrote: »Openelec is built with one function in mind ..... running Kodi and Kodi plugins.
It is dedicated to the task.
It is lightweight.
It is in constant development.
Do a bit of googling to see what others say
There might be tuner driver limitations for some hardware ... hence the warning about carefully choosing the tuner cards.
There is another alternative if your situation warrants it ...... you could divide the functions between two devices ....
1. A backend PC with HDD and tuner cards to handle all the data storage, tuning, recording etc
2. A small quiet client device at the TV to do the display and connected to the backend.
Both devices in that set up can be low-end hardware .... for instance I have an old P4 box as the backend with tuners and HDD, and a R-Pi 2 as the client device. A Celeron NUC would also do as client device at the TV.
That set up does depend on your physical environment ... but thought I should mention it.
That sounds like a good set up and i already have a raspberry pi 2 and my aunt has an old tower computer that might work
But how would the raspberry pi access the tuners?
Also would I be able to get 5.1 surround sound out of a raspberry pi?
Thanks again0 -
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im sorry for all the questions but i have 2 last ones!
Would you be able to run 2 pis off one computer for the tuners?
No problem, I have had 5 device running using the one back end PC.
I think that is what you mean.
Be aware that you will be limited by the number of tuners you have.
The better tuner cards will make available all the channels on a Mux or Transponder.
If you have one tuner then you can only see the channels on that mux/Tx ..... but as many devices as you would wish can watch them.Is there anything that you can use to integrate p2p streams with the tuner channels in a single epg?
I haven't come across it specifically .... although I seem to recall they were all in the one listing at one time but I did not like it.
In truth I don't use streaming much, and I find it rather disorganised and I couldn't be bothered
I watch TV more for a distraction than out of any great interest.
I have enough in LiveTV plus the likes of Genesis, FTV etc etc.
You have not said ...... what was your budget coming into this?0 -
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My budget is undecided yet im waiting to start this project till after my leaving cert this year and so it depends on how much money i have at that time but i would like to reuse as much stuff as i can but i dont mind paying more for something if it means itll work better but if i have to buy a new computer to do it i will im considering reusing all of the parts i have except for the tuners im thinking at the moment that i will buy two tuners one satellite and one terrestrial so i can get english and irish channels though freesat and saorview and integrate them into one epg and then if i can im going to integrate some p2p streams into it and stitch a guide for each channel to each stream so itll recreate the channel surfing idea
I would advise getting a couple of tuner cards that will serve you well in the long term. They will not be cheap.
There is a Blackgold product which has dual tuners for both Sat and DTT on the one card.
Alternatively you might look at
TBS6982 Dual Sat card
TBS6281 Dual DTT card
They come with remote control.
Then you would need a backend PC ..... dual core P4 or better ... with a couple of PCI-e slots. PCI-e 1 or greater is sufficient.
If you start there, you can install Openelec on the PC (1GB RAM should be plenty) and even use an old HDD for test purposes.
In fact Openelec can run quite well from Flash stick but that would limit storage.
Set up the back end with tvheadend .... give yourself plenty time to play with this as it has a fairly steep learning curve.
You can connect to the back end using any PC and make use of it while testing and setting up.
You can use the existing Pi-2 with Openelec also to drive a 1920x1080 TV.
If in the end you decide that a split system is not for you, you have lost nothing.
You can build your own HTPC box for under TV use, use the same tuner cards on a new motherboard, and will have benefitted from your time getting to know tvheadend or other backend system.
If the split system does what you want you will have the cheapest set up you could hope for ..... only having to pay for the tuner cards.
Where to keep the backend PC is often a problem, as being a PC it will likely be a bit noisier than a custom built HTPC so should not be under the TV, but somewhere it does not interfer with viewing.
You might want something better than the Pi-2 for better response or such (I find it adequate) and if so something like a Celeron NUC would do fine. The NUC has a built in IR receiver.
For the Pi-2 you would need something like a FLIRC which is programmable to use whatever remote you chose to use.
So, IMO, it can be done relatively cheaply if you have access to an old PC with PCI-e slots ..... or you could go the whole hog and spend about €600 to €700 on a dedicated special HTPC box as a piece of furniture under the TV.
By now you know which I advise in the first instance
Good luck with whatever you decide.
At least you can experiment without too much cost to try to find what suits best.
An aside: A cheap USB dongle can be used too ... for Saorview for instance .... and that would allow you to get used to tvheadend or other backend software. I got one a few years ago which I intermittently use, for about €20 delivered.
The cheap dongles like that will NOT expose the complete mux and will only make one TV or radio channel available from the device.
Have fun!
Tuner cards:
http://www.tbsdtv.com/
Operating system info:
http://openelec.tv/
Operating system Downloads:
http://openelec.tv/get-openelec
EDIT:
I did not make it clear, but the backend PC does not need a decent graphics card as the only time it gets used is in initially setting things up. (Mine has an 8MB on board 'card' ) After that administration of Tvheadend can be done through a browser on your laptop or PC. 0 -
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Johnboy1951 wrote: »I would advise getting a couple of tuner cards that will serve you well in the long term. They will not be cheap.
There is a Blackgold product which has dual tuners for both Sat and DTT on the one card.
Alternatively you might look at
TBS6982 Dual Sat card
TBS6281 Dual DTT card
They come with remote control.
Then you would need a backend PC ..... dual core P4 or better ... with a couple of PCI-e slots. PCI-e 1 or greater is sufficient.
If you start there, you can install Openelec on the PC (1GB RAM should be plenty) and even use an old HDD for test purposes.
In fact Openelec can run quite well from Flash stick but that would limit storage.
Set up the back end with tvheadend .... give yourself plenty time to play with this as it has a fairly steep learning curve.
You can connect to the back end using any PC and make use of it while testing and setting up.
You can use the existing Pi-2 with Openelec also to drive a 1920x1080 TV.
If in the end you decide that a split system is not for you, you have lost nothing.
You can build your own HTPC box for under TV use, use the same tuner cards on a new motherboard, and will have benefitted from your time getting to know tvheadend or other backend system.
If the split system does what you want you will have the cheapest set up you could hope for ..... only having to pay for the tuner cards.
Where to keep the backend PC is often a problem, as being a PC it will likely be a bit noisier than a custom built HTPC so should not be under the TV, but somewhere it does not interfer with viewing.
You might want something better than the Pi-2 for better response or such (I find it adequate) and if so something like a Celeron NUC would do fine. The NUC has a built in IR receiver.
For the Pi-2 you would need something like a FLIRC which is programmable to use whatever remote you chose to use.
So, IMO, it can be done relatively cheaply if you have access to an old PC with PCI-e slots ..... or you could go the whole hog and spend about €600 to €700 on a dedicated special HTPC box as a piece of furniture under the TV.
By now you know which I advise in the first instance
Good luck with whatever you decide.
At least you can experiment without too much cost to try to find what suits best.
An aside: A cheap USB dongle can be used too ... for Saorview for instance .... and that would allow you to get used to tvheadend or other backend software. I got one a few years ago which I intermittently use, for about €20 delivered.
The cheap dongles like that will NOT expose the complete mux and will only make one TV or radio channel available from the device.
Have fun!
Tuner cards:
http://www.tbsdtv.com/
Operating system info:
http://openelec.tv/
Operating system Downloads:
http://openelec.tv/get-openelec
EDIT:
I did not make it clear, but the backend PC does not need a decent graphics card as the only time it gets used is in initially setting things up. (Mine has an 8MB on board 'card' ) After that administration of Tvheadend can be done through a browser on your laptop or PC.
Hi I'm just wondering my idea is to bring upc analogue SOARVIEW and freesat and combine them all together in one list so what type of tuner would I need? How many satellite connections and SOARVIEW connections and analogue connections? And would I be able to watch tv on two different pis without limits on what I could watch?
Cheers0 -
I refer to my statement above ......The cheap dongles like that will NOT expose the complete mux and will only make one TV or radio channel available from the device.
This is incorrect.
Using tvheadend as the backend I can launch multiple instances of VLC and view all TV channels on the mux it is tuned to.
Apologies for the mis-information.
*********spudato7 wrote:Hi I'm just wondering my idea is to bring upc analogue SOARVIEW and freesat and combine them all together in one list so what type of tuner would I need? How many satellite connections and SOARVIEW connections and analogue connections? And would I be able to watch tv on two different pis without limits on what I could watch?
Cheers
For each PC, to have unlimited viewing, you need a tuner for each type of service you wish to view.
That allows all of them to be in use at the same time.
In the case of Saorview broadcasts received by aerial, you presently only need two tuners to cover ALL devices, because there are only two muxes in operation.
When/if a third mux is launched then a third tuner will be required.
Satellite is similar, except for scale.
There are hundreds of muxes, so it is not practical to have a tuner for each, and is more practical to have a tuner per device.
Of course if you have four tuners and four devices using different muxes, all your tuners are allocated.
You then have no spare tuner to use to record a channel on a fifth mux.
If you are scaling up much further than that, there are alternative set ups which would be more appropriate. They are not usual in a home setting.
I know nothing about UPC's service or what would be required to even receive it
If it is analog I expect the digital Saorview broadcast would be superior, with two channels currently in HD.
I expect any old analog tuner would do, but I really have no idea.
Maybe someone who has done this could comment.
If you intend to use Openelec on the backend then there would probably be some information about analog tuners which work well on their forum.
.0 -
Johnboy1951 wrote: »I refer to my statement above ......
This is incorrect.
Using tvheadend as the backend I can launch multiple instances of VLC and view all TV channels on the mux it is tuned to.
Apologies for the mis-information.
*********
For each PC, to have unlimited viewing, you need a tuner for each type of service you wish to view.
That allows all of them to be in use at the same time.
In the case of Saorview broadcasts received by aerial, you presently only need two tuners to cover ALL devices, because there are only two muxes in operation.
When/if a third mux is launched then a third tuner will be required.
Satellite is similar, except for scale.
There are hundreds of muxes, so it is not practical to have a tuner for each, and is more practical to have a tuner per device.
Of course if you have four tuners and four devices using different muxes, all your tuners are allocated.
You then have no spare tuner to use to record a channel on a fifth mux.
If you are scaling up much further than that, there are alternative set ups which would be more appropriate. They are not usual in a home setting.
I know nothing about UPC's service or what would be required to even receive it
If it is analog I expect the digital Saorview broadcast would be superior, with two channels currently in HD.
I expect any old analog tuner would do, but I really have no idea.
Maybe someone who has done this could comment.
If you intend to use Openelec on the backend then there would probably be some information about analog tuners which work well on their forum.
.
Thank you so much again my project would be awful without you I'll keep you up to date if I get it working but with that information I plan to get 3 cheap Ian dongles for SOARVIEW and upc (upc has sky 1 and a few other paid channels) and then I will buy a tuner card with 4 satellite connections which should do fine but I have still to get my aunts old computer and I have found out that a raspberry pi supports cec hdmi so I can use the TVs remote control to control it which is another problem crossed off my list thanks again0 -
Have a look at this USB tuner, it might be of interest
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mini-USB-DVB-T-RTL-SDR-Realtek-RTL2832U-R820T-Tuner-Receiver-Dongle-MCX-Input-/201349905111?
I have not used it yet (personally) but have read goor reports about it.
It should do the Saorview digital broadcasts if not the UPC stuff.
Seems it also has FM and DAB tuning capability.
One thing to note .... when using the Pi you need to purchase a licence to decode some of the video formats ... think it is MPEG4.
Only costs a few quid so nothing to worry about, but needed for Saorview. UK transmissions are in MPEG2 format I believe.
Have fun! 0 -
Johnboy1951 wrote: »Openelec is built with one function in mind ..... running Kodi and Kodi plugins.
It is dedicated to the task.
It is lightweight.
It is in constant development.
Do a bit of googling to see what others say
There might be tuner driver limitations for some hardware ... hence the warning about carefully choosing the tuner cards.
There is another alternative if your situation warrants it ...... you could divide the functions between two devices ....
1. A backend PC with HDD and tuner cards to handle all the data storage, tuning, recording etc
2. A small quiet client device at the TV to do the display and connected to the backend.
Both devices in that set up can be low-end hardware .... for instance I have an old P4 box as the backend with tuners and HDD, and a R-Pi 2 as the client device. A Celeron NUC would also do as client device at the TV.
That set up does depend on your physical environment ... but thought I should mention it.
Hi,
I don't suppose you could go through your setup or point me in the direction of guides to setting up something similar. Been interested in doing something similar for a while.
Cheers0 -
Hi,
I don't suppose you could go through your setup or point me in the direction of guides to setting up something similar. Been interested in doing something similar for a while.
Cheers
What information do you need?
Just ask
At present I have an old Dell machine I got free around Xmas as the back end.
It had two PCI-e slots for the tuner cards, and a 'server-type' on board graphics (max 8MBs ram for graphics).
It runs Openelec with the Ljalves open source tuner drivers ... check this link for non-official Openelec releases with tuner drivers
ftp://night.nerdcamp.net/openelec/stable/
There are other resources also if required.
I use TBS tuners hence my preference for the above.
I have no need for transcoding any files .... the live TV streams are TS from TVheadend (but it does have some setting, which I have never used, to transcode to .mkv).
The devices that feed from the backend are all capable of displaying .ts streams (including a real cheapie tablet) .... I try to run Openelec on all of them (not the tablet ).
It makes maintenance much simpler.
All devices can play files from and record to the shared drives on the backend.
It really is a simple set up ..... one storage, share, tuner backend box doing all the work except for display end.
Small silent/near silent devices at the TVs ... all set up to use similar remotes so they are swappable if needed.
Again, reduces maintenance.
The client devices themselves run Openelec/Kodi and have whatever plugins their use requires.
If one d/loads a file it can be saved to the backend for others to view - or not.
Dunno what else I can tell you ..... I am not into a lot of things others are. I basically use it to record and distribute files and Live TV streams.
I did set up IPTV once but dropped it .... it had nothing I wanted that was reliable and HD.0 -
Johnboy1951 wrote: »What information do you need?
Just ask
Thanks for the reply.
Is this the only tv system in your home? What do you use to control the RPi's? Does your family find it user friendly? I am planning to migrate my wife off sky by Christmas. The reason she wants to keep it is the ease of use and her recording of soaps.
I have the ivue iptv tv guide setup to even look like sky but I am the only one who uses it. Been running xbmc for years and have the machines lying around to do something nice but I want low maintence, ease of use.
running kodi on a couple of nuc's I got cheap in media room and around house.0 -
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Thanks for the reply.
Is this the only tv system in your home? What do you use to control the RPi's? Does your family find it user friendly? I am planning to migrate my wife off sky by Christmas. The reason she wants to keep it is the ease of use and her recording of soaps.
I have the ivue iptv tv guide setup to even look like sky but I am the only one who uses it. Been running xbmc for years and have the machines lying around to do something nice but I want low maintence, ease of use.
running kodi on a couple of nuc's I got cheap in media room and around house.
By implication you will not be using the Satellite dish for TV reception? ..... only IPTV?
I would imagine you will have some resistance in that case.
The other item that comes to mind is that if there are particular programmes on Sky that are only available on Sky then that too could cause problems.
None of the above of course are technical ..... just personal preferences for those using it.
***
Yes it is the only TV system in the house, currently serving three TVs. (and various PCs, tablets etc)
On the R-Pis I have a FLIRC receiver and use the same remotes for everything ... including NUC.
It took a little effort for my wife to get used to it ..... that was partly my fault as I did not set up the channels in the sequence she was used to. I set them up logically and she eventually got used to it
I would advise doing a few tests prior to switch off of Sky .... get proper feedback about what is not 'liked' about the new set up ..... very difficult to do in my experience, so give yourself time.0 -
Johnboy1951 wrote: »By implication you will not be using the Satellite dish for TV reception? ..... only IPTV?
I would imagine you will have some resistance in that case.
The other item that comes to mind is that if there are particular programmes on Sky that are only available on Sky then that too could cause problems.
None of the above of course are technical ..... just personal preferences for those using it.
***
Yes it is the only TV system in the house, currently serving three TVs. (and various PCs, tablets etc)
On the R-Pis I have a FLIRC receiver and use the same remotes for everything ... including NUC.
It took a little effort for my wife to get used to it ..... that was partly my fault as I did not set up the channels in the sequence she was used to. I set them up logically and she eventually got used to it
I would advise doing a few tests prior to switch off of Sky .... get proper feedback about what is not 'liked' about the new set up ..... very difficult to do in my experience, so give yourself time.
The iVue iptv was a cheap alternative to show what can be done before I sink money into the cards. IPTV is ok for live viewing but it is of course dependent on the net.
The only stuff recorded on the skybox is soaps from irish channels, we are tied into a contract for the next 6 months, when its up I'm getting rid due to the fact we don't watch any channels not freely available.
I guess my plan is to buy 2 good cards (I'm guessing a pcie16 and pcie1 isnt an issue?) and throw them in a machine and set it up. I'll also pickup some flirc adapters. do button presses on the remote sometimes get recognised by the tv? or do you use a universal remote and switch between tv/nuc/kodi?0 -
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