Jams4znik03
Active Member
Can you share more details on how you set it up or knowhow for doing it.. any leads will be useful to cut down "reinventing he wheel". Also, do you use a DAC..? What is your experience ?
What media player to go for ?
- Thread starter Jams4znik03
- Start date
Can you share more details on how you set it up or knowhow for doing it.. any leads will be useful to cut down "reinventing he wheel". Also, do you use a DAC..? What is your experience ?
dheerajjotwani
Active Member
Well its straight forward. Head over to the xbian.org and download the image. Extract and burn it on a sd card using utilities like usb image tool. Pop the card into rpi and fire it up. You have xbmc running.
By default the sound and video output is hdmi. And almost any usb ir receiver works for remote control.
from my cdma s3...
By default the sound and video output is hdmi. And almost any usb ir receiver works for remote control.
from my cdma s3...
Jams4znik03
Active Member
I have an all analog amp (PM6004) and it can take stereo RCA.. Does the Pi have an anlog output.. else I will need to get a USB DAC..?
dheerajjotwani
Active Member
Yup it has analogue audio as well as video out too
from my cdma s3...
from my cdma s3...
Ok my pi arrived tuesday but finally had enough time in the weekend to tinker with it and try different distros...and yes the all important task of getting an usb dac to work with it...
1st...this is not suitable for a music focussed hub at least through xbmc...i tried everything...including installing pulseaudio, while the dac gets recognized...sound output is very very low, after countless hours of tinkering to get the sound our through the dac...so anyone looking to use it as a all in one solution for videos and music can forget it...also with pulse audio the system became very unstable..hanging as soon as I tried to play any lossless file..
As far as video playback was concerned...i finally settled on raspbmc after trying xbian..where on both separate occasions I was getting stuttering playback for some reason...
Playback quality was decent..it was close to any cheap realtek based media player...sound output through hdmi was decent and clear when I output it to the tv...
As far as general menu navigation is concerned it was hit and go at times, slowing down or hanging...despite employing raspbmc profile based overclocking..it the fast preset it overclocks the cpu to 840 and the gpu to around 300 (forgot the exact number)...one thing that may have caused this was the choice of my sd card...i had a class 4 card lying around and used it...whereas raspbmc recommends class 10...i may try it if I keep the pi
Now the most important thing...the importance of a decent power supply...it is the single most important thing if you want to own this..and you absolutely need a powered usb hub...the existing ports will not be suitable for more than one device...when I tried the usb dac for the first time, my wireless keyboard started malfunctioning...i did some research on the web and it seems the official chargers from apple or samsung will be most suitable, while the pi did function with the 700mah samsung charger, it performed better with my ipad charger which was 2amp...my red gear 3rd party ipad charger was also decent..
so to conclude...yes it is the cheapest way to get xbmc on to the tv to watch movies and tv shows...but a strict no go for music...i will decide in a day or two whether i will keep this or not...as i want a both video+audio solution for ease operation for my wife...so may go for a barebone cheap HTPC instead...found some good choices in newegg...and these will attract zero duty for importing...at least thats what borderlinx shows..so watch the for sale section... a brand new RPi with a clear case may come up at an yummy price soon from me...
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2
1st...this is not suitable for a music focussed hub at least through xbmc...i tried everything...including installing pulseaudio, while the dac gets recognized...sound output is very very low, after countless hours of tinkering to get the sound our through the dac...so anyone looking to use it as a all in one solution for videos and music can forget it...also with pulse audio the system became very unstable..hanging as soon as I tried to play any lossless file..
As far as video playback was concerned...i finally settled on raspbmc after trying xbian..where on both separate occasions I was getting stuttering playback for some reason...
Playback quality was decent..it was close to any cheap realtek based media player...sound output through hdmi was decent and clear when I output it to the tv...
As far as general menu navigation is concerned it was hit and go at times, slowing down or hanging...despite employing raspbmc profile based overclocking..it the fast preset it overclocks the cpu to 840 and the gpu to around 300 (forgot the exact number)...one thing that may have caused this was the choice of my sd card...i had a class 4 card lying around and used it...whereas raspbmc recommends class 10...i may try it if I keep the pi
Now the most important thing...the importance of a decent power supply...it is the single most important thing if you want to own this..and you absolutely need a powered usb hub...the existing ports will not be suitable for more than one device...when I tried the usb dac for the first time, my wireless keyboard started malfunctioning...i did some research on the web and it seems the official chargers from apple or samsung will be most suitable, while the pi did function with the 700mah samsung charger, it performed better with my ipad charger which was 2amp...my red gear 3rd party ipad charger was also decent..
so to conclude...yes it is the cheapest way to get xbmc on to the tv to watch movies and tv shows...but a strict no go for music...i will decide in a day or two whether i will keep this or not...as i want a both video+audio solution for ease operation for my wife...so may go for a barebone cheap HTPC instead...found some good choices in newegg...and these will attract zero duty for importing...at least thats what borderlinx shows..so watch the for sale section... a brand new RPi with a clear case may come up at an yummy price soon from me...
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2
Last edited:
Jams4znik03
Active Member
hmm.. Looks like the Pi can be best used as a gift to kids for quenching their curiositiy as a DIY kit.. Any ideas on its other applicaitons ?
dheerajjotwani
Active Member
Well i can assure zero stuttering with wired pi while streaming hi-res content off a wired nas. I have been using xbian.
from my cdma s3...
from my cdma s3...
Which power supply and sd card are you using?
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2
dheerajjotwani
Active Member
SanDisk 8gb class 10 sd card and a palm 5v 1a usb charger with cable. Skin i use is quartz and i believe the performance can further improve if i shift to nfs over smb
from my cdma s3...
from my cdma s3...
dheerajjotwani
Active Member
#koushikp
if its playback of flac/audio your desire then my suggestion would be to ditch xbmc and setup mpd (music player daemon) on rpi. its a peach of an application with endless end user control options be it from android or browser or applications in windows or linux.
further you could output audio through usb to a dac of your choice for a sound experience of your liking. hdmi/analog may not emit desirable or exciting SQ.
if its playback of flac/audio your desire then my suggestion would be to ditch xbmc and setup mpd (music player daemon) on rpi. its a peach of an application with endless end user control options be it from android or browser or applications in windows or linux.
further you could output audio through usb to a dac of your choice for a sound experience of your liking. hdmi/analog may not emit desirable or exciting SQ.
dheerajjotwani
Active Member
Yup nfs over smb on xbian improves load times... confirmed
from my cdma s3...
from my cdma s3...
Jams4znik03
Active Member
So after all this, I see the following options for setup of an all media player setup with "good" audiophille grade sound :
1. A Sub 10-12K media player (Hi Media, WD, xtreamer,etc). + DAC (make still in question) + sub 10K BD player.
Pros - Navigaiton, all formats compatibility if the right player is chosen, flexibility of use
Easy to add multiple digital sources though the DAC
Cons -
Finding a good DAC at a 5-10 K still seems tough. I have not yet been able to zero on to one..
2. A highend BD+N/w player with great DAC conversion viz. OPO, UDP Marantz (??), Dune HD,
Pros - excellent video and good sound quality sound, integrated setup and easy to setup, No separate DAC needed.
This though can be expensive esp if one were to opt for OPO BDPs or even Dune
cons : playing all audio all format incl FLAC will need to be validated before the kill, Navigation
Connecting another digital sources will need a separate DAC..
3. OR finally Go the HTPC route + Low range BDP and a USB or external DAC.
1. A Sub 10-12K media player (Hi Media, WD, xtreamer,etc). + DAC (make still in question) + sub 10K BD player.
Pros - Navigaiton, all formats compatibility if the right player is chosen, flexibility of use
Easy to add multiple digital sources though the DAC
Cons -
Finding a good DAC at a 5-10 K still seems tough. I have not yet been able to zero on to one..
2. A highend BD+N/w player with great DAC conversion viz. OPO, UDP Marantz (??), Dune HD,
Pros - excellent video and good sound quality sound, integrated setup and easy to setup, No separate DAC needed.
This though can be expensive esp if one were to opt for OPO BDPs or even Dune
cons : playing all audio all format incl FLAC will need to be validated before the kill, Navigation
Connecting another digital sources will need a separate DAC..
3. OR finally Go the HTPC route + Low range BDP and a USB or external DAC.
Jams4znik03
Active Member
Its been quite a while since then. I have upgraded my setup with a great DAC - Tubemagic D2 with tube upgrade. I am now not tool particular with BD player /disc capability. I am looking for a media player with very good navigation /search esp for music with all mulitple video and sound formats. Also would want it have operability to read filesystems - NTFS, FAT, XFAT,etc locally or on network. A bay for HDD would be neat too with esata, USB3.0, etc So in short the latest and advance player would fit the bill.. Guys - so please pool in your wisdom in this sphere to help me in deciding the "bestest" player ..and one which is future proof too
Jams4znik03
Active Member
waiting..eagerly
prosenjit
New Member
did u drop the plan for the htpc route.
it would be much powerful and versatile at lower price
it would be much powerful and versatile at lower price
Jams4znik03
Active Member
I got the R pie.. installed and tried out for a while.. its good but with plenty of clutter all around. see my earlier post on this.. noticed a few performance issues too on streaming videos..too
hence gifted it to my kid. henc now looking for cleaner setup..
hence gifted it to my kid. henc now looking for cleaner setup..
cellar_door
New Member
I will just piggyback on this thread if its alright. I am looking for a media player. Preferably Android (mostly cause I want youtube on it). Subtitle support is a must. NTFS support for USB drive. And thats about it.
Was looking at Limebox on Ebay which seems to fit. Any ideas?
Price, Sub 10k. Sub 7k preferable.
Was looking at Limebox on Ebay which seems to fit. Any ideas?
Price, Sub 10k. Sub 7k preferable.
Jams4znik03
Active Member
Its fine Cellar.. So far have not heard the multimedia gurus come on line here..
I think navigation features are a big plus in any music player.. and one should should have the mix and match which is anyways available on a HTPC or a laptop.. HTPCs are good.. not a doubt.. the issue is in sittiing on a sofa and steering out at a screen 15+ feet away with a huge keyboard like device. I think we should have something more handy..a remote qwerty keypad combi.. like the boxee. unfortunately the boxee does not have a hdd bay and its again welcome to the clutter. I would prefer something more compact and neat with all the features one would look in mm device - navigation, mutiformat play, HD upscaling, future proof-upgrade for compatibility with new formats, flac play, usb 3.0, + 2 , Mutiple filesystem operability, speed (a good processing) with no lag, etc.etc
Jams4znik03
Active Member
Its fine Cellar.. So far have not heard the multimedia gurus come on line here..
I think navigation features are a big plus in any music player.. and one should should have the mix and match which is anyways available on a HTPC or a laptop.. HTPCs are good.. not a doubt.. the issue is in sittiing on a sofa and steering out at a screen 15+ feet away with a huge keyboard like device. I think we should have something more handy..a remote qwerty keypad combi.. like the boxee. unfortunately the boxee does not have a hdd bay and its again welcome to the clutter. I would prefer something more compact and neat with all the features one would look in mm device - navigation, mutiformat play, HD upscaling, future proof-upgrade for compatibility with new formats, flac play, usb 3.0, + 2 , Mutiple filesystem operability, speed (a good processing) with no lag, etc.etc
Posting after a very long time indeed.. I have now listenign my 6 month setup of Marantz-6604-DAC-Tubmagic-2-->Paradigm Mon7(v6)--> Smart LEDTV. I can say I am reasonably satisified with it. It still leaves the void for interface and good interoperatbility across varied and new Video and audio formats to work seamless with the tubemagic DAC and the TV. So once again the crave for a media player crops up.. Need some advise here based on experiences.. Budget not a constraint.. as long as it good VFM and future proof to an extent..hence once again the beckon to the media player gurus..
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