At Lifehacker we're big fans of the XBMC video player and home entertainment hub. Combine the awesomeness of XBMC with a Raspberry Pi, the $35 low-power computer board with a built-in SD card reader, USB ports, ethernet port, and HDMI output and we have the makings of a powerful-but-cheap home media solution.
Credit goes to The How-To Geek for putting it all together. Older PCs are typically used for XBMC rigs but they often come with a lot of fan noise. Another popular option is to purchase an Apple TV, jailbreak it, and install XBMC but in that case you still need to purchase a $99 Apple TV.
Combined with the Raspbmc media center distribution for XBMC on the Raspberry Pi you likely have most of, if not all the items you need to use with a $35 Raspberry Pi board to make a service home media center:
- HDMI cable
- SD card
- Micro-USB charger
- USB keyboard or media center remote
- Raspberry Pi board case (purchased or DIY)
- Raspbmc Installer
The only downside is that due to licensing restrictions you can't play MPEG-2 videos on a Raspberry Pi, so if most of your video library is in that format this setup probably won't work for you.
For full details on how to setup your Raspberry Pi-based XMBC media system check out the source link at The How-To Geek below.
Build a $35 Media Center with Raspbmc and Raspberry Pi | The How-To Geek
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