Raspberry Pi
The Software
Next step is installing a software to the SD card I purchased so that the Raspi can actually boot. I decided to go with Raspbmc since it seems to be the most fully functional XBMC solution for the Raspberry Pi. Raspbmc does not have a stable release yet, so there are still only release candidates which get updated quite often. The most current is RC5 which is what I installed. The process is to flash your SD card, insert it to your Raspi and power on. The rest of the process is automated, it downloads the necessary files, then installs and reboots into XBMC. My first time around was unsuccessful, possibly due to the fact I was plugged in with a composite cable instead of HDMI. RC5 seems to have an issue with composite cable and no image is shown. So I reformatted the SD card, plugged the pi in with HDMI instead and let the the files download and install and it worked! The Raspberry Pi booted into XBMC and my LG remote worked without any further tinkering! At this point the pi is basically very much useable, so after installing the 1channel.ch add-on I took a break and watched an episode of Scrubs.
I have found a bug however! With certain LG remotes there is no “back” button. Just my luck! So this makes the pi a little less useable at this point as I had to plug in a keyboard to be able to back out to the main menu again. Some research shows there is a way to map a new button to act as the back button. Requires I SSH into the pi and edit a file called remote.xml. Now I run into a problem with SSH! For some reason I am not able to gain access to the pi from another computer.
Another problem for another day! Happy to see the Raspberry Pi up and running regardless of my remote issues.
Raspberry Pi
The Essential Accessories
So a Raspberry Pi is cheap yes, but still it isn’t a buy and turn on product. The Raspi still needs at minimum a power supply and an SD card of at least 2GB. And then you still need a screen and cable to the screen. I already have an LCD TV (LG) and an HDMI cable (yes the Raspi has HDMI out and is capable of 1080p!) and I managed to dig up an old blackberry charger that is listed as compatible with the Raspi. I didn’t have an SD card available however so I had to go out and buy this Sandisk Ultra 4GB SDHC for 10.29$ tax in.
The Raspberry Pi also comes “naked” all components exposed and for every day use can be fragile. I have seen some people open up their TV’s to install the Raspi, I’ve seen mounts to attach them to the rear of a TV and various enclosures. You can basically make your own case out of anything, including lego and cigarette boxes. I chose to buy a clear acrylic case to show off the awesomeness of the Raspi while still protecting it. Coming from the UK though so delivery delay of 5-7 days according to Royal Mails website. This came to 9.47$ after shipping and exchange rates.
Cost so far: 69.76$
Raspberry Pi
Raspberry Pi
The board
Today I picked up a Raspberry Pi Model B. They sell for 35$ plus taxes, shipping, customs and exchange rates and most people say they paid around 47$ when it was all set and done. Current wait times are about 4 weeks before they can be shipped out due to high demand and low(ish) production. I found a seller on Kijiji for 50$ and available for pick-up immediately. I didn’t mind to pay the 3$ extra. I plan on turning the Raspi into my main media centre PC, to replace my Macbook (which is replacing my ~5 year old windows desktop that likes to blue screen whenever it pleases). I have my Macbook running XBMC and it works perfectly, but I feel bad having it run such a mundane task when it is capable of so much more. So if this project completes as expected my Macbook can replace my desktop as my main machine and leave the Raspi permanently hooked up to the living room TV with its sole purpose being to stream content from various sources and controllable from the sofa with XBMC.
Cost to date: 50$