Media Box to play files on tv from external hd

mcw92

Hi,
Im looking for a set up, where I can connect an external HD to a media box, and connect to my TV.
I was looking at an old WD TV, but it seems like very old tech for a 30-40 price.

Can I do this on a Raspberry Pi?
I'll be playing MP4, AVI and MKV video files, usually 720p, some 1080p.

Would Rasplex be the best setup here?
I would like to power up the Raspberry Pi, with the External HD connected, and see all the thumbnails and etc. of all the movies/tv shows on the External HD.


I want to spend as little as possible really.
Im not really interested in watching the video anywhere but on the one device atm, so no need for a nas or anything tbh.

Johnboy1951

Yes the R-Pi will do it ...... Openelec would be my OS of choice as it is built especially to run XBMC and has no problem with 1080 res video.

mcw92

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Yes the R-Pi will do it ...... Openelec would be my OS of choice as it is built especially to run XBMC and has no problem with 1080 res video.

But would it be fine to play it directly from the usb rather than stream it from the network yes?

Johnboy1951

mcw92 wrote: »

But would it be fine to play it directly from the usb rather than stream it from the network yes?

Yes you can attach a powered HDD to the USB port.

mcw92

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Yes you can attach a powered HDD to the USB port.

The HD I have is powered via the USB. Will that work OK?
So it will be powering from the pi.

dellWlan

Temporarily out of stock at the minute but certainly cheaper than a raspberry pi although a lot more basic and does what it says on the tin. 1080p and no issues with any files I've thrown at it.

An email might find out when/if they'll get it back.

http://www.7dayshop.com/headphones-audio-visual/media-streaming-devices/7dayshop-nano-hd-tv-digital-mini-media-player-full-1080p-for-movies-and-more

Johnboy1951

mcw92 wrote: »

The HD I have is powered via the USB. Will that work OK?
So it will be powering from the pi.

I think it might not be reliable.

I would not recommend it.

mcw92

dellWlan wrote: »

Temporarily out of stock at the minute but certainly cheaper than a raspberry pi although a lot more basic and does what it says on the tin. 1080p and no issues with any files I've thrown at it.

An email might find out when/if they'll get it back.

http://www.7dayshop.com/headphones-audio-visual/media-streaming-devices/7dayshop-nano-hd-tv-digital-mini-media-player-full-1080p-for-movies-and-more

Would it work with an USB powered External HD?

dellWlan

mcw92 wrote: »

Would it work with an USB powered External HD?

I have a WD My Passport drive in it at the moment no problems at all.

bmwguy

WDTV will play all file types and it is brilliant. Also has Netflix, youtube etc. I presume they are cheap now, plus it updates firmware all the time to keep up to date. Class little box I love mine

mcw92

dellWlan wrote: »

I have a WD My Passport drive in it at the moment no problems at all.

Might get one so, I see there are very similar ones on Amazon too.

bmwguy wrote: »

WDTV will play all file types and it is brilliant. Also has Netflix, youtube etc. I presume they are cheap now, plus it updates firmware all the time to keep up to date. Class little box I love mine

Still around 70£ for the latest one, too expensive for what i want it for. Have no need for the network features.

Skatedude

my wdtv has never let me down, plays everything including netflix etc simpler then setting up a raspberry pi configuration.

mcw92

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Yes the R-Pi will do it ...... Openelec would be my OS of choice as it is built especially to run XBMC and has no problem with 1080 res video.

Oks so im thinking of getting one of the new Raspberry Pi B+ models.
So i need the Raspberry Pi itself, 8GB+ microSD card, power lead.
Already have a HDMI.

As for the keyboard, I have no Keyboard atm,but can I use my phone to control it with the app?
Also do i need a usb keyboard to actually set up the raspberry pi?
Or would something like this work?

Thanks

degsie

Openelec on rpi supports cec so if your TV supports cec you can use your TV remote to set it up.

Johnboy1951

mcw92 wrote: »

Oks so im thinking of getting one of the new Raspberry Pi B+ models.
So i need the Raspberry Pi itself, 8GB+ microSD card, power lead.
Already have a HDMI.

As for the keyboard, I have no Keyboard atm,but can I use my phone to control it with the app?
Also do i need a usb keyboard to actually set up the raspberry pi?
Or would something like this work?

Thanks

I would expect that to work 'out of box' ..... but of course cannot be sure as I do not have one.

Speaking of one ..... there seemed to be three different devices on that page?

BTW, have you seen the mains socket fronts for double sockets? Two switched sockets as normal ....... but two USB sockets between them ..... ideal for a R-Pi and no special PSU needed.

massy086

I have a raspberry PI model b going cheap fully Set up and memory card class 10 so very fast