Book Image

Raspberry Pi Media Center

By : Sam Nazarko
Book Image

Raspberry Pi Media Center

By: Sam Nazarko

Overview of this book

<p>Low-cost and high-performing, with a massively diverse range of uses and applications, the Raspberry Pi is set to revolutionize the way we think about computing and programming. Using it as a Media Center allows everyone to have a low-cost device that is always on, attached to their TV. <br /><br />Imagine controlling your TV with your smartphone, dynamically streaming content that you have on various devices across your home, as and when you want. Raspberry Pi Media Center will show you how to configure the complete experience using readily available and accessible tools, so that you too will soon be enjoying your media from the comfort of your own sofa. <br /><br />With this practical guide, you’ll discover how you can transform your Raspberry Pi into a powerful media center. Using Raspbmc (based on the XBMC distribution), you'll be shown how you can deploy and configure your own media center, including coverage of all the essentials from controlling your device with a TV remote or smartphone, to the creation and customization of your very own media library (including the conversion of any existing collection). You'll even be able to stream multimedia from your devices or directly from the Internet!</p>
Table of Contents (17 chapters)

Installing add-ons


XBMC supports plugins, which can enhance the media center experience by providing access to additional content as well as skins and new features. For example, the BBC iPlayer plugin allows you to watch on demand BBC content as well as a selection of live BBC channels.

Installing add-ons via XBMC's standard repositories

Some add-ons are available for installation from XBMC itself without any manual downloading. These are considerably easier to install than other add-ons.

The following steps will help you to install an add-on via XBMC:

  1. Go to System | Settings | Add-ons.

  2. Select Get Add-ons.

  3. Pick XBMC.org Add-ons.

  4. There are now many different types of add-ons available for selection. To install one, select the add-on and click on Install as shown in the following screenshot:

  5. The download progress will be shown next to the name of the add-on in the list.

  6. The add-on will now be installed on your system. If it was a video plugin, it should be visible within Videos. Similarly, music plugins...