Using Raspberry Pi 3 as IPTV box.

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russell
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Using Raspberry Pi 3 as IPTV box.

Post by russell »

Having become somewhat disillusioned with the performance of a number of Android IPTV boxes I thought I'd have a go at using a Raspberry Pi instead. The latest version has a 1.2 GHz 64 bit quad core processor and a powerful graphics processor. It has built in WIFI, Bluetooth, Ethernet, and USB connectivity and an HDMI output for the TV. All for £35! Just add a power supply and an SD card and you're ready to go.

I installed the latest version of LibreElec, a cut down Linux with Kodi ready installed, and added the Filmon Simple add-on and was able to view dozens of UK channels and control the system from my standard TV remote control (most recent televisions have HDMI-CEC built in to do this, it may need enabling in the settings of your TV).

Next, to allow me to get iPlayer and ITV Player and HD TV streams I added a VPN manager which is much easier than trying to set up a VPN on Android and installed the following add-ons:
BBC iPlayer
ITV
TV Player

All work well with only very occasional buffering.

If anyone is interested in trying it I have made a few notes on setting it up here:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/352 ... Vsetup.doc

Russell
P.S. With it running and displaying an HD stream it is using less than half of its RAM and only 12 % of its processor power so it is well within its capabilities.
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Re: Using Raspberry Pi 3 as IPTV box.

Post by martyn94 »

russell wrote:Having become somewhat disillusioned with the performance of a number of Android IPTV boxes I thought I'd have a go at using a Raspberry Pi instead. The latest version has a 1.2 GHz 64 bit quad core processor and a powerful graphics processor. It has built in WIFI, Bluetooth, Ethernet, and USB connectivity and an HDMI output for the TV. All for £35! Just add a power supply and an SD card and you're ready to go.

I installed the latest version of LibreElec, a cut down Linux with Kodi ready installed, and added the Filmon Simple add-on and was able to view dozens of UK channels and control the system from my standard TV remote control (most recent televisions have HDMI-CEC built in to do this, it may need enabling in the settings of your TV).

Next, to allow me to get iPlayer and ITV Player and HD TV streams I added a VPN manager which is much easier than trying to set up a VPN on Android and installed the following add-ons:
BBC iPlayer
ITV
TV Player

All work well with only very occasional buffering.

If anyone is interested in trying it I have made a few notes on setting it up here:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/352 ... Vsetup.doc

Russell
P.S. With it running and displaying an HD stream it is using less than half of its RAM and only 12 % of its processor power so it is well within its capabilities.
I have wondered on my own behalf, in the past, how much of the satisfaction you achieve comes from the technical wrangling, and how much from what you get at the end. This post seems to me decidedly on one side of the scales. Which is fine by me: I used to be very keen on Meccano. But as advice for l'homme moyen geek (of either sex), I think I'd rather go out and play boules; it's a lovely day for it, and you get much quicker results.
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Post by Leok »

Thanks for posting that Russell.
I am also very interested in the RaspberryPi and Linux solutions.
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Post by russell »

mariad wrote:Which vpn are you using now?
IPVanish

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Post by Santiago »

Thanks for posting this. I'm tempted with a similar project but how much time did you need to set aside for it?
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russell
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Post by russell »

It took me a couple of afternoons, after collecting together the required bits, to arrive at what I considered to be the optimum set-up for our use. That included messing it up and starting again a couple of times. I set up another one for a friend in an hour or so following my own guide.

I have since played around with it a little, setting it up to be able to stream photos, music, and videos direct from my main computer. Not that I really find much use for that!

Russell
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