4 ms·

It does sound like you've had slightly-more-than-average bad luck (I had some similar problems occasionally when I had Kodi on an RPi3, but it's been flawless f

by scubbo 5y ago

It does sound like you've had slightly-more-than-average bad luck (I had some similar problems occasionally when I had Kodi on an RPi3, but it's been flawless for a year or so after I upgraded to RPi4), but you're certainly not wrong! One point to consider, though, is that most TVs don't have built-in file managers (or, indeed, NAS-connection capability) - for folks who prefer to watch their media on a big screen, you need some client that can a) connect to your storage location, and b) play it out over HDMI etc. For me, Kodi is the best-functioning of those options. If you're content with watching on a laptop/PC screen (or if your PC has your TV as an AV-out), however, then you're golden and there's nothing that Kodi really does over-and-above to make it worthwhile. EDIT: Ah, I see[1] you do indeed have a PC connected to your TV. In which case - yeah, there's no reason not to do what you're doing! [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29634830 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29634830

lugorrr 5y ago
May i ask what flavour of kodi you're using with your RPi4? OpenELEC, LibreELEC?
- scubbo 5y ago
  LibreELEC, off the top of my head - though (ironically, given the conversation being about the constant need for tinkering and fixing in solutions that should be robust) I'm away from my home right now, and my VPN is down so I can't ssh in to check :P
- l8rlump 5y ago
  I've found OSMC to be great, even on RPi2. I tried LibreELEC recently and couldn't get live TV to work acceptably with a USB TV tuner (glitchy). I ended up somewhat going down a rabbit hole of USB isochronous/asynchronous/buffering settings but just went back to OSMC. You can also use apt to customize OSMC because it's based on Debian[1]. The maintainer, Sam Nazarko seems really helpful too. [1] https://osmc.tv/wiki/general/installing-packages-via-apt/ https://osmc.tv/wiki/general/installing-packages-via-apt/
- jean_valje4n 5y ago
  OSMC latest release works fine for hevc 4k content
- vivab0rg 5y ago
  Not OP, but LibreELEC is pretty much where it's at right now.
- baseballdork 5y ago
  Not the parent, but I've been using the kodi-rpi out of the archlinuxarm repos. https://archlinuxarm.org/packages/armv7h/kodi-rpi https://archlinuxarm.org/packages/armv7h/kodi-rpi
jrm4 5y ago
"Most TV's don't have built-in file managers" Lack of a built in file manager on any device is an excellent indicator of "how bad the manufacturer is trying to reduce your freedom."
- scubbo 5y ago
  True, but irrelevant to the conversation at hand. And also ironic, given that most HNers decry smart TVs and yearn for a return to "just a screen", without apps (including file managers).
  - jrm4 5y ago
    You're missing it entirely. They want "just a screen" precisely so that they can use whatever they want on it, including filemanagers if they wish. Moreover, they correctly understand what the TV industry works so hard to obscure. It's computers all the way down. If you're gonna slap a computer on my screen, then let me use it as a general purpose computer. If, however, you insist on putting a computer on my screen that I hate, then make it easy for me to avoid it. And of course, we know why they don't do this -- the low cost of the TV is subsidized by the data they sell to others gained by spying on you.
    - scubbo 5y ago
      I'm not sure how we're managing to agree so much on overall direction/motivation, while seeming to contradict one another. > They want "just a screen" precisely so that they can use whatever they want on it, including filemanagers if they wish. Yep - and if the screen is "just a screen" (i.e. has no file manager or other media-interfacing functionality on it), there there will need to be some _other_ computer in the stack of "computers all the way down" to provide the media-interface. For me, Kodi does that job perfectly well, but it doesn't work well for everyone. > the low cost of the TV is subsidized by the data they sell to others gained by spying on you. Yes, this is an uncontroversial statement of a distasteful truth.
pjc50 5y ago
Many TVs have DLNA, which you could use to play content off a NAS - if it ever worked properly. It's such an unloved standard.
- salfter 5y ago
  One of mine does, but it only handles MPEG-2 video and AC3 audio...kinda useless when your videos are all H.264 with a variety of audio codecs. Maybe newer TVs (this one's 10 years old) have support for more codecs, but I'm not inclined to replace it when it otherwise continues to work well. I'll just drive it with a Raspberry Pi running Kodi and call it good.
- fgonzag 5y ago
  VLC can be installed on most smart tvs and has excellent DLNA support. I still use plex but have DLNA as a backup when the internet goes out (better local network connectivity)

by scubbo 5y ago

lugorrr 5y ago

May i ask what flavour of kodi you're using with your RPi4? OpenELEC, LibreELEC?

scubbo 5y ago
LibreELEC, off the top of my head - though (ironically, given the conversation being about the constant need for tinkering and fixing in solutions that should be robust) I'm away from my home right now, and my VPN is down so I can't ssh in to check :P
l8rlump 5y ago
I've found OSMC to be great, even on RPi2. I tried LibreELEC recently and couldn't get live TV to work acceptably with a USB TV tuner (glitchy). I ended up somewhat going down a rabbit hole of USB isochronous/asynchronous/buffering settings but just went back to OSMC. You can also use apt to customize OSMC because it's based on Debian[1]. The maintainer, Sam Nazarko seems really helpful too. [1] https://osmc.tv/wiki/general/installing-packages-via-apt/ https://osmc.tv/wiki/general/installing-packages-via-apt/
jean_valje4n 5y ago
OSMC latest release works fine for hevc 4k content
vivab0rg 5y ago
Not OP, but LibreELEC is pretty much where it's at right now.
baseballdork 5y ago
Not the parent, but I've been using the kodi-rpi out of the archlinuxarm repos. https://archlinuxarm.org/packages/armv7h/kodi-rpi https://archlinuxarm.org/packages/armv7h/kodi-rpi

jrm4 5y ago

"Most TV's don't have built-in file managers" Lack of a built in file manager on any device is an excellent indicator of "how bad the manufacturer is trying to reduce your freedom."

scubbo 5y ago
True, but irrelevant to the conversation at hand. And also ironic, given that most HNers decry smart TVs and yearn for a return to "just a screen", without apps (including file managers).
- jrm4 5y ago
  You're missing it entirely. They want "just a screen" precisely so that they can use whatever they want on it, including filemanagers if they wish. Moreover, they correctly understand what the TV industry works so hard to obscure. It's computers all the way down. If you're gonna slap a computer on my screen, then let me use it as a general purpose computer. If, however, you insist on putting a computer on my screen that I hate, then make it easy for me to avoid it. And of course, we know why they don't do this -- the low cost of the TV is subsidized by the data they sell to others gained by spying on you.
  - scubbo 5y ago
    I'm not sure how we're managing to agree so much on overall direction/motivation, while seeming to contradict one another. > They want "just a screen" precisely so that they can use whatever they want on it, including filemanagers if they wish. Yep - and if the screen is "just a screen" (i.e. has no file manager or other media-interfacing functionality on it), there there will need to be some _other_ computer in the stack of "computers all the way down" to provide the media-interface. For me, Kodi does that job perfectly well, but it doesn't work well for everyone. > the low cost of the TV is subsidized by the data they sell to others gained by spying on you. Yes, this is an uncontroversial statement of a distasteful truth.

pjc50 5y ago

Many TVs have DLNA, which you could use to play content off a NAS - if it ever worked properly. It's such an unloved standard.

salfter 5y ago
One of mine does, but it only handles MPEG-2 video and AC3 audio...kinda useless when your videos are all H.264 with a variety of audio codecs. Maybe newer TVs (this one's 10 years old) have support for more codecs, but I'm not inclined to replace it when it otherwise continues to work well. I'll just drive it with a Raspberry Pi running Kodi and call it good.
fgonzag 5y ago
VLC can be installed on most smart tvs and has excellent DLNA support. I still use plex but have DLNA as a backup when the internet goes out (better local network connectivity)