Free media centers: the first step to a smart home

You can try it too. But read this first.

Someone as set-top box chose Apple TV. Someone saved and bought a Xiaomi TV Box. I settled on my own version - “Malinka” with an additional audio module.

Why did I buy it? Raspberry Pi? The answer is simple - you had to buy a media console, but Pi 3 already existed. Most of the time I stood idle.

As a result, an additional audio module and screen were purchased for it. And it turned out to be a cool network audio video player with support Hi-Res sound. Here's how to do it again.

System composition

To build the multimedia required:

– Raspberry Pi;
– X400 audio interface;
– 3.7-inch screen (analogous to the original one from ADAfruit);
– Wi-Fi dongle (not needed for RaPi 3);
– universal remote control Remote control/mouse;
- power unit.

It was not possible to connect the screen and the HDMI output at the same time, so the first one can be crossed out.

General characteristics

Specifications will depend on the selected Raspberry Pi model. If you are not familiar, the characteristics are for 2, for 3.


The characteristics of the audio path are much more interesting. At the heart of the X400 is a cool DAC TI PCM5122 Burr-Brown with full hardware support for 32-bit/384 kHz audio stream.


The board is active, it contains two amplifiers at once - for RCA class D TI TPA3118D2 and for headphone output TI TPA6133A. Power provided 20 W for each of 2 channels with resistance 4 Ohm.

The final parameters are very good:
– signal-to-noise ratio 112db SNR;
– distortion level 0.0019% (THD);
– output power 2 × 20 W at 4 ohms

X400 provides high-quality stabilized power to the system - something that RaPi itself does not have. The power supply is connected to the expansion card, and from there it powers the microcomputer. So you can forget about interference.


In addition, there is its own volume control knob - another chance of no interference, this time due to software errors.


Control via remote control is also provided. remote control thanks to a soldered IR receiver at 38 kHz.

Harvester at work

Assembly is no problem. Raspberry Pi modules are assembled like Lego - they are inserted one into the other. Then additional interfaces and control devices are connected, a memory card with the recorded system is inserted, power is connected... And the magic begins.

Initially, the device lived autonomously, and instead of a TV, a screen was used, located directly on the board. IN in this case better use finished image systems with video output to the screen.


When connecting to a regular TV or monitor via HDMI or analog output, it is better to immediately use a flash drive with Openelec or a similar multimedia system.

Then you need to connect and set up the Internet - either wired or wireless. It's Linux - no problem! Then, according to the manufacturer's instructions, we route the sound through the X400.

Feasibility of acquisition

The improvised player can play any audio/video format. There are few restrictions: RaPi cannot decode 4K. Everything else depends on the set of installed codecs.

It is logical to use Kodi and an external drive, for example HDD via USB port. Although a 64 GB flash drive is enough, 4K is still not supported.

The remote control will have to be configured, although this is not difficult. You can limit yourself to a Bluetooth keyboard with a touchpad.


The functionality is at the level of Chinese boxes for 30 bucks. Nothing supernatural. Except for the very high quality audio output. But when using a Raspberry Pi (already $40), it's more of a necessity.

The fact is that the developers messed up somewhere in the audio wiring on the microPC. Via HDMI there is nothing good about it, and through the analog output the sound is downright bad.


Otherwise, everything is very cool. Almost like an audiophile system. In the near future I plan to replace the X400 (purchased for $22) with X600 with optical output, and organize dual video output.

However, thanks to Kodi (formerly XBMC), there is a free alternative for it that will make playback problems a thing of the past. To prepare collections of music and video, the program receives additional information from the Internet: for example, for music - album cover and description, for video - posters and a summary. Thanks to this, you can bring order to your media collection, and, for example, select films only from a certain director or genre. Kodi "lives" in an active community (kodi.tv), which develops free add-ons for a media center: for example, for online services such as YouTube, customizing the user interface or for accessing cloud storage.

Absolutely free

Kodi is worth trying out without delay. After installing it on your home PC, you can add your videos to the Kodi media center by going to the “Video” menu and selecting “Files.” First change the language from English to Russian in the “System | Settings | Appearance | International | Language". Now click on “Add Video...” and then on “Browse”. Here you can choose the location where all your movies are stored. This can be either a folder on the computer or on the server, or shared folder on your home network. Once you have specified the name of the media source, categorize the content that is in that folder. In our case, select “Movies”. Once you click OK, Kodi will automatically download the movie's cover, description, director, genre, and rating information from the Internet.

Do the same with the music and photos you want to access. To expand functionality, click on "Add-ons" under the lines "Video", "Photos" and "Music". Next, go to the list of installed services. In the "Video" menu you can, for example, find online video libraries of TV channels, numerous video portals such as YouTube, or streaming services. Audio extras are also available in the form of Internet radio stations and streaming music services.

To play your Kodi Home Library on your smartphone, tablet, TV, or network audio device, you must enable the UPnP server. To do this, in the “System” menu, go to “Settings” and click on “Services”. Now in the “UPnP/DLNA” section you can activate the “Enable access to media library” item and enjoy viewing photos, movies, and listening to music on your mobile device.

Playing content on your home network

While most network-capable TVs and audio devices come out of the box capable of streaming media via DLNA, smartphones and tablets often require additional applications. On devices under iOS control For this you can use, for example, VLC and mconnect players for mobile devices, and on Android gadgets - BubbleUPnP. Thus, Kodi home use provides exceptional services. And for gaining access to the media library while traveling, there are other, more suitable programs.

The idea of ​​making a home multimedia system has been around for quite some time. The prerequisite for the creation was getting rid of a large system unit and installation on workplaces laptop with a connected monitor. The first implementation option that did not start was a media server from an unused Android smartphone. This idea ran into hardware limitations (weak Wi-Fi module, small amount of built-in memory, slow reading/writing files via OTG) and software (lack of stable “server” software for Android system). Afterwards, the workplace was reorganized and there was nowhere to put the monitor. Then we could have stopped, disposed of it, taken the monitor to the dacha, connected the TV hanging above the computer to VGA port, and move the window with the movie running on the computer for everyone to see, but a 20", 16:9 format monitor, with a resolution of 1600x900, is preferable to a 15", 4:3 format TV, with a resolution of 1024x768. Having replaced the TV with a monitor, one could have stopped, but the TV was controlled by a remote control and was used by household members who, with a computer, were like, “Oh, what is this?”

If you are interested in the idea, welcome to cat.

Note:

Initially, the project involved using an old netbook from which the display could be removed. Fortunately, it turned out to have insufficient memory for a multimedia device, only 160 GB, and the laptop has hard drive for 500 GB. It could have been changed hard drives in places, but it didn't seem like the best idea.

When finishing the hardware, you can add a cool USB hub, because the laptop has only 3 USB ports, one of which is USB 3.0, used to connect flash drives, and you need to connect a printer, scanner, IR receiver and mouse.

Full list of hardware used:

• Laptop ASUS K46CM;
• Monitor ASUS VE208N;
• IR receiver Lenovo eHome OVU430006/01;
• Lenovo MCE Remote RC1974511/00;
• USB hub CBR CH 165 ;
• Logitech M185 mouse;
• Router D-Link DIR-615.

Software implementation

We install XBMC. After installation, the remote control is immediately supported, but the launch is performed on the main screen of the laptop. The standard interface language is English. We do the initial setup.

To change the language go to:

System > Appearance > International > Language

System > System > Video Output > Display Mode > select Full screen #2

1. If the XBMC window is not in focus, then XBMC cannot be controlled;
2. If the XBMC window is not in focus, control is transferred to Windows;
3. You cannot launch XBMC from the remote;
4. Insufficient control settings, for example, you cannot call the context menu;
5. Impossible self-configuration remote control buttons to call an event in the player.

The point of departure for the search was the article “How to make a “two in one” from a home computer - home theater + personal computer,” which uses MediaPortal, which contains the standard Require focus setting. To solve the problem of transferring control to Windows, the author manually edited the registry.

In the process, it was found how to assign the launch of an application to the green button of the remote control without third-party programs Windows icon. The point is that we set up quick start program to any key combination, and add the code for this key combination to the green button. You can read more in the topic “Reassigning MSRemote buttons and starting XBMC with the “GREEN” button” on XBMC Russia.

Another search led to two articles on how to completely (without a blinking diode) turn off the monitor using software methods. Articles on Habré, for different OS:

Run EventGhost as administrator. Let's add a plugin for managing XBMC.

Configuration > Add Plugin… > from Program folders Control select XBMC2

From the plugin settings, it is clear that, intercepting the signal from the remote control buttons, EventGhost sends a command to XBMC. Therefore, let's go to the XBMC settings.

System > Settings > Services > Remote control> check the box Allow programs on this system to manage XBMC

All that remains is to find the following:

• Launch XBMC from the remote control;
• Switching display modes from the remote control.

To automate switching screen modes, let's create two *. bat file A:

Taskkill /im XBMC.exe %windir%\System32\DisplaySwitch.exe /internal
To switch to a computer where we first terminate the XBMC.exe process so that XBMC does not jump to the built-in display.

%windir%\System32\DisplaySwitch.exe /extend
To switch to advanced mode.

Let's create our own macro:

Configuration > Add Macro... > Window > Find a window > select XBMC

This event will check whether XBMC is open on our system. To enable a macro in the Find a windows setting, there should be a checkbox at the top called Stop macro if target is found (if we have an XBMC window running, it does not need to be turned on again).

The standard tool from EventGhost, called Start Application, does not have the ability to run *.bat files, so you need to add Python script execution to the created macro. Let's select the macro we created and proceed further:

Configuration > Add Action… > EventGhost > Python Script

Import os import time os.system("C:\Media.bat") time.sleep(2) os.startfile(r"C:\Program Files (x86)\XBMC\XBMC.exe")
Those. we launch the *.bat file, wait 2 seconds for the display mode to switch so that XBMC starts on the second screen and launch XBMC.exe

In the image and likeness of the previous macro, we create a new one to turn off external monitor and XBMC
In Find a window you need to check the box Stop macro if target is not found, and the Python Script to turn it off:

Import os os.system("C:\Computer.bat")
In both created macros you need to move the event that occurs when you press the On/Off button on the remote control.

Using command line scripts has a small drawback: when the script is executed, the cmd window blinks. This can be avoided by writing a program that executes the script code on its own behalf.

As a result, we should get something like this view of the EventGhost window:

When using the functionality created by EventGhost, a problem arose that XBMC starts out of focus and the taskbar is always lit on top of the media center.

Because of this, I made the window move ahead of all others using the familiar Find function a window, with a check mark Stop macro if target is not found. I put a green “Start” button on this on the remote control, together with going to the main menu, when controlling XBMC. I won’t go into detail about creating the macro; I’m attaching a screenshot:

On the colored buttons of the remote control, in the bottom row, I hung the following events:

The result is the final EventGhost configuration:

Let's save:

Lusrmgr.msc

Users > right click on Administrator > uncheck Disable account

Login to the Administrator account, we ask strong password . We log out of the account.

Any text editor, which can be saved in DOS-866 encoding, create a *.bat file with the following content:

Runas /savecred /user:Administrator "C:\Program Files (x86)\EventGhost\EventGhost.exe -h"
That is, run the EventGhost program, saving the password, as an administrator, with the -h switch (run to tray). Be sure to save in DOS-866 if you did not change the encoding on the command line.

Turn off EventGhost, run the resulting script, enter the password.
Place the script in startup:

Shell:Startup
The way will open C:\Users\%user%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup, into which we will move the resulting script. When %user% logs in, EventGhost is automatically launched, with full rights. When using other startup methods, full access was not transferred, including through the Task Scheduler.

Now turning on the computer will greet us with a blinking command line window, which will notify us that EventGhost has started.

In terms of startup, IR Server Suite would be better, since it runs as a Windows service, but I didn’t really want to deal with its settings when EventGhost started working for me.

For more complete remote control from the remote control it is necessary to make some Windows settings, in power options:

1. %power plan% > Require password on wakeup > No;
2. USB Settings > Temporarily disable USB port option > Disabled;
3. Power buttons and lid > Close lid action > No action required;
4. Power Buttons and Cover > Power Button Action > Sleep.

We reboot the computer (using the button from the remote control, of course), check the operation of everything that we have configured and configure XBMC to our liking. For example, I enabled full support for UPnP so that you can access your home media library from your smartphone or, conversely, run a media file from your smartphone in XBMC.

System > Services > UPnP > put a dot next to each menu item

Let's add the promised IPTV.
First, let's download the PVR IPTV Simple plugin for XBMC. GitHub page, download (Google Docs).

Install the add-on in XBMC:

System > Add-ons > Install from ZIP file> select the path to the downloaded *.zip file

System > TV > General > set the dot to On.

System > TV > General > Clear PVR database

System > Add-ons > Included add-ons > PVR IPTV Simple Client > Configure

#EXTM3U tvg-shift=3 #EXTINF:-1 tvg-id="id1" tvg-name="Channel_1" tvg-logo="logo1" group-title="Group 1",Channel 1 http://STREAMURL #EXTINF:-1 tvg-id="id2" tvg-name="Channel_2" tvg-logo="logo2" group-title="Group 2",Channel 2 udp://STREAMURL ... !}
Although I also had this plugin:

#EXTM3U #EXTINF:0,Europa Plus TV rtmp://europaplus.cdnvideo.ru/europaplus-live/mp4:eptv_main.sdp ...
The main thing is to save the *.m3u file in UTF-8 encoding in order to correctly display Russian names of TV channels.

We assign any convenient button on the remote control to open TV channels in EventGhost (XBMC2 > Buttons > Remote > Live TV) and by clicking on it a list of available TV channels will open.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to configure stream recording, which apparently is not supported by the plugin, since the record button is not active, unlike the other buttons.

Full list of software used: Add tags

Another option is to buy a media player instead of a computer. Them in lately There are a sufficient number with rich functionality. There are even almost computers with the ability to work over a network, with the Internet... A media player usually has many different connectors and is easy to connect to any TV.

Even simpler - many new TV models can play files from flash drives and external hard drives. But TVs and media players will not be able to play absolutely all formats, they still need to be updated, and the functionality is not always enough, and...
And in general - a small media player box or a flash drive sticking out on the side of the TV - somehow everything is not solid, or something. I'm a preservative. For me, the equipment must be beautiful, stand in a rack above the amplifier (maybe along with a turntable and cassette deck) and... must be 430 mm wide. (many here will laugh at me, well, laugh ;-)

So, the decision was made, I will make a computer!
And I went in search of the building. There are many different HTPC cases on the Internet, and there are many correct cases in this world...
If you search on the Internet or come to your nearest store and ask about the prices of HTPC cases, I think you will be surprised at their “cheap” prices. A small mATX case with a 270W power supply costs about 3,000 rubles, which is 2-3 times more expensive than a regular MidiTower with a 350W power supply. But it’s still inexpensive, “usually” prices start at 5-6 thousand. I didn't want to pay that kind of money for the case...
But most importantly, it is very difficult to find a case with a depth of less than 340mm, and if you can find it, then the price will definitely not suit you: SilverStone GD02B-MT approx. 16,000 rubles!

A budget solution was found - for 1000 rubles via the Internet I bought an old (even working) CD player AKAI CD-37...

And... I stuffed all the computer hardware there...




A detailed report on how this happened is in the next part.

A lyrical digression or about connecting a computer to a TV...

BUT! Video card manufacturers and programmers did not make this solution correct. Why? Yes, because the video signal for a PAL TV must have 625 lines per frame, of which 576 are informational, which actually contain the image. And the frame rate is 25 per second (or rather 50 fields per second, but this is not so important in this case). Since the aspect ratio of the TV was 4:3, it is not difficult to calculate that the screen size in “pixels” of a regular TV is 768x576! Therefore, in order to get GOOD image, you need to set the same screen resolution on your computer. But there is no such thing! There are 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, etc. And the video input only works in these three resolutions, scaling them to 768x576! (even if you force the desktop resolution to 768x576 pixels - some driver versions allow this, TV-out will not work in it, I checked it myself on various video cards). As a result, the image on the screen can only be called satisfactory when watching videos and in some games; it will not be possible to read text. I don’t understand why this was done, can someone explain? After all, it was possible to display not the entire desktop, but part of it, for example, or the active window... It’s nothing other than copy protection, otherwise it’s terrible(!), you can burn a protected DVD to a VCR... By the way, regular DV PAL cameras they shoot in a resolution of 720x576 or 704x576, and for a DVD PAL disc the maximum resolution is also 720x576 (yes, their pixels are not square, like that... a regular TV doesn’t care - it has an analog kinescope, it will draw a line instead of a dot and everything will be beautiful. And LCD TVs will definitely have scaling artifacts).

But then LCD TVs appeared with an input for a computer. And computers appeared with HDMI output... (only DVD and BlueRay recorders with HDMI INPUT, such as copy protection, will never appear)
And if you are the owner of a Full HD TV with HDMI, you just need to connect the computer and TV with a cable, specify 1920x1080 (1080i standard) or 1280x720 (720p standard) in the video card resolution and enjoy a good picture.

But if you decide to connect your TV via VGA or DVI, then surprises may arise, especially with inexpensive HD Ready TVs. The fact is that most LCD TVs of this standard have a 1366x768 matrix and an aspect ratio of 16:9. (Try dividing 1366 by 16... or 768 by 9... Did you like it?

Why didn't they make the standard 720p 1280x720? Well, if the pixel were a little larger, so what? Nooo, we need to come up with something non-standard.) So, to display a pixel-to-pixel image, you need to set the same resolution on your computer - 1366x768. BUT! Many TVs do not support resolutions greater than 1024x768. As a result - scaling again, curve text again. Or black bars on the right and left.. True, many TVs support a resolution of 1360x768, leaving 3 pixels at the top and bottom as dark stripes.

One way or another, Before purchasing, read the specifications and reviews about a specific model on the Internet, or even better, take a laptop and come to the store to check how it will look.

Previously, most users used the built-in shell in Windows OS to manage their media library: Windows Media Center. In Windows 8 it could be installed additionally, and the 10th Windows version completely lost the ability to centrally manage multimedia content, not to mention cutting down DVD playback in the eight.

Nowadays, many Windows users store their media library on hard drives X personal computer and the vast majority of them would like to be able to manage their multimedia content and seamlessly play it on all devices on their home network, regardless of the audio and video formats of the collection. It has gained particular popularity because it provides rich multimedia functionality and Internet access. Modern smart TVs play most files from USB drives or from the Internet, but let's talk about media players, which will become the main program for playing your media content on a regular computer.

VLC: Media playback out of the box

VLC is a free media player with rich video and video playback capabilities. music files without installation additional packages codecs. This player also plays movies on physical media: DVDs and Blu-ray without protection. The media player is also capable of decoding HD audio formats or transmitting them as a bitstream to . It also supports playback; just point it to a playlist with a list of channels.

As my main media player for playing videos I use alternative option – Media Player Classic Home Cinema (MPC-HC), which has the widest customization options and richest functionality. To use this media player smoothly, you need to understand filters, codecs and file formats, not to mention numerous settings. For those interested, I can recommend an article for the correct one in the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack.

Kodi is the best media center

This media center is the best free software shell for implementing a multifunctional home entertainment center. The current version 15 of Kodi Isengard supports work not only on a desktop PC, but also on a Raspberry Pi mini-computer (versions 1 and 2) and devices with Android OS. Kodi “eats” all file formats (except those used by Australopithecus), but its main advantage is the ability to combine different sources of media content into one. More information about the possibilities and Kodi setup read in. Thanks to various add-ons that can be installed directly from the shell (they are stored in repositories), you can even organize your audio collection and film library by obtaining file metadata from the Internet.

As an alternative to Kodi, I can recommend a similar PC-based media center solution designed for users with large multimedia collections. The main advantage of the Plex media server over Kodi is its support for transcoding when using the client application on the playback device. By installing the media center on your computer, you can customize your media library: find movie descriptions, posters, ratings and other data. Just like Kodi, Plex can organize TV series by season and episode and organize any music collection. It is worth noting that the Plex media center is a continuation (the old name of Kodi) and has similar functionality. The Plex media center competently implements transcoding from one format to another, so the program will be a good media server and alternative. A great option for playing your media library on smart TVs, and also supports Apple TV. The saddest part of all this is that the advanced functionality is only available if you purchase a license, but its free features and benefits are enough to compete with Kodi.

PowerDVD and WinDVD: Best Players to Play Blu-ray on PC

Unlike the Kodi media center and VLC player, which are distributed free of charge, the player costs 4,300 rubles (PowerDVD 15 Pro version), and its analogue, WinDVD Pro 11 from Corel, costs 6,400 rubles. These media players have licenses to play protected Blu-ray movies. Many people use the AnyDVD application, which removes protection, but this software is illegal.

I really regret the end of support from ArcSoft in June 2014 - this media player was an excellent competitor to PowerDVD and WinDVD. I personally hardly use these players (I play them), but I have PowerDVD on my HTPC, and clients often ask for these solutions for use in multimedia centers. In my opinion, such prices are not justified, since apart from functions to improve picture and sound quality, you will not find anything, and the need to use them is quite debatable. WinDVD and PowerDVD can be praised for their excellent interface with Russian language support and menu layout with a large number picture and sound settings.

Devices for creating a home media center

Various consoles on OC Android are an excellent alternative standard functionality smart TVs. More details about this are written in the article of the same name. As part of this material, I will advise no less interesting devices for home media center.

Amazon Fire TV Stick– this set-top box runs on Android OS and easily connects to any TV via the HDMI socket, communicating with it via Wi-Fi. This gadget can be purchased with a pre-installed Kodi player at a price of 3,000 rubles. The device has access to the Amazon and Netflix app stores. The Fire TV Stick is a miniature version of its big sister, the Fire TV. Small dimensions and the ability to connect an HDMI module directly to the TV allow you to take the gadget with you. There are no complaints about the quality of streaming. The only disappointing thing is the limited set of interfaces: there is no separate audio output, sound can only be transmitted via HDMI. By the way, there is no support for HD audio.

Mini PC for enthusiasts

I envy today's schoolchildren who can delve into affordable gadgets of this kind. is a universal mini-computer that can be used for various purposes when organizing a home network, up to . Raspberry Pi 2 version also available XBMC Media Center Kit, which comes with the Kodi-based OSMC multimedia system for playing content from USB drives. Considering that the gadget is based on Linux, Raspberry Pi 2 can also be used as a home server. Plus, the mini-computer supports DTS-HD-MA playback.

Home NAS

Potential buyers, without knowing it themselves, rarely encounter or pay attention to the possibility of using network storage ( Network Attached Storage) in everyday life, since they consider its installation in an apartment or house to be unnecessary and unreasonable. Yes, you can save money by ordering from the side, but if you are interested in a ready-made solution from manufacturers, then I recommend reading this material to the end to learn about the possibilities of using a NAS on a home network to optimize the process of playing a collection of media files with high level data storage security.

NAS: convert video files on the fly

For example, the Synology DS214Play model is capable of converting videos during playback, which allows you to comfortably view your media library on Smart TVs and iOS devices. It is worth noting that network storage does not have official support DTS format, but it is possible to install separately: just download the file “FFmpegWithDTS-evansport-1.0-0005.spk” from the Internet and manually install it using the Synology Package Center.

The main feature of this model is the on-the-fly video transcoding function, but in practice real work usually limited to watching videos in the browser and on iOS devices. Synology DS214Play supports the installation of two hard drives and supports the installation of a variety of software; it is also possible to use external drives with USB 3.0 and eSATA interfaces. Among the disadvantages, it is worth noting the noisy operation of the fan and the lack of HDMI.

Home server on the shelf of your media center

The Qnap HS-251 is a network storage and playback device for your media library. This NAS comes with an HDMI port for connecting to your TV, and for dessert, it comes pre-installed with Kodi media center. It does not create noise, since the case is not equipped with a fan and two hard drives are placed inside. The device is quite expensive, the price without hard drives is 45,000 rubles. Flaw home server follows from the advantage - we pay for silence with quite strong heating of both the device body and hard drives. Before I was able to use the device, I thought that my IPTV set-top box Cisco gets very hot 😉

UHD content: H.265 codec and 4K resolution

Those who have already purchased may not only be disappointed by the lack of UHD content. All devices mentioned in the article cannot handle video material in 4K resolution. The problem lies in the need to use the next generation codec - which is used for 4K video playback, which can provide better compression compared to H.264 with the same image quality. This also applies to older Smart TV models that lack support for the appropriate hardware, that is, the processing power to play H.265. This drawback can be solved by organizing video streaming in 4K, but these services have not yet become widespread. The first UHD Blu-ray player has already appeared on the market - it was Panasonic for 200,000 rubles, and 4K TVs support H.265 starting from the 2014 generation.