Some issues I would like help with:

1st Official Post

    Very Newbee with Libreelec Here with maybe FAQs

    I just now installed my first Libreelec on my RPi 3+ and started it up with some movies.

    Here are some issues I would like help with:

    1. The 2 dozen movies I have are .m4v format. Libreelec will find and play them but with no sound. How do I get the sound?

    2. When I installed Libreelec, I told it about my router and when I go into system there is an IP number, but, the clock isn’t current. Where do I set what time zone I’m in.

    3. I think I’m confused with the term ‘Server’ because I tried to access my RPi running Libreelec with 2 tablets hoping to watch movies on them but nothing. Is there any ‘How To’s on using the RPi running Libreelec as a server to some tablets and maybe smart phones to watch movies?

    What I wanted to do is to provide a movie server to my children as we travel long distances where is no Internet. Each child favors different movies.

    Please help.

    • Official Post

    1) Do the menu sounds of your RPi3+ work? If so, the m4v files are the problem. Isn't m4b Apple-specific? Do the files still contain some DRM protection?

    2) Enable the "Wait for network" option in the Settings Add-on. Set the timeout to 30 seconds.

    3) Kodi was not designed to be a server by default. How do you try to access LibreELEC from the tablets?

    LibreELEC has a SMB file server, but will have to be configured for your personal use case.

    If you want to share your movies via UPnP to other UPnP/DLNA devices, the movies will first need to be 'scraped' into the Kodi video database.

    Thanks a bunch for the response.

    Please understand that this part of IT is new to me but I do find it and the possibilities exciting

    Regarding the audio, I found an audio setting where the audio was going out the HDMI port. I have the RPi running to a dumb monitor with a sound board, so I set the audio to be analogue and the sound works now and I've tried several formats.

    Thanks for suggesting to increase the wait time some. That did work.

    I saw a Youtube video about installing LibreElec and at the end he ran nplayer on his phone and was able to watch a different movie from what LibreElec was playing. because I now have an IP, I tried it and it works. Sadly, I can not find nplayer for my Kindle Fire. But, I was able to find Archos Video and it was able to find the LibreElec box and play the videos stored there via UPnP. Archos Video seems to be a little jerky so I may have to increase the buffer size.

    Yes, maybe LebreElec isn't running all of these apps but it does seem to make the files available.

    Now I need to start borrowing some more devices to see how many I can run before desegregation starts.

    I'll let you know what I find.

    Just now realized, to make this work where there is no Internet or network, It has to be the DNS so the other devices have an IP to link to.

    How do I set LibreElec OS up as a DNS when there is no DNS?

    Edited once, last by bill z (January 8, 2020 at 3:16 PM).

    • Official Post

    LibreELEC is a vanilla Linux setup with only the necessary tools for running Kodi.

    It is not a full-blown OS. If that is what you are looking for, LibreELEC is not for you.

    Kodi is not a server application, serving DNS is not in its dictionary.

    Use Raspbian OS instead to set up a dedicated (UPnP) file server as well as your other network wishes.

    OK. Thanks.

    I love the OS and I don't know how much more robust (larger) it would have to be to support DNS. Not really looking for a full blown OS, just a little more. If it was capable of DNS when there is no DNS, it would be a great help to people who travel with their kids. Give the kids something to do when they get board from watching the beautiful country side. Now-a-days, almost every kid has a phone or tablet of some sort.

    Where does one go to make suggestions for future releases?

    Maybe 2 Raspberry PIs. One running as a DNS and the other with LibrElec would get me going a small network. Just thinking out loud.

    I think I'm going to enjoy being a member of this forum. :)

    I'm not familiar with 'fixating IP addresses' so I don't know. Googling ' fixating IP addresses' didn't help. The apps for the iPhone, tablets... request an IP to use to link to. Some apps show wifis available for you to choose from.

    However, it came to me last night that I have an ole wifi router that I'm not using and I can set it up as a DNS server and an IP range of something like 10.10.0.1 to 10.10.0.10 and not have it on the Internet. Plus, I see that older routers are going for as little as $10 on OfferUp. These routers are ready to go.

    Please know that I'm here to learn and am open to suggestions where I can learn more.

    It can be done within the LE settings addon (the built-in one) or alternatively you can do it within your router. Set the network connection up as normal then go to it, edit the connection and the setting is in there (at least it is on the Pi version).

    The latter is the normally recommended method unless there's a specific reason not to.

    See, I want to use this without a router if I can. On long road trips, there is no Internet or routers for the kids to use. Watching movies using Libreelec s the server will work great if I can IP to it.

    With a static IP the other apps might be able to link to it.

    • Official Post

    From a networking perspective LE is functionally no different to any other Linux OS. You can use the settings add-on (or connmanctl from the console) to give the device a static IP address (switch from auto to manual config and set one). If you need to 'name' things /storage/.config/hosts.conf acts the same as /etc/hosts.

    Recently finished more testing.

    There are some wifi routers out there that can be purchased for $10. $10. is cheaper than a $35. RPi

    Finally found the screen where I set an IP address as static using the $10 router.

    I was able to connect an iPhone and Kendle but had to set the wifi server first. Just looking for the static IP wasn't working.

    This configuration will work because the router uses 12 volts and not much current. This with the LE OS will enable me to have movies on any device in the car on long trips.