Migration from RPi3 to what? H.265 needed!

1st Official Post

    Hello,

    my situation is as follows. I had run an RPi1 for some years mainly streaming videos from my NAS before I recently upgraded to an RPi3. Reason for that was that I read somewhere that Netflix was already running on it but not the normal Pi. Apparently I ad to figure out that this was already outdated. Back then I chosed the RPi3 just because I have had an RPi and liked the concept. I was not aware about different solutions at that time and did not compare anything which was of course a mistake.

    Now I am considering to get an DVB-T2 stick in the near future. Since I am in Germany the DVB-T2 streams are encoded in H.265. So there is in principle no way ever that I can use the RPi3 for it. I read somewhere that I maybe can keep it as a server for the Signal and use a new second device connected to the TV or AV-Receiver.

    But this time I don't want to make another mistake and get some advice what to get. Since I don't have any Clou what I need or what could be helpful in the future I try to describe my usecase as good as I can.

    So I want to have a small device running LibreELEC. I know that for many tasks there are well functioning devices like Firestick or whatsoever. But I have trust issues and already going to LineageOS from SailfishOS took me a long time. Giving an device access to my NAS and network I prefer using LibreELEC.

    I the device to be attached via HDMI to my TV or later AV-Receiver and being controlled via HDMI-CEC. It should be connected via WLan to my router 5GHz would be possible.

    I am not the person running hundreds of addons from hundred addon pages. Just the simple streaming of TV-series and movies from my NAS via SMB is what I do 90% at the moment. Music and Photographs maybe in the future but I expect it will work with all devices likewise.

    For sure I would need to integrate the DVB-T2 stick. Is there anything else I have to consider beside H.265? I am aware that I most likely will not be able to encrypt pay-TV. In case I want to see other German TV channels I maybe want to use a streaming service called Zattoo for which an Kodi addon exists.

    For the DVB-T2 I would like to have the option to use timeshift and to record some shows, movies etc. To this end, I would like to attach a 2.5" external USB3 harddrive to the device.

    I still would really like to stream Netflix via the box. I read that with KODI 18 there will be a working addon for this. But the RPi3 most likely can only handle 720p. Would be really nice to have an device which can handle 1080p.

    The device should be stored together with the HDD for recording TV and depending on the TV solution with or without TV stick somewhere near the TV and being all time on. So a quite reasonable IDLE Power would be nice.


    I already stumbled over the Odroid C2 which is often recommended. But before ordering anything I want to be sure that this will suite all my needs the best possible way.

    Thanks for reading.

    I already had a look at it. But for me it is still unclear what the best solution might be.

    Also I have the feeling that this list is pretty much focused on running Android and only giving some sidenote to LibreELEC but maybe I misunderstood.

    I guess the most versatile and stable solution might be to switch to a selfmade sff-HTPC. But I guess this will never be compatible regarding the power consumption and noise.

    AMLogic S905 or S905X ARM box running LibreElec is fine with 2160/60p HEVC - so will be fine with 1080/50p DVB-T2 stuff in Germany.

    If you want to go barebones then an ODroid C2 (you will need to add a WiFI dongle). If you want a fully packaged box then have a look at the AMLogic S905 threads elsewhere in the forum. 5GHz WIFI internally may narrow the field though. (An external USB or Ethernet WiFi adaptor may be preferable)

    Depending on your DVB-T2 tuner you may want to keep the Raspberry Pi 3 as a TV Headend server - as it has better kernel support for recent drivers.

    The GBP£5 XBox One DVB-T/T2/C tuner has very early Linux support - and I've got two running fine on a Pi 3 in the UK - receiving DVB-T2 H264 1080i stuff here with a Pi 3 simply running as a TV Headend server. However for multiple streams a Pi 3 isn't a perfect fit as Ethernet and USB all share a single USB 2.0 bus.

    The reuse of the Pi is a nice perspective. Because I have no project ideas for it and selling it would not bring so much. And it is independent from any future solution.

    I have nearly no troubles using WiFi. Maybe once in a while it has a short hickup but I actually expect it to become better if i use 5Ghz. Because I have nearly 20-30 Wifis here but only one other Guy uses 5GHz.

    As more as I think about it I start liking the idea of a more classical HTPC more and more. Would it be possible to get an Bluray drive running with the MakeMKV codecs?

    Then I could get a case in a hifi component formfactor and could create a Bluray player, a kodi box, a netflix client, and a receiver all in one device. This would be awesome.

    Thats about flashing alternative OS on the router? I will not do this. I'm quite fine with my Fritzbox. As I said I could use ethernet, I have a fitting cable here, but WiFi is enough here.

    But I am still really curious about the optical drive integration into libreELEC and Kodi. Espacially concerning MakeMKV libraries and something like libdvdcss., but also the GUI.

    An option could also be that you build yourself a NAS (TVHeadend Server) using an ASRock J3455 as a basis like in the provided example below running Openmediavault/TVHeadend with the attached DVB-T2 Stick and let the NAS deliver a transcoded stream to your existing RPi (Client) running LibreELEC/Kodi. The ASRock J3455 should be powerful enough to do the HEVC transcoding and the idle power consumption of Apollo Lake is pretty reasonable.

    NAS Basic 3.0 mit passiv gekühltem Apollo Lake 4-Kern Prozessor - Technikaffe.de

    I am considering a similar solution perspectively. Currently I am using a HTPC based on an ASRock J4205 Mainboard to watch DVB-T2 in Germany which is working flawless except for CEC which is supported only in a limited way by the platform compared to the full CEC support by a RPi. I am using a DVBSky T982 V2 PCIe TV adapter to decode DVB-T2 which is working out of the box under linux. It has 2 tuners so that you can watch and record another channel at the same time.

    ASRock J4205-ITX im Test - Apollo Lake mit HDMI 2.0 und HEVC 10bit - Technikaffe.de

    Edited 7 times, last by backslash (August 29, 2017 at 11:16 AM).

    Thanks for the hints. I already have a Synology NAS. I came through discussions in another forum to the nearly final solution.

    I will build a HTPC that takes over nearly all Media Tasks, like Streaming from NAS, streaming Netflix, playing DVD, Bluray, and CDs, playing live tv via DVB-T2, and whatever I forgot.

    It will consist of most likely this items:

    Board: Asrock J3455-ITX (maybe a similar next gen device)
    Memory: KVR16LS11/4
    SSD: 250GB 850 EVO
    Bluray drive: LG BH16NS55

    DVB-T2 Tuner with CI Slot: TechnoTrend TT-budget CT2-4500 CI

    IR-Receiver: Yard MIni or Micro
    Remote: One For All URC-7980 Smart Control 8
    PSU: PicoPSU 90W + Scalar 72W

    For the case I am not sure yet. But there are not too many nice options out there. Maybe I will go for an Silverstone ML04 or a used Lian Li PC-C37 and mod a IR window.