[jammyb]

Am I the only one who is sick of the raspberry pi?

Why is xbmc being developed for it? Sure. It's a nice cheap little programmers toy. But it's not cut out for xbmc! Just because it has an HDMI port and can play 1080p [sometimes!] doesn't mean it should be actively developed for should it?

Every post that pops up on here about the flipping pi and does it do uncompressed 1080p, can it decode dts-HD. Why does the skin stutter, why can't it play smooth.

Because its not for it!

If you're not going to spend £100 or more on new kit for a dedicated HTPC for xbmc. You're gonna have a bad time. Surely this has a negative impact on xbmc's profile? I've got mates who come round, stare in wonder at the software and how well it runs off a NUC. Then question in disbelief that its xbmc and not plex. Because "I had xbmc on my raspberry pi and it was crap!"

That's why it was crap!

Its the same with the pivos, TLBB, gbox, etc etc. all the people that buy them are expecting miracles! But don't visit the manufacturers forum for help. They come here questioning why the doesn't all the remote buttons work, why does it stutter etc etc.

I hate the pi for doing this. People want small and cheap and silent. But also want aeon nox, ace etc to be buttery smooth and to decode dts-HD to their onkyo HDMI amp.

Imagine all the hours used on the pi/android development had been used on the "full cream" edition that most of us use and enjoy. It'd be a very different story.

I appreciate that arm tech is the way forward. But perhaps when the chips are bit better and not 3-5 years old?

Sorry to whine and whinge. I have zero complaints with both the software and the amazing guys and gals that make it. I just wish the pi wasn't around to slow it all down!

[whitebelly]

Interesting point. I agree the Pi will never stack up, it will always need special attention due to its minimal performance capabilities. I played around with mine for a short while then realized it just did not make sense for me, but some folks seem happy.

As for Android development, well I can see that being a good thing as those devices are becoming more quite capable from a hardware standpoint.

[twelvebore]

I find the pi quite useful as a music-only player running XBMC. I have a couple spread around the house/garden, mostly headless but one connected to the TV in the kitchen. With the IOS remote control it's great to be able to access a common music collection. Where I want both music and video I use NUCs.

If you're not going to spend £100 or more on new kit for a dedicated HTPC for xbmc. You're gonna have a bad time.

...<snip>...

I hate the pi for doing this. People want small and cheap and silent. But also want aeon nox, ace etc to be buttery smooth and to decode dts-HD to their onkyo HDMI amp.

To be fair this isn't the pi's fault, it's the fault of the people with unreasonable expectations. Folks want something for nothing. If the pi didn't exist, they'd be expecting the same thing from some other device.

[shedrock]

@jammyb: Well said - Agreed!

[aesalazar]

LOL, nice thread! I have a PI myself and learned through trial and error its limitations. Its a cool unit but you right it will never handle a fully executed XMBC setup.

@twelvebore: Thats a good idea about audio. Could also use it for something like a Pandora box as well. Hummm....

Ernie

[Nu7s]

Every post that pops up on here about the flipping pi and does it do uncompressed 1080p,

You have a problem with me asking that question?
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid...pid1477429

My RPI plays compressed 1080p content just fine. I spent less than £100 on it and it works just splendid. It hasn't complained about any media I trow at it. I admit the user interface is not as smooth as on my I7, but my previous Mede8er didn't have them either.

If it wasn't for the RPI, I wouldn't have been using XBMC and wouldn't have donated. Have you donated to XBMC yet?

[goujam]

Well what you have to look at is the pi is priced to compare with the WDTV Live. I have both and have to say the PI is better than my WDTV the menus are much quicker and playback is the same aslong as you dont introduce HD audio.

So yes the pi isnt going to be a full XBMC experience but if you lower your expectations its not as bad you say it is!

[tboggie]

Am I the only one who is sick of the raspberry pi?
Why is xbmc being developed for it? Sure. It's a nice cheap little programmers toy. But it's not cut out for xbmc! Just because it has an HDMI port and can play 1080p [sometimes!] doesn't mean it should be actively developed for should it?

Probably because it is within some users budget, not everyone what to spend more than £50 on a media player.
It is a good player if the user is not expecting too much. If it plays your files, enjoy. If not, either re-encode or deal with it. I personally have no issues playing 1080p movies via homeplugs except a few high bitrate movies i tried which did not work.

[jammyb]

I find the pi quite useful as a music-only player running XBMC. I have a couple spread around the house/garden, mostly headless but one connected to the TV in the kitchen. With the IOS remote control it's great to be able to access a common music collection. Where I want both music and video I use NUCs.

If you're not going to spend £100 or more on new kit for a dedicated HTPC for xbmc. You're gonna have a bad time.

...<snip>...

I hate the pi for doing this. People want small and cheap and silent. But also want aeon nox, ace etc to be buttery smooth and to decode dts-HD to their onkyo HDMI amp.

To be fair this isn't the pi's fault, it's the fault of the people with unreasonable expectations. Folks want something for nothing. If the pi didn't exist, they'd be expecting the same thing from some other device.

Oh they're awesome as music boxes and some of the builds I've seen on life hacker and hack a day sites are brilliant and inspiring. But I just feel xbmc is wasted on it!

LOL, nice thread! I have a PI myself and learned through trial and error its limitations. Its a cool unit but you right it will never handle a fully executed XMBC setup.

@twelvebore: Thats a good idea about audio. Could also use it for something like a Pandora box as well. Hummm....

Ernie

That's what people need to realise. It's got severe limitations.

Every post that pops up on here about the flipping pi and does it do uncompressed 1080p,

You have a problem with me asking that question?
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid...pid1477429

My RPI plays compressed 1080p content just fine. I spent less than £100 on it and it works just splendid. It hasn't complained about any media I trow at it. I admit the user interface is not as smooth as on my I7, but my previous Mede8er didn't have them either.

If it wasn't for the RPI, I wouldn't have been using XBMC and wouldn't have donated. Have you donated to XBMC yet?

What's my donation to xbmc got to do with my own personal opinion on the raspberry pi and people's expectations? I've not donated no. But I have contributed to the forum by both helping other users and my own NUC build thread.

You can ask what you like about compressed 1080p. I hadn't read your reply on that thread asking. 'twas just an example of many questions people ask.

Well what you have to look at is the pi is priced to compare with the WDTV Live. I have both and have to say the PI is better than my WDTV the menus are much quicker and playback is the same aslong as you dont introduce HD audio.

So yes the pi isnt going to be a full XBMC experience but if you lower your expectations its not as bad you say it is!

That's where you're wrong. It's a kids programming teaching toy first. It's not priced to compare to any media player. It's cheap so schools will buy it and inspire a new generation into programming.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has a slight feeling for this!

[goujam]

Im aware its main function is as a programming tool for kids and its very good at this, what I meant was its price as a media player puts it in a position to compare with the WDTV. I think what you will find is many people with use the PI as an introduction to XBMC then see threads like this and think I wonder what im missing and before they know it they have a HTPC running XBMC. I dont think thats a bad thing!!

[ThePolarSky]

...

[Nu7s]

I think you are wrong for hating on the products. Yes, they bring an influx of new members who are not all equally intelligent, but XBMC has gained popularity. I'm sure this can only have a positive effect on sponorship and the continuity of XBMC.

Don't hate on the RPI or TLBB, they are doing there best to provide the best XBMC experience for that pricepoint.
If you want to hate, hate on all the Android boxes that are promissing the miracles so many people believe. Including me, my €120 Mele A2000 is a Usenet downloader now, while my €40 RPI is my main media player.

[jammyb]

You guys are right, it's not the pi's fault. It's the end users expectations.

Im aware its main function is as a programming tool for kids and its very good at this, what I meant was its price as a media player puts it in a position to compare with the WDTV. I think what you will find is many people with use the PI as an introduction to XBMC then see threads like this and think I wonder what im missing and before they know it they have a HTPC running XBMC. I dont think thats a bad thing!!

Like it! Kinda like car forums lol.

Hmm...

My Pi
* plays Blu Ray 1080p files just fine (MPEG-2, VC-1, h.264)
* has a fluid GUI
* is extremely stable
* took less than an hour to set up
* costs less than $60 all in

I for one am extremely grateful that Dom (popcornmix), Rbej, Sam Nazarko and others have spent so much effort perfecting the device. It prevents me from paying $200+ for a $60 problem...

Get angry at people's ignorance, not at the existence of variety.

Agreed. But you must be using basic text list for your libraries. It will never be fluid! :p

I think you are wrong for hating on the products. Yes, they bring an influx of new members who are not all equally intelligent, but XBMC has gained popularity. I'm sure this can only have a positive effect on sponorship and the continuity of XBMC.

Don't hate on the RPI or TLBB, they are doing there best to provide the best XBMC experience for that pricepoint.
If you want to hate, hate on all the Android boxes that are promissing the miracles so many people believe. Including me, my €120 Mele A2000 is a Usenet downloader now, while my €40 RPI is my main media player.

Agreed. And as said above, if it wasn't the pi. It'd be something else.

Can't we build a thread that lists the pi's capabilities and limitations. Then whenever a post is made. Point to that?

[Nu7s]

The Pi's capabilities change constantly, it would be impossible to maintain it. People wouldn't read it anyway.

[jammyb]

I think you are wrong for hating on the products. Yes, they bring an influx of new members who are not all equally intelligent, but XBMC has gained popularity. I'm sure this can only have a positive effect on sponorship and the continuity of XBMC.

Don't hate on the RPI or TLBB, they are doing there best to provide the best XBMC experience for that pricepoint.
If you want to hate, hate on all the Android boxes that are promissing the miracles so many people believe. Including me, my €120 Mele A2000 is a Usenet downloader now, while my €40 RPI is my main media player.

I hate them because its not a full experience and never will be. So whats the point?

So many people I know who've bought pi's and because its not instant. Blame the software. They don't blame the hardware. They then buy a WDTV or similar because "it'll do and it was cheap"

If xbmc worked as well on the pi/TLBB/etc as it does on full blown kit. It wouldn't be free! But they know its a hobbyist niche and to get the full cream out of it. Needs a bit of money on it. Everyone who's tried the pi [myself included] all had high expectations for it. We all did. You know it! When it came to pass. We quickly moved on. But people are not reading those threads. They're posting new ones asking why doesn't it do this and doesn't do that.

But thanks everyone who posted in with different perspectives. We all want xbmc to succeed. The future is ARM but its not ready yet. Time will help but my patience for the amount of rpi threads is waning lol.

---

The Pi's capabilities change constantly, it would be impossible to maintain it. People wouldn't read it anyway.

They would if no one replied with answers. Only posting the thread link to it?

Will it ever do dts-HD? I don't think so!