Android media center
#1
I have a Raspberry PI but it's really slow. I want an Android media center, but what one is the best to get?
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#2
IMO, before you spend money on an Android device, I would go over to the Raspberry Pi support forum and read up on the various speed improvements that can be made. Somewhere in that forum, there is a Youtube video posted of a Raspberry Pi running Gotham (and various speed tweaks) that is running very very fast. I know of a few speed improvements (Openelec, overclocking, running USB, newer Gotham-based builds) but you'll need to read up on it.

Android is always an option, but the problem is that there are many many devices and extremely few of them are well supported and an even smaller number that work well. In contrast, the Raspberry Pi is very well supported and has a very large user base.

That's just an opinion. But I have three Android devices (including a fairly powerful HTC One) and none of them work perfectly with XBMC.
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#3
Do what awp0 suggests first. If you're still not happy with the performance of your RPi, switching to an Android device may not give you the performance boost you're hoping for. Get a proper PC instead if performance is one of your main criteria (see Hardware forum for recommendations).
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#4
all true, but xbmc runs real good on the OUYA
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#5
Ran the OUYA for two months. It does work well and the price of $99 includes the controller. While a raspberry pi is $35 plus remote at $15 plus power supply of $10 plus cheap fast SS card of $5 --- grand total of $65.

Sold my OUYA and will start experimenting with RPI now. The OUYA has random Ethernet and wifi glitches that require a whole device factory reset. Hope the OUYA gets fixed some time.

With RPI I can find a 5ghz wifi adapter and experiment with over clocking. And the support is more diverse.
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#6
Some quick tips on improving speed on RPI:

- Use a recent build and keep it updated.
- Disable all plugins you won't use.
- Disable all services you won't use (SSH, SAMBA, FTP...).
- Try different skins.
- Disable RSS feeds.
- Select 720p interface instead of 1080p.
- Overclock it (easy to do from Raspbmc menu, just select Fast or Super settings, depending on what your RPI can handle).
- Connect to network via cable instead of wireless.
- Disable the option that reads tags and screenshot from media files.
- Keep your media library up to date.
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#7
The Pi can certainly be quickened up.
USB 3 pendrive works well (faster read speeds)
Overclocking to super is fine too.
Def go ethernet over wireless (Powerline if need be)

THese tweaks and others mentioned should see a significant difference

HOwever in saying that I have a quad core android box with the latest monthly build of XBMC and its excellent
Apart from the fact it doen't boot straight to XBMC - its much faster than the pi

New pivos boxes to arrive on the market soon so I would just hold out and tweak the pi meantime
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#8
yeah, PIVOS is a good company, with good support, can't wait to see the new hardware!
I hope it'll be the new Amlogic Quadcore SoC, pretty powerful it is!
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