[SpinX]

Hey guys i have a small guest house and would like to run a video on demand system to all the rooms along with a news channel.. would XBMC work for me if I host it on a server and network the Smart TV Box XBMC Media Player in the rooms.. I'm very new to XBMC and I'm really excited but need some advice and direction..

[FlashPan]

Hi,

I am in no way an expert myself but I'm aware you can create different profiles which will allow different levels of access.

So I would think to start with that you need to investigate an admin and user profile. Naturally you want to lock down the user (hotel guest) profile as much as possible as you will not want them to be able to change xbmc settings.

I guess you also need to think about what device you will install xbmc onto and to change settings on that. Disabling usb ports for instance??

Are you going to provide "live" tv streaming? If so is your current broadband up to it? Especially if you allow guests to use wifi for their on devices for instance.

I apologise in advance as I've not really given direct advice but I think that you main priorities to consider are....locking users out of xbmc software and device settings, deciding on what you will allow to stream and is internet bandwidth enough?

Cheers

[Ned Scott]

Hey guys i have a small guest house and would like to run a video on demand system to all the rooms along with a news channel.. would XBMC work for me if I host it on a server and network the Smart TV Box XBMC Media Player in the rooms.. I'm very new to XBMC and I'm really excited but need some advice and direction..

I think XBMC would work fantastically for this situation. XBMC is used by a company called at-visions who does something similar, but on a much larger scale in a number of hotels in Europe. It would be a very different setup in your situation, but in a good way as it will be a far simpler setup.

The on-demand video part should be the easiest. I assume we're talking about normal video files on a server that any of the rooms will be able to play. I'd setup this video library on a single XBMC instance just to see how it looks and make any needed tweaks, to make sure XBMC adds all the video files correctly to the library. Take a look at these pages: Video library (wiki) and Adding videos to the library (wiki). Once things are setup the way you want, you can export (wiki) the library as NFO files, so that when each XBMC box scans the library, they are scanning in identical information, and will include any tweaks you have done.

Next up is your streaming news channel. For that it really depends on where this video is coming from. If it's a live TV source that needs a tuner, or if it is an internet stream, etc. Heck, depending on your situation, it might not be hard to allow each room/box to access live TV from other-the-air signals, cable, or satellite. Can you elaborate on the source of the live TV and what you'd like to see happen there?

Once the boxes are setup how you want, you'll probably want to lock the settings down using the master lock (wiki) and maybe a custom skin (wiki) that has a "kiosk" mode for additional locking. This is mostly to prevent accidental changes and keep everything running smoothly, even if the user has never used XBMC before. Additional settings can be made to turn off XBMC features like keeping track of what videos are watched/unwatched, since a guest house will be shared by many people, so it wouldn't make sense to keep track of those things. Unused features can be hidden from view. Just about everything in the interface can be customized.

Then you will want to select the hardware, the boxes XBMC will run on that will be in each room. I mention this last because regardless of what hardware you buy, the setup should be more or less the same for any of them, even if it's an entirely different OS or hardware type.

[SpinX]

Hey guys i have a small guest house and would like to run a video on demand system to all the rooms along with a news channel.. would XBMC work for me if I host it on a server and network the Smart TV Box XBMC Media Player in the rooms.. I'm very new to XBMC and I'm really excited but need some advice and direction..

I think XBMC would work fantastically for this situation. XBMC is used by a company called at-visions who does something similar, but on a much larger scale in a number of hotels in Europe. It would be a very different setup in your situation, but in a good way as it will be a far simpler setup.

The on-demand video part should be the easiest. I assume we're talking about normal video files on a server that any of the rooms will be able to play. I'd setup this video library on a single XBMC instance just to see how it looks and make any needed tweaks, to make sure XBMC adds all the video files correctly to the library. Take a look at these pages: Video library (wiki) and Adding videos to the library (wiki). Once things are setup the way you want, you can export (wiki) the library as NFO files, so that when each XBMC box scans the library, they are scanning in identical information, and will include any tweaks you have done.

Next up is your streaming news channel. For that it really depends on where this video is coming from. If it's a live TV source that needs a tuner, or if it is an internet stream, etc. Heck, depending on your situation, it might not be hard to allow each room/box to access live TV from other-the-air signals, cable, or satellite. Can you elaborate on the source of the live TV and what you'd like to see happen there?

Once the boxes are setup how you want, you'll probably want to lock the settings down using the master lock (wiki) and maybe a custom skin (wiki) that has a "kiosk" mode for additional locking. This is mostly to prevent accidental changes and keep everything running smoothly, even if the user has never used XBMC before. Additional settings can be made to turn off XBMC features like keeping track of what videos are watched/unwatched, since a guest house will be shared by many people, so it wouldn't make sense to keep track of those things. Unused features can be hidden from view. Just about everything in the interface can be customized.

Then you will want to select the hardware, the boxes XBMC will run on that will be in each room. I mention this last because regardless of what hardware you buy, the setup should be more or less the same for any of them, even if it's an entirely different OS or hardware type.

ok so I downloaded the XBMC and set it up and I added a few video to the library. looks 2 good to be true now I need to purchase a BOX.. which box would you recommend?

[Ned Scott]

My typical advice goes as follows:

$50-ish: Raspberry Pi setup. Supports MPEG2, VC-1, H.264. If you want to use a really flashy skin or do some of the more advanced features, it will be slow. For most usage it is fast enough, and very impressive.

$70-100-ish: OUYA, which can often be found used in perfect condition for $70-80. Main downside is the lack of MPEG2 and VC-1 support.

$100: ORDOID-U3, probably the best price-per-performance for an android based ARM device. $100 should cover the ODROID-U3, shipping from Korea, case, cables, etc.

$100: HUGE MAYBE: Amazon Fire TV is a few days old, but looks like it might be an excellent box for XBMC. However, at the moment, hardware video decoding isn't working in XBMC.

$150-170-ish: Intel NUC (or other similar barebones mini PC) with Celeron processor. Probably the best bang for your buck, and the starting point of HTPCs that do almost anything you could ever want them to do. If cash isn't tight, I would recommend this above all others.

[tential]

There are some good Android sticks also Ned that could work for him. An Android stick running XBMC would allow him an easy discrete solution for each room.
Unless he knows how to mount any of those to the back of the TV so that it's out of sight.

[Ned Scott]

I wouldn't recommend a stick. Most of them have heating issues so they have to be under clocked, and they lack wired ethernet.

[Karnagious]

The Pi can be mounted behind the TV, but they can also be smuggled out in your pocket, so TV mounting may not be desirable

[nickr]

I would be wary of copyright issues in this situation.

Of course it depends where you live, as laws vary. But in my country no one is going to chase you for ripping your movies and sharing them around the house.

But when you start doing it for reward (and I guess your guests are paying for their stay, including access to the videos), then you may find the media companies coming after you.

Just saying, you might need to look at licensing.

Ned, what does At-Visions do about licensing?

[Ned Scott]

They commercially license movies. Several situations, everything from public libraries, parks and rec, waiting rooms, etc, can be officially licensed if necessary, and it's not even that expensive or hard for a lot of situations. I think the Motion Picture Association or something has a website for the US about it.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. Leave a broken baseball bat in each room with a note that says "don't snitch" and you should be all good.

[nickr]

All very well, until they decide to make an example and poor spinx gets landed with the ginormous legal bill while some media company makes a point.

[Ned Scott]

That's why you have a "fall guy" :)

[gtom1]

Ned, I am new to XBMC forum. I just joined and read your replies. I have a question. I bought two raspberry Pi units on ebay. For some reason, it stopped streaming. I contacted the seller and they replied to send the unit to them it had to do with a firmware problem. I sent them one raspberry and the other two usb sticks and memory stick. That was a month ago and I can't reach them via cell or email. I really enjoyed the xbmc and what the raspberry offered. Do you have any suggestions on how I can get someone to help me get my remaining raspberry pi working? Is there someone who can help me? I am a bit lost and feel deserted by this seller? Thank you

Greg

[nickr]

There is a specific raspberry pi subforum here with plenty of knowledgeable people.

[PhilMcK]

Plex...