[charlieboy2001]

Hi all!!!

Im thinking about getting a raspberry pi b+ for a media centre but I'm not sure where to even start!

After looking around I've noticed there are a number of different versions of xbmc for the raspberry pi so I have a couple of questions...

What's the most reliable version and easiest to set up

Does it support MKV?

Does it support USB3 (the blue one)

Is it as good as a windows laptop connected via hdmi??

Cheers all!!!!

EDIT: if anyone knows is it worth getting a kit from www.maplin.co.uk or shall I gather what I need myself (I was thinking about getting the advanced bundle)

[ijsbeer79]

There are at least 3 distributions out there. Raspbmc is easy to setup if you use windows. OpenElec is a basic setup, which is a lot smaller then other builds.
Personally I prefer OpenElec, but don't have much experience with other distrobutions. The differences (in speed) are small nowadays.

And yes, it plays MKV. Only for MPEG2 (DVD) and WVC files. Can be bought for a couple of dollar's.

A great advantage of the PI is CEC support, which you probably don't have on the windows laptop. Meaning: you can control XBMC with your TV remote. The CPU isn't a comparison with the CPU in your laptop, so this will be a huge difference. There has been a lot of effort in the performance of XBMC the last 2/3 years. If you don't use some 'weird' plugins the performance of the PI for XBMC is great.

(and what can happen for the 35 dollar )

Edit: I think it's way too expensive. You don't need the remote keyboard. Use your remote control of the TV and plug in a USB keyboard for the one time needed (I don't even use one if I do a complete reinstall, everything with the remote from the TV). You probably have a spare SD card and a spare USB power supply, so you just need a PI and a case if you want one.

[lowridin_guy]

If you have the option of getting the "Noobs" card get it. It is a very fast card and works very well with the pi.

Also, confirm if your TV has CEC control. It will be called something like Anynet (samsung), Simplink, Viera link etc. Most TV's have their own name for it. Also make sure your HDMI cable isn't ancient or else it won't support CEC. If your TV doesn't have CEC, use a keyboard or mouse to get it setup and then you can use an app for your smartphone. I suggest Yatse for Android or XBMC remote for iOS.