One of the most common tasks for a housebound Raspberry Pi is to act as a media streamer, and that’s a job that the new Raspberry Pi 2, with its more powerful quad-core processor, can do with aplomb. Using the latest OpenELEC build, there’s no hint of the lag that plagued the user interface on the original Pi, and installing it is a breeze.
Head to http://openelec.tv/get-openelec and scroll down to the Raspberry Pi Builds section. Note that there are six images in total: four ARM11 builds and two ARMv7 builds. For the original Raspberry Pi, you would need an ARM11 version; for the new Raspberry Pi 2, download the OpenELEC disk image – the last link in the list – and extract it to a convenient location on your main machine. If you’re installing via NOOBS, rather than using a manual download, make sure you’ve chosen the OpenELEC build labelled ‘Pi2’ and skip the next step.
2. Write image to micro-SD card
The image file needs to be written to a micro-SD card, a process that will wipe any existing content from the card. If you’re using Windows, connect your card to your PC via a reader, then download Win32 Image Writer from http://j.mp/win32iw and use it to write the uncompressed image file to your SD card. Users of Linux, OS X and other Posix-style operating systems can instead use the dd command line to write the image with the following command, where XXX is the device ID of your SD card: dd if=OpenELEC-RPi2.arm-5.0.6. img of=/dev/XXX
3. Initial boot
Slide the micro-SD card into the slot on the underside of the Raspberry Pi and connect your peripherals. At the minimum, you’ll need a display connected to either the HDMI port or the composite video output, and a network cable. You’ll also need a way to control the Pi – a wireless keyboard with a built-in touchpad is a sound investment here, and its receiver dongle should be connected to a USB port. If you have any media on external hard drives, you can connect them as well. Make sure your display is switched on and the correct input is selected, then connect the Pi to power. The initial boot takes a while, so be patient.
4. Configure audio
For direct connection to a TV via the Pi’s HDMI port, the defaults in OpenELEC should suffice; the video output will be set to the highest resolution the display reports in its EDID, and the audio will be set to digital output over HDMI. If you’re looking to use the analogue audio from the 3.5mm jack, you’ll need to scroll to Settings and choose System. Scroll down to Audio Output, then choose 5 Audio Output Device. You’ll be given the choice of HDMI, Analogue or both simultaneously. Be aware that the analogue audio output from the Raspberry Pi 2 isn’t great quality, and using digital audio via HDMI may be preferable.
5. Download add-ons
OpenELEC is capable of connecting to multiple media sources on your network out of the box. Music, image and video sources can be configured to point to DLNA servers – from a NAS box , for example, or a hard drive connected to the Pi’s USB port. For more flexibility, community-contributed add-ons can be installed. In the Video menu, choose Add-Ons then select Get More. A list of available add-on streaming sources will then load, from news channels such as Bloomberg to comedy sites such as Funny Or Die. Choose any add-on, and it will be downloaded and installed automatically. The Music and Pictures menus have similar addon lists available; browse through them to tailor OpenELEC to your requirements.
