....basically from either H264/AAC video stream or a webm Vorbis VP8 stream?

Which is what my media center dishes out.

--
"The great thing about Glasgow is that if there's a nuclear attack it'll
look exactly the same afterwards."

Billy Connolly

The Natural Philosopher wrote:

> ...basically from either H264/AAC video stream or a webm Vorbis VP8 stream?
>
> Which is what my media center dishes out.

I had no problems with a Pi3 fed with terrestrial and satellite from tvheadend
and netflix, all 2K rather than 4k, the widevine plug-in was a bit tricksy to setup.

On 2021-12-06, Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:
> The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>
>> ...basically from either H264/AAC video stream or a webm Vorbis VP8 stream?
>>
>> Which is what my media center dishes out.
>
> I had no problems with a Pi3 fed with terrestrial and satellite from tvheadend
> and netflix, all 2K rather than 4k, the widevine plug-in was a bit tricksy to setup.

IIRC, it was a Pi3 that I used around 2-3 years ago on an HD TV
(1920x1080). I have done the same with a Pi4. IME, a case with
a fan is a very good idea.

HTH

--
Robert Riches
spamtrap42@jacob21819.net
(Yes, that is one of my email addresses.)

On 2021-12-07, Robert Riches <spamtrap42@jacob21819.net> wrote:
> On 2021-12-06, Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:
>> The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>
>>> ...basically from either H264/AAC video stream or a webm Vorbis VP8 stream?
>>>
>>> Which is what my media center dishes out.
>>
>> I had no problems with a Pi3 fed with terrestrial and satellite from tvheadend
>> and netflix, all 2K rather than 4k, the widevine plug-in was a bit tricksy to setup.
>
> IIRC, it was a Pi3 that I used around 2-3 years ago on an HD TV
> (1920x1080). I have done the same with a Pi4. IME, a case with
> a fan is a very good idea.
>

My experience is that with a very good heat sink a Pi4B doesn't get over
hot. I use the aluminium armour one e.g. at

https://thepihut.com/products/aluminium-armour-heatsink-case-for-raspberry-pi-4

(no affiliation - just a happy customer)

Jim Jackson <jj@franjam.org.uk> wrote:
> My experience is that with a very good heat sink a Pi4B doesn't get over
> hot. I use the aluminium armour one e.g. at
>
> https://thepihut.com/products/aluminium-armour-heatsink-case-for-raspberry-pi-4
>
> (no affiliation - just a happy customer)

Yes, and also because the firmware has got a lot better since the early
days. With my Pi 4 in an el cheapo alu heatsink case, on the floor in a
cool corner of the house, it never throttles.

On 2021-12-07, Jim Jackson <jj@franjam.org.uk> wrote:
> On 2021-12-07, Robert Riches <spamtrap42@jacob21819.net> wrote:
>> On 2021-12-06, Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:
>>> The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>>
>>>> ...basically from either H264/AAC video stream or a webm Vorbis VP8 stream?
>>>>
>>>> Which is what my media center dishes out.
>>>
>>> I had no problems with a Pi3 fed with terrestrial and satellite from tvheadend
>>> and netflix, all 2K rather than 4k, the widevine plug-in was a bit tricksy to setup.
>>
>> IIRC, it was a Pi3 that I used around 2-3 years ago on an HD TV
>> (1920x1080). I have done the same with a Pi4. IME, a case with
>> a fan is a very good idea.
>>
>
> My experience is that with a very good heat sink a Pi4B doesn't get over
> hot. I use the aluminium armour one e.g. at
>
> https://thepihut.com/products/aluminium-armour-heatsink-case-for-raspberry-pi-4
>
> (no affiliation - just a happy customer)

That's an excellent-looking design. Thanks for the link!

Does it have thermally conductive foam pads or similar that
contact the tops of the relevant chips?

--
Robert Riches
spamtrap42@jacob21819.net
(Yes, that is one of my email addresses.)

Robert Riches <spamtrap42@jacob21819.net> wrote:
> On 2021-12-07, Jim Jackson <jj@franjam.org.uk> wrote:
>> https://thepihut.com/products/aluminium-armour-heatsink-case-for-raspberry-pi-4
>>
>> (no affiliation - just a happy customer)
>
> That's an excellent-looking design. Thanks for the link!
>
> Does it have thermally conductive foam pads or similar that
> contact the tops of the relevant chips?

I now looked at the link and it turns out that's the same one I have; yes
it has those stick on foam pads. I had some trouble with them, one
disintegrated when I tried to peel away the protective film. Pimoroni sent
me a new one but it was exactly the same. Because I was very, *very*
careful it wasn't another complete disaster, but yeah, that's why I called
it "el cheapo".

Dana 8 Dec 2021 01:52:49 GMT, Robert Riches <spamtrap42@jacob21819.net> napis'o:
> On 2021-12-07, Jim Jackson <jj@franjam.org.uk> wrote:
>> On 2021-12-07, Robert Riches <spamtrap42@jacob21819.net> wrote:
>>> On 2021-12-06, Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:
>>>> The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> ...basically from either H264/AAC video stream or a webm Vorbis VP8 stream?
>>>>>
>>>>> Which is what my media center dishes out.
>>>>
>>>> I had no problems with a Pi3 fed with terrestrial and satellite from tvheadend
>>>> and netflix, all 2K rather than 4k, the widevine plug-in was a bit tricksy to setup.
>>>
>>> IIRC, it was a Pi3 that I used around 2-3 years ago on an HD TV
>>> (1920x1080). I have done the same with a Pi4. IME, a case with
>>> a fan is a very good idea.
>>>
>>
>> My experience is that with a very good heat sink a Pi4B doesn't get over
>> hot. I use the aluminium armour one e.g. at
>>
>> https://thepihut.com/products/aluminium-armour-heatsink-case-for-raspberry-pi-4
>>
>> (no affiliation - just a happy customer)
>
> That's an excellent-looking design. Thanks for the link!
>
> Does it have thermally conductive foam pads or similar that
> contact the tops of the relevant chips?

Left... photos...
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0176/3274/products/20191025_113657_800x.jpg

In article <slrnsqvaa5.2nf.jj@iridium.wf32df>, jj@franjam.org.uk says...
>
> My experience is that with a very good heat sink a Pi4B doesn't get over
> hot. I use the aluminium armour one e.g. at
>
> https://thepihut.com/products/aluminium-armour-heatsink-case-for-raspberry-pi-4

I liked the look of that too, but wondered whether it might have a bad
effect on WiFi reception?

--
Cheers,
John

On 06/12/2021 17:47, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> ...basically from either H264/AAC video stream or a webm Vorbis VP8 stream?
>
> Which is what my media center dishes out.
>
>
>

The Pi 4 can handle h264, particularly if using a carefully configured
distro, like libreELEC.

However, I don't really understand the raison d'être of media centres.
Sure, I can understand TVHeadend serving broadcast TV, if you like a mix
of dumb propaganda and reality TV, but I prefer to just have internet
and shared drives on a standard desktop under the TV.

When I tested the Pi 4 it wasn't up to serving a desktop with video,
VLC, YouTube, at HD. Now some people say a Pi 4 can, but in the past I
have tried with underpowered machines, and it has been very fragile.

I now use an old intel 2500K, it needs a cabinet to hide it, but it is
just so much less stress, particularly for x265.

Use the Pi 4 as a server and a proper PC as a HTPC.

On 08/12/2021 10:52, Pancho wrote:
> On 06/12/2021 17:47, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>> ...basically from either H264/AAC video stream or a webm Vorbis VP8
>> stream?
>>
>> Which is what my media center dishes out.
>>
>>
>>
>
> The Pi 4 can handle h264, particularly if using a carefully configured
> distro, like libreELEC.
>
> However, I don't really understand the raison d'être of media centres.

Don't you ever watch a DVD?

Or listen to a CD. All my DVDS and CDs are on my media centre, so are
some audiobooks and over a thousand E-books.

Even live internet radio allows me a better interface if I build it myself.

And my media server is, if you know how, globally accessible, so defeats
a lot of country specific broadcasts.

I was very glad that, armed only with a laptop, I could read my books,
watch my videos, watch TV, listen to the radio, listen to my audio
collection from a hospital bed....

Essentially I wanted to build a single https portal which would give me
a unified access to all these things from anywhere in the world.

And instead of having CD players and DVD players and radio tuners,
simply have it all in one big backed up box. Along with all my personal
data.

> Sure, I can understand TVHeadend serving broadcast TV, if you like a mix
> of dumb propaganda and reality TV, but I prefer to just have internet
> and shared drives on a standard desktop under the TV.
>

There is a bit more on UK TV than those, although I agree they are the
dominant content.

The problem is that I have over 1TB of recorded videos on the server,
and so the thing needs to be networked.

> When I tested the Pi 4 it wasn't up to serving a desktop with video,
> VLC, YouTube, at HD.  Now some people say a Pi 4 can, but in the past I
> have tried with underpowered machines, and it has been very fragile.
>

That is really the sort of answer I was looking for, so thanks.
So we are certainly out of Pi Zero territory and into Pi 4 B territory.

Looks like a basic setup is a bit under £70 (- $100)

Might be worth a punt

> I now use an old intel 2500K, it needs a cabinet to hide it, but it is
> just so much less stress, particularly for x265.
>
> Use the Pi 4 as a server and a proper PC as a HTPC.
>

Well I have a spare PC now although its a bit power hungry.

>

--
Climate Change: Socialism wearing a lab coat.

Dana Wed, 8 Dec 2021 10:30:16 -0000, John Aldridge <jpsa@cantab.net> napis'o:
> In article <slrnsqvaa5.2nf.jj@iridium.wf32df>, jj@franjam.org.uk says...
>>
>> My experience is that with a very good heat sink a Pi4B doesn't get over
>> hot. I use the aluminium armour one e.g. at
>>
>> https://thepihut.com/products/aluminium-armour-heatsink-case-for-raspberry-pi-4
>
> I liked the look of that too, but wondered whether it might have a bad
> effect on WiFi reception?

It does. It would ne better if PI had a connector for external antenna.

On 08/12/2021 12:40, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 08/12/2021 10:52, Pancho wrote:
>> On 06/12/2021 17:47, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>> ...basically from either H264/AAC video stream or a webm Vorbis VP8
>>> stream?
>>>
>>> Which is what my media center dishes out.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>> The Pi 4 can handle h264, particularly if using a carefully configured
>> distro, like libreELEC.
>>
>> However, I don't really understand the raison d'être of media centres.
>
> Don't you ever watch a DVD?
>

Not in the last 10 years, maybe 15, no. I threw the CDs and DVDs away
ages ago.

> Or listen to a CD. All my DVDS and CDs are on my media centre, so are
> some audiobooks and over a thousand E-books.
>

Music, E-books EPUB, MOBI, I put on a sync drive (Syncthing) shared with
my laptop, mobile and tablet. That works well, no hassle about
transferring/uploading books. I do the same for the mobile camera, in
reverse.

> Even live internet radio allows me a better interface if I build it myself.
>
> And my media server is, if you know how, globally accessible, so defeats
> a lot of  country specific broadcasts.
>
> I was very glad that, armed only with a laptop, I could read my books,
> watch my videos, watch TV, listen to the radio, listen to my audio
> collection from a hospital bed....
>

Yeah, I remembered you telling me your hospital had mobile access. I've
been to two hospitals in the last month and neither did. But, yeah, in
principle, you can remote share a drive. I don't, being happy to use
Netflix or Amazon Prime for video, and syncing for smaller stuff.

> Essentially I wanted to build a single https portal which would give me
> a unified access to all these things from anywhere in the world.
>
> And instead of having CD players and DVD players and radio tuners,
> simply have it all in one big backed up box. Along with all my personal
> data.
>

All my stored media stuff is files, so a NAS or synced drive solves
this. I use a Pi as a NAS.

You could rip your CDs if you wanted to.

>
>> Sure, I can understand TVHeadend serving broadcast TV, if you like a
>> mix of dumb propaganda and reality TV, but I prefer to just have
>> internet and shared drives on a standard desktop under the TV.
>>
>
> There is a bit more on UK  TV than those, although I agree they are the
> dominant content.
>
> The problem is that I have over 1TB of recorded videos on the server,
> and so the thing needs to be networked.
>

Yeah, any solution needs a network.

>
>> When I tested the Pi 4 it wasn't up to serving a desktop with video,
>> VLC, YouTube, at HD.  Now some people say a Pi 4 can, but in the past
>> I have tried with underpowered machines, and it has been very fragile.
>>
>
> That is really the sort of answer I was looking for, so thanks.
> So we are certainly out of Pi Zero territory and into Pi 4 B territory.
>

Not quite, Pi video playback relies on hardware acceleration. If that
always worked, was supported, it is possible a lower Pi might work. The
problem I have found is that it can be flaky, or unsupported. So a
carefully supported distro like LibreELEC will work, because a lot of
attention is paid to hardware acceleration. In the past, Raspbian didn't
work because acceleration was not well supported.

> Looks like a basic setup is a bit under £70 (- $100)
>
> Might be worth a punt
>

It's a bit of fun, and Pi4s do make brilliant servers, if it fails.

>> I now use an old intel 2500K, it needs a cabinet to hide it, but it is
>> just so much less stress, particularly for x265.
>>
>> Use the Pi 4 as a server and a proper PC as a HTPC.
>>
>
> Well I have a spare PC now although its a bit power hungry.
>

My new power monitoring plugs tell me my TV, computer, and speakers use
130 watts. For 2-3 hours a day, that is only a bit more than the 11
watts, my speakers use on standby 24/7. But, you are right about the
power, probably the best thing to do in such circumstances is to ask
yourself "What would Greta do?".

On 2021-12-08, A Dumas <alexandre@dumas.fr.invalid> wrote:
> Robert Riches <spamtrap42@jacob21819.net> wrote:
>> On 2021-12-07, Jim Jackson <jj@franjam.org.uk> wrote:
>>> https://thepihut.com/products/aluminium-armour-heatsink-case-for-raspberry-pi-4
>>>
>>> (no affiliation - just a happy customer)
>>
>> That's an excellent-looking design. Thanks for the link!
>>
>> Does it have thermally conductive foam pads or similar that
>> contact the tops of the relevant chips?
>
> I now looked at the link and it turns out that's the same one I have; yes
> it has those stick on foam pads. I had some trouble with them, one
> disintegrated when I tried to peel away the protective film. Pimoroni sent
> me a new one but it was exactly the same. Because I was very, *very*
> careful it wasn't another complete disaster, but yeah, that's why I called
> it "el cheapo".

I had no problems with the pads. Bit fiddly, but ok. I've got a couple -
different colours so I can easily distinguish the Pis

On 2021-12-08, Nikolaj Lazic <nlazicBEZ_OVOGA@mudrac.ffzg.hr> wrote:
> Dana Wed, 8 Dec 2021 10:30:16 -0000, John Aldridge <jpsa@cantab.net> napis'o:
>> In article <slrnsqvaa5.2nf.jj@iridium.wf32df>, jj@franjam.org.uk says...
>>>
>>> My experience is that with a very good heat sink a Pi4B doesn't get over
>>> hot. I use the aluminium armour one e.g. at
>>>
>>> https://thepihut.com/products/aluminium-armour-heatsink-case-for-raspberry-pi-4
>>
>> I liked the look of that too, but wondered whether it might have a bad
>> effect on WiFi reception?
>
> It does. It would ne better if PI had a connector for external antenna.

Ah. As I use my Pi4s with wired connection and disable WiFi that is not
something I've tested. Goos to know though.

On 08/12/2021 12:56, Nikolaj Lazic wrote:
> Dana Wed, 8 Dec 2021 10:30:16 -0000, John Aldridge <jpsa@cantab.net> napis'o:
>> In article <slrnsqvaa5.2nf.jj@iridium.wf32df>, jj@franjam.org.uk says...
>>>
>>> My experience is that with a very good heat sink a Pi4B doesn't get over
>>> hot. I use the aluminium armour one e.g. at
>>>
>>> https://thepihut.com/products/aluminium-armour-heatsink-case-for-raspberry-pi-4
>>
>> I liked the look of that too, but wondered whether it might have a bad
>> effect on WiFi reception?
>
> It does. It would ne better if PI had a connector for external antenna.
>
It does...its a usb socket :-)
You plug a USB wifi dongle in...

Actually there is a space on at least a Pi Zero where you can solder a
coax...

--
“when things get difficult you just have to lie”

― Jean Claud Jüncker

The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> On 08/12/2021 10:52, Pancho wrote:
>> When I tested the Pi 4 it wasn't up to serving a desktop with video,
>> VLC, YouTube, at HD.  Now some people say a Pi 4 can, but in the past I
>> have tried with underpowered machines, and it has been very fragile.
>>
>
> That is really the sort of answer I was looking for, so thanks.
> So we are certainly out of Pi Zero territory and into Pi 4 B territory.
>
> Looks like a basic setup is a bit under £70 (- $100)
>
> Might be worth a punt

LibreELEC on a RPi 3 handled YouTube (at least at 720p) just fine. I'd
still be using it, if I didn't have need for more streaming sources than
just YouTube.

>> I now use an old intel 2500K, it needs a cabinet to hide it, but it is
>> just so much less stress, particularly for x265.
>>
>> Use the Pi 4 as a server and a proper PC as a HTPC.
>>
>
> Well I have a spare PC now although its a bit power hungry.

I went from the RPi to a Rock Pi X: same form factor, but with an Intel Atom
that can run normal Linux distros (or even Win10 if you're so inclined). I
put Gentoo Linux on mine (same as on my desktops, with my home server (a
Ryzen 5 2600 on a server motherboard) doing the heavy lifting of compiling
packages for it. LXDE, Brave, and Kodi are compiled for it: Kodi for media
stored on the server, Brave for most streaming. It also runs the LBRY
desktop client to grab content from that network.

The Rock Pi X may have since been discontinued, but there are "stick PCs"
built around various Atom and Celeron CPUs that would be comparable, if
slightly larger.

--
_/_
/ v \ Scott Alfter (remove the obvious to send mail)
(IIGS( https://alfter.us/ Top-posting!
\_^_/ >What's the most annoying thing on Usenet?

Dana Wed, 8 Dec 2021 17:11:28 +0000, The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> napis'o:
> On 08/12/2021 12:56, Nikolaj Lazic wrote:
>> Dana Wed, 8 Dec 2021 10:30:16 -0000, John Aldridge <jpsa@cantab.net> napis'o:
>>> In article <slrnsqvaa5.2nf.jj@iridium.wf32df>, jj@franjam.org.uk says...
>>>>
>>>> My experience is that with a very good heat sink a Pi4B doesn't get over
>>>> hot. I use the aluminium armour one e.g. at
>>>>
>>>> https://thepihut.com/products/aluminium-armour-heatsink-case-for-raspberry-pi-4
>>>
>>> I liked the look of that too, but wondered whether it might have a bad
>>> effect on WiFi reception?
>>
>> It does. It would ne better if PI had a connector for external antenna.
>>
> It does...its a usb socket :-)
> You plug a USB wifi dongle in...
>
> Actually there is a space on at least a Pi Zero where you can solder a
> coax...

Yeah, I know. Some also do cutting and soldering on PI 4. But...
I would probably cut all around. :)

On 2021-12-08, Nikolaj Lazic <nlazicBEZ_OVOGA@mudrac.ffzg.hr> wrote:
> Dana 8 Dec 2021 01:52:49 GMT, Robert Riches <spamtrap42@jacob21819.net> napis'o:
>> On 2021-12-07, Jim Jackson <jj@franjam.org.uk> wrote:
>>> On 2021-12-07, Robert Riches <spamtrap42@jacob21819.net> wrote:
>>>> On 2021-12-06, Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:
>>>>> The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> ...basically from either H264/AAC video stream or a webm Vorbis VP8 stream?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Which is what my media center dishes out.
>>>>>
>>>>> I had no problems with a Pi3 fed with terrestrial and satellite from tvheadend
>>>>> and netflix, all 2K rather than 4k, the widevine plug-in was a bit tricksy to setup.
>>>>
>>>> IIRC, it was a Pi3 that I used around 2-3 years ago on an HD TV
>>>> (1920x1080). I have done the same with a Pi4. IME, a case with
>>>> a fan is a very good idea.
>>>>
>>>
>>> My experience is that with a very good heat sink a Pi4B doesn't get over
>>> hot. I use the aluminium armour one e.g. at
>>>
>>> https://thepihut.com/products/aluminium-armour-heatsink-case-for-raspberry-pi-4
>>>
>>> (no affiliation - just a happy customer)
>>
>> That's an excellent-looking design. Thanks for the link!
>>
>> Does it have thermally conductive foam pads or similar that
>> contact the tops of the relevant chips?
>
> Left... photos...
> https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0176/3274/products/20191025_113657_800x.jpg

Thank you for that link. That looks like rather well-designed
from a thermal perspective.

--
Robert Riches
spamtrap42@jacob21819.net
(Yes, that is one of my email addresses.)