Raspberry Pi
How to turn it into a media centre!
So you want to turn your Raspberry Pi into a media centre? Well here's how...
By Daniel Low
The are a few different media programs that you can use to turn your Raspberry Pi into a fully-fledged video-playing picture-presenting machine. The most popular program is one named XBMC, a free download for any Pi user. Here is what you will need to use this program:
Hardware-wise, you will need:
-Raspberry Pi Model B (The Model A only has half the SDRAM)
-8GB or more SD card/any memory stick (that is big enough to hold a film)
-Micro USB power supply
-A USB Keyboard
-A USB mouse
-A HDMI cable
-An ethernet cable
-A network connection!
Now that you have all of that, download a Pi-compatible program called 'XBMC' from raspbmc.com. Then put that softwre onto your Raspberry Pi's SD card, via your main computer. Make sure you put any films you want onto the SD card aswell, or alternatively put them on a memory stick (if you have a spare USB port).
Put the SD card back into your Rasberry Pi, plug it into your TV or chosen monitor via HDMI. Your rasberry Pi should now be able to play your media files!
If you're still a bit unsure, here's a video to help:
The Hardware:
The HDMI cable
Required to connect the Rasberry Pi to your chosen display
Ethernet Cable
This is needed to connect your Rasberry Pi to the interent. Plug one end into your Pi, and the other into your router or any other ethernet port.
SD Card
The piece of hardware that will hold your media files. A USB stick is also usable!