Open-source TV box using Orange Pi Plus 2

bharathram21391 · Published in 2015-11-8 18:03:03

Edited by bharathram21391 at 2015-11-10 01:00

Orange Pi Plus 2 is a really powerful SBC and I thought why not use it to make a TV Box, using a good case. Using the built-in IR receiver, the device can take input from a standard TV remote. If Kodi or another media center is programmed to run in Orange Pi Plus 2, it can become a very good tool for media playback. This is a great way to turn any TV into a smart TV.

If you think my idea is good, please vote for my idea. I am very open to suggestions and feedback.

fritz · Published in 2015-11-9 00:50:03

Sorry for destroying your project
But you can buy a H3 OTT Box for 35$ with case, power supply, remote control and some has a HDMI-cable too (I have one of this boxes).
I have payed 55$ for my opi plus some months ago.
Make's no sense to me.

bharathram21391 · Published in 2015-11-9 19:19:06

Hi fritz. Thanks a lot for your feedback. The project is about learning to build devices with Orange Pi and sharing the learning with others. I never said this the best way to make a TV box or the most efficient. All I am saying is I can build a box with it and it is definitely affordable for many people. I don't deny there are alternatives. Secondly, with Orange Pi, you can customize the things you want. For example, you can load any OS you want from Raspbian to Kodibuntu to Android. Since everything about it is open source, you can optimize it for quality and performance. In other words, you have complete control over what you're doing.

fritz · Published in 2015-11-9 20:37:41

Edited by fritz at 2015-11-9 13:41

Ahh,forgot to write why I have chosen a OTT H3 Box and not orange pi plus/2/PC.
It's the SPDIF out for digital audio DTS/Dolby.
In the orange pi plus/2/PC this output is not available.It's used internaly to enable power for the CSI port (CSI-PWR En).
Alternatively you could, if you're planning to use your opi 2, to pass (passtrough) audio via HDMI to the TV and then via SPDIF out to the AV Receiver/amplifier.
This however requires a TV with SPDIF output.
Regarding customization and booting linux distros. You can boot what you want on any H3 device that has a microsd slot.

And don't forget that with linux you don't have Hardware video acceleration and this will not change in the near future!

bharathram21391 · Published in 2015-11-9 22:01:22

Regarding hardware acceleration, I am not planning for gaming or other GPU-intensive tasks. So lack of video acceleration shouldn't be a problem. Not everyone needs an SPDIF out. Where I live, that port is hardly ever found on TVs or other devices. HDMI is the standard here. We don't get H3 devices here. No one's even heard of them. H3 devices might be available and affordable in your country but here, an Orange Pi-based TV box would be a boon.

fritz · Published in 2015-11-9 23:44:19

aliexpress is available from all the world.
It seems to me that you do not have a very clear idea of how it works and what is' video acceleration.
you can not play HD videos without acceleration

bharathram21391 · Published in 2015-11-9 23:57:57

Aliexpress is definitely an option but as I pointed out, H3 box does not give you the learning that setting up your own TV box does.

Regarding acceleration, I can start with low-resolution videos and work my way up to HD. This project may not give immediate results but it's well worth it in the long term.

Thanks a lot for your inputs, fritz.

fritz · Published in 2015-11-10 00:11:32

Well if you need help, i am here... for now.

bruski · Published in 2015-11-30 19:48:30

I think a fantastic idea
It could be adopted by manufacturers who do not already have the view that these open source boards inexpensive give a fantastic freedom to the customer
They could make a tv or even a digital decoder with independent boards associating only bridge between software TV CHANNELS software OPI plate with android and having hard acceleration to 4K as already today makes that perfectly plate with distro android
I even already took that idea to a digital decoder manufacturer
just see if this is the future
Hugs

Kortsen · Published in 2015-12-3 10:06:17

fritz replied at 2015-11-9 00:50
Sorry for destroying your project
But you can buy a H3 OTT Box for 35$ with case, power supply, remo ...

My last Media PC was a Pentium 4 PC I bought at a thrift shop for $12.50. I installed Lubuntu and XBMC and bought an SSD ($15) and a USB wireless remote ($5) and could dual boot Windows and Linux on my TV. Then I bought an OPI-PC for $15 and between the spare parts I had on hand and an SD card ($8) I now have a Media PC that will pay for itself with utility savings and can switch from Android to Linux with the swap of an SD card. If I didn't want to muck about and post on (and read) forums I could have bought a Beelink X2 for $35. This is a LOT more fun.