Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Setting Up a Media Center
The Pi has an
HDMI
output that is capable of streaming High Definition Audio
Video and also supports
CEC
for sharing remote control functions. In this chapter,
we will look at how to use the Pi as a media server directly from the command line.
We will look into displaying images and playing audio from the command line. We
will briefly look at some other solutions that people have come up with and finally
install
RaspBMC
(XBMC dedicated Pi image) that uses hardware decoding and CEC
out of the box.
If you are going to use Raspbian for these examples, it would be advisable to give
the GPU more RAM. A recommended value will be 256 MB or more. Most of these
examples will benefit from more GPU RAM than CPU and will improve loading
time and stability. You can change core system settings by typing
raspi-config
in the command line.
Slideshows
Linux users are familiar with the command-line program called
fbi
(
frame
buffer imageviewer
). We will connect a widescreen monitor or HD TV using
an HDMI cable.
You should be aware that using square aspect computer monitors smaller
than 19 inches or non-HD TVs are not supported with HDMI output.
There is a project called
HDMIPi
that offers a 9-inch 1280 x 800 LCD screen, which
plugs into the HDMI port without any extra parts. There are other smaller LCD
screens available, but they can be quite expensive.
