Supercharge your Raspberry Pi

OSMC

You can install a media player, such as VLC, onto Raspbian, and use that to play videos. This works fine if you're using your Pi as a general computer and giving it occasional multimedia functions. However, the small size of the hardware, and the fact that it runs silently, makes it a good choice for building your own entertainment centre.

The new revision 2 boards have mounting holes to help you keep your entertainment centre tidied away

The new revision 2 boards have mounting holes to help you keep your entertainment centre tidied away

You could start from Raspbian and customise it to your needs, and this is a good idea if you have any unusual functions in mind. However, if you're looking to press a Pi into service as an exclusive media centre, then life couldn't be simpler than to use OSMC.

OSMC is built on the open-source Kodi media centre, and is incredibly easy to install. Go to thedownload page to grab the installer for Windows, Mac or Linux, which will do the hard work of copying OSMC to your microSD card. Once done, pop it into your Pi and boot.

You'll be taken straight to the Kodi desktop interface, where you can start configuring it and adding your own media libraries using media stored locally on a USB or network drive (see below). You can also install add-ons to access media from elsewhere – including catch-up TV streams and more besides.

Once your Pi-powered media centre is under your TV, controlling it using a mouse and keyboard won't be practical – you could use a wireless model of course, or simply install a Kodi-friendly remote for your Android or Apple smartphone.

Be aware that OSMC may draw as much power as your Pi can muster – before you plug in any USB peripherals. It makes sense, therefore, to attach a powered USB hub to your Pi and then plug in any external drives to that.

If you want to know more about building your own OSMC-powered Raspberry Pi, check out our handy article: How to build a DIY OSMC media player.

OSMC allows you to access your entire digital media collection on tap

OSMC allows you to access your entire digital media collection on tap

Taking it further

It's possible to take complete control of your TV viewing using Linux, including watching live TV, and recording shows for later. This can be done using MythTV.

You'll need a separate computer with the appropriate cable connections to act as the server. A word of warning, though: MythTV is renowned for its pernickety installation. The stresses of this procedure are responsible for more than a few grey hairs.

You can play video files that you have stored on other computers on your network, for example those on a Network Attached Storage (NAS) box. The exact method for doing this will vary depending on how you share the files, but they are configured through the Add Sources buttons. For more information on this, check out the Kodi wiki.

TOPICS
Latest in Pro
Collaboration in an office.
Trends driving IT decision-makers in 2025
Nvidia GR00T N1 humanoid robot
Nvidia is dreaming of trillion-dollar datacentres with millions of GPUs and I can't wait to live in the Omniverse
Nvidia Isaac GROOT N1
“The age of generalist robotics is here" - Nvidia's latest GROOT AI model just took us another step closer to fully humanoid robots
A computer file surrounded by red laser beams
Free online file converters could infect your PC with malware, FBI warns
Nvidia Earth-2 weather models
Nvidia has updated its virtual recreation of the entire planet - and it could mean better weather forecasts for everyone
Nvidia DGX Station
Nvidia’s DGX Station brings 800Gbps LAN, the most powerful chip ever launched in a desktop workstation PC
Latest in News
Volvo Gaussian Splatting
Volvo is using AI-generated worlds to make its cars safer and it’s all thanks to something called Gaussian splatting
Image of Asus ROG Ally running Bazzite/SteamOS
This SteamOS update promises a new future for non-Steam Deck handheld PCs – and I can’t wait
Perplexity Squid Game Ad
New ad declares Squid Game's real winner is Perplexity AI
Pedro Pascal in Apple's Someday ad promoting the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation.
Pedro Pascal cures his heartbreak thanks to AirPods 4 (and the power of dance) in this new ad
Frank Grimes confronts Homer Simpson in The Simpsons' Homer's Enemy episode
Disney+ adds a new continuous Simpsons stream, so you no longer have to spend ages choosing an episode
Helly and Mark standing on an artificial hill surrounded by goats in Severance season 2 episode 3
New Apple teaser for Severance season 2 finale suggests we might finally find out what Lumon is doing with those goats, and I don't think it's anything good