Raspberry Pi as Smart TV upgrader

This is a continuation to my previous Blog “Media Centre for Your Connected Home”. In that Blog, I covered the concept of a Connected Home. In this Blog, I will cover the setting up of the Media Centre. TV forms an integral part of our home entertainment and we desire to have the best TV. Over the years, TVs have gone smarter with support for online streaming like Youtube, Hulu, Netflix, Dailymotion, etc. It also supports playing Media files stored on your computer, Smart Phone or Network hard drive. There are even some TVs which have applications for Skype, facebook, Web browser, etc. Many people these days have TVs which have large screen with good display but they do not have the above mentioned features and it does not make sense to throw away the TV and get new a one just so that you can watch online streams or view your personal media content. This is where Raspbmc comes into the picture. Raspbmc is a device which allows you to do most of the above on your conventional TV. Raspbmc is a Raspberry Pi computer running the XBMC software. It can be set up for less than $50. Continue reading

Media Centre for Your Connected Home

Technology has brought us close together. Satellite communications, TV, Radio, Internet has made the world a smaller place. With the whole world moving towards ip network, the world will become ever more converged. There was a time when individual devices like TV, VCR, Radio, etc had to work independently and beautifully. Nowadays they have more responsibility and must communicate with the other devices for a sublime consumer experience. Gadgets have come which make everyday electrical utilities to form part of ip network. You can control your electrical equipments, heating and cooling devices away from home through your smart phone. In this blog, we are going to talk about bringing the entertainment devices together so they seamlessly communicate with each other and reduce the hassle of managing individual devices. Continue reading