Here’s my situation: I have a lot of old TV Shows that I’ve ripped from DVD to the media server and I would love to make them available to my elderly father to watch whenever he wants. But, I need to get some ideas on the absolute simplest client device for him to use.
The have an LCD TV that I’m not even going to bother looking to see if an app could be added - the menus and such that it uses are simply too complex for him to navigate.
What’s out there for external devices that are SUPER simple to use? Is there anything that automatically loads up the Plex client when it’s powered on? What about something like a modded Firestick or similar?
Anything that runs the embedded Plex Media Player will boot directly into Plex. You can run it on a RPI3 and have plenty of horsepower - add a remote control and you’re in. I have an Intel NUC that runs embedded PMP and it works great.
Are there any devices that I could put the embedded software on that already HAVE a remote? The RPI3 option is “cool”, but is 100% -not- something I would want to chance from two hours away if anything glitches.
@ember1205 said:
Thanks for the quick response and idea.
Are there any devices that I could put the embedded software on that already HAVE a remote? The RPI3 option is “cool”, but is 100% -not- something I would want to chance from two hours away if anything glitches.
I don’t really know. But I can tell you that a standard Microsoft remote (MCE remote) comes with an IR USB dongle, and I’ve never had any issues with it. It’s very simple to create a custom remote command list so that the home button takes you back to the main menu, etc etc etc.
I’ll have to give this more thought. I might just give him one of my media player devices and plug in an external hard drive with all of the stuff on it. I guess I was hoping that a Firestick or Chromecast device could be modded with custom software and the hardware you already have would “just work”.
The Pi can be operated over HDMI-CEC meaning the regular TV remote is passed through the Pi. Worked very well in the old days when I was still using it.
@spikemixture said:
So you want to plug your USB drive into something (TV or device) then he can immediately see what is on the drive and click to watch.
I suggest a western Digital box connected via HDMI to the TV.
He turns on the tv = hits hdmi 2 or 3 and there it is!
@Coxeroni said:
The Pi can be operated over HDMI-CEC meaning the regular TV remote is passed through the Pi. Worked very well in the old days when I was still using it.
Problem is… I’d need to build and test the Pi here, make sure everything actually works, then figure out how to teach it to him using his TV remote. Not sure how that would go, but I’ll give it some thought.
@Coxeroni said:
The Pi can be operated over HDMI-CEC meaning the regular TV remote is passed through the Pi. Worked very well in the old days when I was still using it.
Problem is… I’d need to build and test the Pi here, make sure everything actually works, then figure out how to teach it to him using his TV remote. Not sure how that would go, but I’ll give it some thought.
Well HDMI CEC needs to be active at the TV, that’s about it. But if it isn’t, it could become difficult, I agree.
@Coxeroni said:
The Pi can be operated over HDMI-CEC meaning the regular TV remote is passed through the Pi. Worked very well in the old days when I was still using it.
Problem is… I’d need to build and test the Pi here, make sure everything actually works, then figure out how to teach it to him using his TV remote. Not sure how that would go, but I’ll give it some thought.
Well HDMI CEC needs to be active at the TV, that’s about it. But if it isn’t, it could become difficult, I agree.
Right… Understood.
It’s a Sony TV, and they’ve long supported HDMI-CEC with their “Bravia Sync” function. So, that’s probably covered. I would need to validate functionality first, then test it with his TV. THEN, see if he could actually operate it. He’s NOT tech savvy -at all-. And my mom will chastise him endlessly if he somehow gets the TV to a state where she can’t watch it.
@spikemixture said:
So you want to plug your USB drive into something (TV or device) then he can immediately see what is on the drive and click to watch.
I suggest a western Digital box connected via HDMI to the TV.
He turns on the tv = hits hdmi 2 or 3 and there it is!
Those are various external storage devices. And wouldn’t leverage an HDMI connection like you had originally mentioned. Not sure I’m following what you were originally suggestion now.
Yes, USB is present. The TV’s interface is much older and clunkier (XROSS BAR) and I don’t know how it will lend itself to being able to easily access the content. I have to experiment.
BTW: I’ve never seen any sort of storage that connected via HDMI. I wonder if they were expensive because they had processors and ran software and weren’t “just a disk”?
@ember1205 said:
Those are various external storage devices. And wouldn’t leverage an HDMI connection like you had originally mentioned.
Taking a Raspberry Pi 3 and putting LibreELEC on it will give you basically a more modern and more powerful WDTVlive. And it costs much less than $300
If the TV supports HDMI-CEC, that is all that’s needed. No additional remote control.
Buy a small case for the Pi and some Velcro to tack it onto the backside of the TV.
Then place a mobile hard disk in the vincinity and plug it into the RasPi.
Since the RasPi has a network port, you can “smartify” any old TV that way.
And since LibreELEC is basically a Linux with KODI on top, you can still install the Plex4Kodi Add-On and connect it to your Plex server.
And since it’s Kodi, you can install a Skin that is more simplified than the default one.
