Raspberry Pi 2

[Icarian]

I'm thinking on getting one to replace my Chromecast as I can't barely use it to stream anymore (there's 20+ wifi networks on my block, overlapping all the 2.4Ghz channels, I'm barely getting 1mbps of bandwith) so instead of getting the new one with 5 Ghz I might as well go with a RPi 2.

I've been reading about it, but can't quite come up with an answer, can it display .ass/.ssa (mostly used in anime) subs correctly? I've read it also has problems with 10 bit video as there's no hardware decoder for that and ARM chips are not powerful enough, yet my phone (One Plus One) has no problems with it whatsoever.

All in all, I want to have a simple box to play Anime/TV shows/movies locally plus some nice extras like being able to browse the web without much hassle, anybody here tried it?

[Dantrag]

Can't chrome connect to 5ghz? I haven't used mine in a while but I use my amazon fire which I think does 5ghz.

[Icarian]

Can't chrome connect to 5ghz? I haven't used mine in a while but I use my amazon fire which I think does 5ghz.

The first one can't, the new one that was released back in September does have 5 Ghz.

[orinthia]

RPi2 would be running some form of linux (your choice), so it can do or open anything, provided there's source/binaries available for arm processors for that particular piece of software. Though it won't be doing it with any great speed, it's still a very low end chip with low power requirements in mind. You could also run things like http://openelec.tv/get-openelec which turn the rpi (or any device with it installed) into a good media center.

You'll also need to get a few other things for it, like a case, sd card for the OS, wireless lan/bt dongle (if you need it), etc, since the board is bare out of the box unless you buy a specific rpi pack. You'll also want some kind of wireless kb/m, though with a bt dongle you could setup your phone like a kb/touchpad with an app.

Keep in mind that this all totaled will be more than a chromecast2, or some android based boxes. On android boxes, there's shit tons of them out of china, most are pretty crappy but some are worth looking at. Look up reviews on youtube and elsewhere, but here's a link that might get you started looking: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0176I9RQQ?psc=1 Has lan wired/5ghz wireless, bt, usb, etc, but I do not personally own this so I'm not exactly recommending it, just linking something with seemingly decent specs. I use an amazon firestick with kodi and some other apps sideloaded (android's bt app, opera, file browser, etc); it's decent but pretty slow for things outside amazon's frontend, and it's android 4.2 underneath.

add: with those android boxes, most won't be receiving any updates, so the android version it comes with is most likely its final release unless there's a custom rom out there for it. I know a handful of apps require certain minimum versions on android, so be cautious.

[Icarian]

I am aware it'll go above the price of a chromecast 2, but it also is a lot more flexible than a chromecast, it can't run anything locally.

I can get one of the starter kits that comes with a case, WiFi dongle, 16 GB SD class 10, HDMI cable and a MicroUSB Power Supply for $90, which seems like a good deal, I would only need a cheap USB/Mouse keyboard and I'd be set to go.

Mostly I'd like a little box that can play stuff by itself, no streaming needed, that's easy to use once it's all set up. Being able to plug in an USB HDD with movies, do some light web browsing with a wireless mouse/kb and download stuff on it is a huge plus over a chromecast withoth having to spend $300~ on something like a chromebox, I just want to know if someone has first hand experience with it and if there's any issue with displaying animu subtitles, since I had quite a headache getting them to display on chromecast.

[Dantrag]

What do you mean locally? Off the network or actually on the device itself?

[Icarian]

On the device itself, it can play stuff from the SD card/USB HDD, can't do that with a chromecast/most stick mini-PC things.

[orinthia]

RPi2 can certainly do all that once you set it up. The android box I linked is about the same price with all the same capabilities you were looking for out of the box, though tied down to only android with dubious support (media box with google playstore). The rpi would be more fun to set up and mess with though (great community, lots of projects/accessories out there beyond just a media box, can even run android if you wanted).

[Zetanio]

I got one of these things as a gift and I'm completely blank as to what it can do and how to do any of that. Been googling around and most of the tutorials are flying over my head.

[orinthia]

Really depends on what you want to do or are thinking of trying out with the rpi. A nice place to start is with NOOBS, https://github.com/raspberrypi/noobs , which has a lot of options for OS installs and gets you up and running with your rpi quick.

[Zetanio]

I didn't know what a Pi was until I got the gift.

Looks like I'm gonna make a RetroPie out of it and play SNES on my TV.

[Niya]

The original plan behind the Pi was giving kids a cheap platform for getting into programming/coding. So why not slap Raspbian on there (should even run parallel to RetroPie, or use a 2nd SD card) and learn some python?

[Zetanio]

Probably not gonna happen.