After the RPi4 running my backend died (USB stopped working), I've repurposed another Pi4 that was being used as a frontend to run the backend, and have temporarily set up a Firestick 4K to run the frontend. But this isn't ideal - mainly because I use the frontend to play DVDs as well as watch recordings.
Given that RPi4s are unobtainable at sensible prices, I'm wondering about other SBCs I might use as a frontend.
Has anyone tried any of the "Pi-lookalikes" to run a frontend (eg. Rock Pi, Banana Pi, Orange Pi, etc), and if so what was your experience?
Given that they are all ARM-based, I'm wondering if perhaps the prebuilt mythtv-light builds for the RPi would work on them rather than having to build from source.
Alternatives to RPi4?
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jfabernathy
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Re: Alternatives to RPi4?
So I have not tried any other ARM except RPI4. But I want to because it's cold outside and I'm bored. But here's what I know, The pre-built .deb will only work on either x86 or RPI4 (pick the right one for your hardware).
However, you'll find in the Raspberry Pi category a topic on building Endeavour OS ARM for the RPI4 but they also have an image for Odriod N2+. But you will be getting your hands dirty to get it working with Mythtv. I was trying to build Mythtv on EOS ARM for the RPI4 today and it froze the system. Still chasing that one.
I built Mythtv under Ubuntu on the RPI4 a long time ago and the performance wasn't great but they've fixed a lot of that.
I'd look for something like the Orange Pi 5 that has a Debian and Ubuntu OS build. But you'd have to build Mythtv from source. Might be a fun project but will not solve your problem this weekend.
However, you'll find in the Raspberry Pi category a topic on building Endeavour OS ARM for the RPI4 but they also have an image for Odriod N2+. But you will be getting your hands dirty to get it working with Mythtv. I was trying to build Mythtv on EOS ARM for the RPI4 today and it froze the system. Still chasing that one.
I built Mythtv under Ubuntu on the RPI4 a long time ago and the performance wasn't great but they've fixed a lot of that.
I'd look for something like the Orange Pi 5 that has a Debian and Ubuntu OS build. But you'd have to build Mythtv from source. Might be a fun project but will not solve your problem this weekend.
Re: Alternatives to RPi4?
Thanks for the comments.
EDIT: Need to be careful with these tiny PCs. Many of them are not fanless, and I've also seen some reports of difficulties installing Linux. Perhaps I just need to wait for RPi's to become available again and stick wth the Firestick and an old DVD player for the time being!
OK, good to know.jfabernathy wrote: Sun Jan 01, 2023 12:46 am So I have not tried any other ARM except RPI4. But I want to because it's cold outside and I'm bored. But here's what I know, The pre-built .deb will only work on either x86 or RPI4 (pick the right one for your hardware).
OK, thanks. I've got too many other things on the go to tackle this. Perhaps it would be easier to just get a SFF x86 machine, like an Intel NUC or a Lenovo Tiny. You see plenty of them on eBay at reasonable prices.jfabernathy wrote: Sun Jan 01, 2023 12:46 amI'd look for something like the Orange Pi 5 that has a Debian and Ubuntu OS build. But you'd have to build Mythtv from source. Might be a fun project but will not solve your problem this weekend.
EDIT: Need to be careful with these tiny PCs. Many of them are not fanless, and I've also seen some reports of difficulties installing Linux. Perhaps I just need to wait for RPi's to become available again and stick wth the Firestick and an old DVD player for the time being!
Re: Alternatives to RPi4?
A follow-up in case it helps anyone else...
I bought an ex-corporate Lenovo M625q Tiny PC (with 4GB RAM/32GB SSD) from eBay for £85 (about $100).
This is about 7" square, 2" high and fanless, so easy to house as a frontend.
It has AMD A9-9420E CPU with Radeon R5 graphics.
Installed Linux Mint 21.1 XFCE edition, then Myth Frontend v31.
I suspect Ubuntu server would have been a more appropriate OS, but I wanted to keep things as easy as possible.
CPU utilisation while playing UK Freeview HD content (1080i, I believe) hovers around 60-70%
All seems to work well - I'd say it is better than the RPi4 it has replaced.
So add this to the list of affordable hardware that runs a front end nicely.
One plus point for me is that the RPi4 had occasional audio glitches, where one channel would briefly drop out (for less than a second).
It was acceptable through the TV, but especially annoying when playing through the big outboard speakers if we were watching a concert. So far this dropout hasn't happened on the Lenovo.
I bought an ex-corporate Lenovo M625q Tiny PC (with 4GB RAM/32GB SSD) from eBay for £85 (about $100).
This is about 7" square, 2" high and fanless, so easy to house as a frontend.
It has AMD A9-9420E CPU with Radeon R5 graphics.
Installed Linux Mint 21.1 XFCE edition, then Myth Frontend v31.
I suspect Ubuntu server would have been a more appropriate OS, but I wanted to keep things as easy as possible.
CPU utilisation while playing UK Freeview HD content (1080i, I believe) hovers around 60-70%
All seems to work well - I'd say it is better than the RPi4 it has replaced.
So add this to the list of affordable hardware that runs a front end nicely.
One plus point for me is that the RPi4 had occasional audio glitches, where one channel would briefly drop out (for less than a second).
It was acceptable through the TV, but especially annoying when playing through the big outboard speakers if we were watching a concert. So far this dropout hasn't happened on the Lenovo.