So I am considering purchasing a Raspberry Pi 2 to use as a media centre, which would naturally mean using OSMC. But I would require this media centre to be capable to streaming video from (at a minimum) Amazon Instant Video, preferably Netflix, and if possible blinkbox and wuaki (maybe even Google Play). Is there any way to do any of these via plugins etc. with OSMC? Bear in mind I am in the UK, so the plugins would need to work with the UK versions of Amazon and Netflix.
I have considered a Roku instead, but it doesn’t do Amazon in the UK, leaving only the Fire TV which is a lot pricier than I’d be willing to spend, plus the Raspberry Pi could be nicer to fiddle with when I don’t need it as a media centre.
The other option that many seem to use (myself included) is Playon which acts as a upnp server. That way amazon or netflix can be added to your movies sources.
Ok so you need to buy a license for it but it means you can stream from netflix, amazon, youtube and quite a few other “channels” as it puts it. You can also add your own media. End result is that it’s available on however many devices as you want too.
I’ve got it running on my laptop and works well.
[quote=“sam_nazarko, post:2, topic:408, full:true”]
The Vero can run Android (and thus Google Play and associated apps) but I do not think Pi 2 has any plans for Android at this time
[/quote]Vero is far more expensive than I am willing to go; at that point I would just get an Amazon Fire TV, which I’m pretty sure is cheaper than a Vero, and can definitely handle Amazon Prime and Netflix perfectly, with apps designed specifically for the device. As opposed to running potentially phone/tablet versions of the apps on the Vero? Maybe it can use Google TV versions of the apps or something, but I’d say the experience is probably less straightforward than using a purpose built device with built in support for the services in question. Plus if I were to go down the Android route, there are certainly much cheaper Android media streamers. Which are a definite consideration.
It has been able to run on Linux for some time now, via HTML5.
I don’t believe PlayOn works with the UK versions of these services, plus I do not want to have to run software on my laptop to make my streaming device functional. At that point, I may as well just plug my laptop into the TV when I want to watch stuff.
Thanks to all of you for the replies, I appreciate your suggestions, but it looks like the answer to my question is no, I can’t use those services on a Raspberry Pi with OSMC & plugins.
I’m based in the UK and it works well. I use it on my Amazon Instant Prime account. I’ll agree its not elegant but there are other benefits too (being able to record things to watch offline for instance). Still, it is an option.
Kodi + integrated, good looking, stable support for the most common streaming services, in a cheap device. What everybody wants Vero has to be able to do all this, and smartly too, to be able to defend the price of it, I would say. Can’t wait to see how it actually performs when it ships. Hopefully very soon.
FireTV with kodi looks like the best solution at the moment, but I have not tried this myself. Would love to hear from people playing with this. Vero is $200+ and FireTV is $99. Vero better be awesome and then some
I suppose the FireTV can run anything from google play store, in addition to apps made specially for the FireTV? And you can even launch the apps from within the kodi gui/menu?
Vero has to be able to do all this, and smartly too, to be able to defend the price of it, I would say. Can’t wait to see how it actually performs when it ships. Hopefully very soon.