HawthorneVillager.com

I am personally looking at Raspberry Pi+ for media player boxes. One of the major benefits is that it is a computer in itself that loads the software from an microSD card. So it can be repurposed by simply switching the SD card and booting up.

Here's the best step by step instruction I have found on how to setup a XBMC/Kodi media player using Raspberry Pi:

http://mymediaexperience.com/raspberry-pi-xbmc-with-raspbmc/

Should cost around $70.

I would stay clear of the Raspberry Pi, it can be unbelievably slow when running 1080P content and certain add-ons in general. I had one, printed a case of my 3D printer and eventually abandoned the thing all together.

2GB is not essential but Quad-Core is. Steer clear of Dual-Core as they are absolutely slow for current Kodi Streams and add-ons regardless of the 2GB or 1GB of Ram.

I currently use a m12 MX Quad core box that handles Kodi beautifully. Be careful with the cheap clone boxes on the market, I've tried many before settling into a few quality boxes.

Zoomtak T8 with Kodi and Genesis installed works great...

I have a buddy who sells them fully programmed and ready to go...

PM me if you interested in a box. I carry economy quad cores right upto the latest Quad Core release box with addons preinstalled.

Sorry I guys I should have been more clear, I already have a MyGico AT520e. I'm just looking to upgrade from 4.1.1 to the 4.2.2 (not all that techie but I am gathering that is the operating system????). Once I've upgraded to 4.2.2 I want to down load the latest software, Kodi 14.2 (I'm doing this in two phases so that I don't brick my box and render it unusable).

Any where I can get this done in town or around the GTA? If not I may just bite the bullet and try it myself. Worst case scenario I brick it and I go out and buy the 4 core MyGica.

I have the Nexus player and I'm using an ethernet connection. Just get a USB OTG and a USB ethernet adapter. I have Kodi installed on it and it runs great. You can even get a USB hub and connect the ethernet and external storage for storing local movies. The good thing about the nexus player is that it has native Netflix support, so there is no issues with it like on some of the other android boxes.

The new raspberry pi 2 is a quad core with 1 gig ram. I tested it a bit with Kodi and did not see any issues. But I didn't do any extensive testing.

Seconded... it runs really well on it, the B+ was way under powered but the pi 2 is pretty decent....

My neighbour (the resident techie on our street) who got me into a MyGica offered to help upgrade my dual core to the latest software and ended up bricking it. I ran out the next day and got the quad core and it runs much better. But I am now a bit behind on the software upgrades and am afraid to give it a go in case I brick the new one. So far it runs fine and will force the upgrade once I start to have issues.

WOW that is enough to scare me off MyGica... IMHO there's no way an update should brick your hardware unless you REALLY screw it up (and it sounds like the guy you had do it knew what he was doing)
Maybe I'm just fooling myself but there should always be a hard reset to factory specs or some such....

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just lurkin'

I will agree that the Raspberry PI 2 is much faster and will handle Kodi better then the previous generation. I know I may be biased here but a good quad core preloaded is a simpler solution for the average end user.

MyGica Dual core is extremely slow, well compared to any quad core on the market. Ever dual core I have ever sold has been upgraded by each client since its simply too slow for the amount of content that needs to be handled.

I cant speak for MyGica but usually bricked in Android world means incorrect firmware. A good USB connected burning tool and the right image will override that image and make it work again.

I still find myself booting up my classic Boxee Box. I like the simple list of files either sorted by name or newest date. I feel like I can get to my media quiker that way.

How many people actually use the fancy GUI in Kodi? I mean it's wife friendly and all, but it's too much. I never use the watch trailer, or sort by actor / year ever.

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Pain is Temporary Pride is forever

Ordered a Google Chromecast 2 yesterday, $45 plus tax = ~$50-$55. Haven't had any media/streaming device in the past so I hope to tinker around with this one and get kodi on it.

I am planning to purchase a Raspberri Pi 2, but with the shipping cost it seems to add up a bit (Over $70?). May wait until there is a sale as I would like to purchase 2 of them.

I don't think you can get kodi on the Chromecast (either 1 or 2) as apps aren't installed on them, but rather the device that is 'casting' to it. I could be wrong on the technical parts there, but I know there are no options for installed apps ON my gen 1 Chromecast. The Nexus Player on the other hand ...

That was my first thought too. To watch content on Kodi you would have to have a device, like laptop, running Kodi that you stream through the Chromecast through your tv. If you want to run Kodi on the device, you would need the Nexus player or similar box.