Fixing up my Kodi home media server and setting up a new family PC sound like just the kind of low-hanging fruit I need to chew on right now.
Home media server
For a while now I've been flirting with the idea of getting rid of our streaming services, which cost too much for too little value. Of course the sticking point has always been the kids, and one thing I really appreciate about streaming is that it's not saturated in ads for planet-destroying garbage.
Well this video from Jeff Geerling has galvanised me to move our media back in-house; the kids really only watch the same handful of shows repeatedly anyway.
Current setup
I do already have a raspberry pi running OSMC, but it doesn't feel like a robust solution. I set it up years ago, more to make use of a spare HDD I'd rescued from a broken laptop than from any particular need. The disk is crammed with all kinds of junk - photos and random backed-up files as well as music and video. It's at capacity it's making some noises I don't like the sound of...
So the project is to update my setup:
- Get a new, dedicated SSD for storage
- Update the Rpi with whatever media centre software is best in 2023
- Configure it with profiles so we can filter content for kids' consumption
- Curate the current media files to
- de-duplicate
- apply correct and consistent metadata
- delete rubbish and add current favourites
I really want to take the time to do this properly so I'm not fannying around with weird paths or directory structures - make sure the device is properly configured on the network with a static IP address and whatnot, and that it can be accessed from other devices in a user-friendly way.
New family PC
We've had another Raspberry Pi on a desk since COVID lockdown acting as a desktop computer for the kids to use. I've never really been satisfied with its performance to be honest - in theory it should have been sufficient for our needs, but in practice it tended to freeze and lag and just generally frustrate on occasion.
Apart from a lack of speed and power, the ARM architechture limits my software options. Now that K (the chief user) is a bit older I think we need to upgrade.
So I've bought a refurbished Dell tower for less than the new RPi 5 and I'm looking forward to getting it all set up and congfigured for the kids to use. Again, I'll need to improve my sysadmin game to make sure people have appropriate profiles and software and whatnot. I'm not sure how I'm going to montior the internet use...
But overall I think this'll unlock a bunch of fun stuff for us. The Dell has a disc tray, for a start, so we can rip DVDs for the media centre project, and also use it as a secondary viewing station.
Other things on my radar:
- Add linux dual boot option
- Set up the digital microscope (per K's request)
- Free up the current RPi to use with night-vision camera - cast to the PC!
- GB Studio
- Aseprite
- Low-end gaming
- Art software (simpler than GIMP) with drawing tablet