EffortlessKodi(XBMC)/RaspberryPi2and3OptimizationForHighPerformance

KillerHomeTheater

TheOnlyRaspberryPi2/3Kodi(XBMC)Step-by-StepOptimizationTipsYouWillEverNeed_________________________________________

CarolH.

HaveyougotaRaspberryPiKodiasyourhometheatersetup?Doyouwanttoimproveitsperformanceandmakeitevenmorepowerfulthanbefore?RaspberryPi’smodesthardwarespecsissignificantlybelowalow-endhometheaterPCormediacentercomputer.Butitisbydesignalow-powerhighdefinitionmediacenteratjustUSD35.Notonlythat,thereareafewtweaksyoucanapplytoimproveKodiperformancesignificantlyonRaspberryPi2or3.

ThegoodnewsisyoudonotneedtoperformhighlytechnicaltasktooptimizeRaspberryPiandKodi.Tobehonest,optimizingKodiandRaspberryPi2or3isoneoftheeasiestthingsthatyoucando.Itdoesnottakealotofexpertisetoputthesetasktogethernorisittootimeconsuming.Thatisexactlywhatyouwilllearnfromthisbook.Youwilllearnhowtomakethetweaksonhardwareandsoftwarewithoutthestressofworryingthatitistoodifficulttoputtogether.Thereisastep-by-stepguideinthisbookforeveryoneoutthere,regardlessoftheirtechnicalexperiences.Inthisbook,everystephasonephotoforyoutocomparebeforegoingtonext.So,ifyouwanttobeginmakingyourveryownoptimizationwithlittletonoeffortatall,thenlet’sstartworking!

EffortlessKodi(XBMC)/RaspberryPi2and3OptimizationforHighPerformanceKillerHomeTheater1stEdition

byCarolH.(VisitmywebsiteforevenmoreinfoonKodihttp://shaolinseo.com)

Copyright©2016CarolH.Allrightsreserved.Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,distributed,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,includingphotocopying,recording,orotherelectronicormechanicalmethods,withoutthepriorwrittenpermissionoftheauthor,exceptinthecaseofbriefquotationsembodiedincriticalreviewsandcertainothernon-commercialusespermittedbycopyrightlaw.

DISCLAIMERAllrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationortheinformationinitmaybequotedfromorreproducedinanyformbymeanssuchasprinting,scanning,photocopyingorotherwisewithoutpriorwrittenpermissionofthecopyrightholder.DisclaimerandTermsofUse:Efforthasbeenmadetoensurethattheinformationinthisbookisaccurateandcomplete.However,theauthorandthepublisherdonotwarranttheaccuracyoftheinformation,text,andgraphicscontainedwithinthebookduetotherapidlychangingnatureofscience,research,knownandunknownfacts,andtheinternet.Theauthorandthepublisherdonotholdanyresponsibilityforerrors,omissions,orcontraryinterpretationofthesubjectmatterherein.Thisbookispresentedsolelyformotivationalandinformationalpurposesonly.Thereaderisresponsibleforhisorherownactionsandtheauthordoesnotacceptanyresponsibilitiesforanyliabilitiesordamages,realorperceived,resultingfromtheuseofthisinformation.Thetrademarksthatareusedarewithoutanyconsent,andthepublicationofthetrademarkiswithoutpermissionorbackingbythetrademarkowner.Alltrademarksandbrandswithinthisbookareforclarifyingpurposesonlyandaretheownedbytheownersthemselves,notaffiliatedwiththisdocument.

KODIisatrademarkofXBMCFOUNDATION;

RaspberryPi®isatrademarkoftheRaspberryPiFoundation;

OSMC®isaregisteredtrademarkofSamNazarkoTradingLtd;

ContentsKillerHomeTheaterwithRaspberryPi2/3

RaspberryPi2and3Introduction

RaspberryPi2and3Comparison

OverclockingRaspberryPi

OverclockingRaspberryPi2

OverclockingRaspberryPi3

SelectRightMicroSDforRaspberryPi

IntroductiontoKodi

KillerHomeTheaterOptimization

VideoCache

EasyAdvancedSettingAddon

OptimizeKodiSettings

cachemembuffersize

buffermode

readbufferfactor

FinalSettings

KillerHomeTheaterwithRaspberryPi2/3Thankyouforpurchasingthisbook.MostlikelyyoualreadyownaRaspberryPihometheaterbeforebuyingthisbook.Butifyoustillinthestageofthinkingtogetalowpricehighqualityhometheater,checkoutmypreviousbook“EffortlessKodi(XBMC)InstallationwithRaspberryPi2and3:TheOnlyRaspberryPi2/3Kodi(XBMC)Step-by-StepInstallationGuideYouWillEverNeed”2ndEdition.

Thebesthometheatermediaboxissmallsize,quietoperatingmodeandmostimportantly–inexpensive!Thecreditcardsize,USD35RaspberryPi2and3istheperfectchoiceforyou.Notonlythat,youcanperformhardwareandsoftwareoptimizationtothismediaboxeasilyandgetbestperformanceoutfromthisbudgetdevice!

YoucanpurchasetheRaspberryPifromAmazonhere

RaspberryPi2board

RaspberryPi3board

RaspberryPi2and3Introduction

TopviewofRaspberryPi2ModelB.

TopviewofRaspberryPi3ModelB.AlmostthesameasRaspberryPi2exceptsomelabelssuchastheonehighlitedandsomesmallcomponents.

TheRaspberryPi2ModelBwasreleasedinFeb2015outandit’sreallyamazing!Itdecodes1080pH.264HDvideosmoothly,andtheKodiuserinterfaceisveryresponsiveonRaspberryPi2thankstoitsupgradedprocessor.

Ayearlater,RaspberryPi3wasintroducedanditlooksandfeelexactlythesamelikePi

2.Buttheyarenotthesame!!

OnecommendablethingisthattheRaspberryPi3willfitcasesmadefortheRaspberryPi2B.SoifyouarecurrentlyhavingRaspberryPi2andwanttoupgradetoPi3,youdon’thavetobuythecasing.

ThoseportsonRaspberryPiboardarethesameasever:FourUSB2.0ports,aEthernetconnector,full-sizeHDMIportandamicroSDslot.ThemicroSDcardactsastheharddriveforthePi.

However,onthewirelesssidetheRaspberryPi3hasWi-FiandBluetooth.Youdon’thavetheseforRaspberryPi2.BothRaspberryPishaveaGPIOpinsetandacamerainterface.Inthisbook,IwillshowyoueasystepstooptimizeRaspberryPi2and3.

RaspberryPi: 2,ModelB 3,ModelB

Quicksummary: Releasedin2015RaspberryPi.

Releasedin2016,mostadvancedRaspberryPi.

Chip: BroadcomBCM2836 BroadcomBCM2837

Processor: ARMv7quadcore ARMv8quadcore

ProcessorSpeed: 900MHz 1.2GHz

VoltageandPowerDraw:

650mA@5V 800mA@5V

GPU: DualCoreVideoCoreIVMultimediaCo-Processor

Size: 85x56mm

Memory: 1GBSDRAM@400MHz

1GBSDRAM@500MHz

Storage: MicroSDCard(notincluded)

GPIO: 40

USB2.0: 4

Ethernet: 10/100mbEthernetRJ45Jack

10/100Mbit/sEthernet802.11nwirelessBluetooth4.1

Audio: Multi-ChannelHDAudiooverHDMI,Analog

RaspberryPi2and3Comparison

Table1:TechnicalSpecificationComparisonforVariousRaspberryPi.

Stereofrom3.5mmHeadphoneJack

OverclockingRaspberryPiOverclockingRaspberryPiisverypossible.Likemanymicroprocessorchips,theARMprocessorsofRaspberryPi2and3arenotactuallygradedandsoldaccordingtotheirmaximumspeedatwhichthesafelyrun.Allsiliconchipsarenotcreatedequal.Someprocessorscanrunmuchfasterthanothers,somearemuchslowerandsomedefectiveduetoprocessvariationsduringsiliconwaferfabrication.Practicallyitwouldtakeanextraordinarilylongtimetotestandsorteveryprocessorandgradethematmaximumpossiblespeed.

Fortimetomarket,chipmakersuse“speedbinning”totestandgradeprocessorsatpredefinedspeedgrades,suchas900MHz,1.0GHzand1.2GHz.Theprocessorisfirsttestedat1.2GHz,ifitpasses,thenitwillbesoldatthisspeed.However,theprocessorcouldactuallyrunathigherspeedduringthetest,couldbe1.3GHzoreven1.4GHz.

Iftheprocessorfailsthetestat1.2GHz,thenitwillbetestedat1.0GHz.Ifitpasses,itwillbelabelledat1.0GHz.Again,thechipmightbeabletorunfrom1.0GHzupto1.99GHz!

SoitispossibletooverclockRaspberryPi2and3processorsathigherspeed!!ItisyourluckastohowfastyoucanoverclockyourRaspberry.Forexample,Icanonlyoverclockmy1.2GHzRaspberryPito1.35GHz.Therearesomeonepostedonthewebpagethattheycanoverclockto1.4GHz.Myfriend’sRaspberryPi3canonlybeoverclockedto1.25GHz.

Iftheprocessorcannotoperateattheoverclockedspeed,mostlikelyKodiwillfreezeafterfewminutesorfewhours.Soyoucanincreasethespeedevery50Mhzor100Mhzuntilyouseeproblems.

OverclockingRaspberryPi2OverclockRaspberryPi2underOSMCisveryeasyandstraight.Youdonotneedanytechnicalknowledgetodothis.ItcanbedonethroughinterfaceofOSMC.Herewego…

SwitchonyourRaspberryPi2andgotoSYSTEM,thenSystemInfo.

GotoHardwareandconfirmyourRaspberryPi2CPUspeedisat900Mhz.

NowgotoMyOSMCunderSYSTEM

NowclickontheOverclockiconatOSMCuserinterface.

UndertheNormalclocksetup,yourRaspberryPi2ARMprocessorfrequencyis900MHz,SDRAMat450MhzandCoreProcessorissetat450MHztoo.

ARMorarm_freq:ARMprocessorfrequency(ingeneraltermsspeed)inMHz.

COREorcore_freq:GPU(GraphicalProcessingUnit)frequencyinMHz.

SDRAMorsdram_freq:SDRAMfrequencyinMHz.

Over_voltage:More/LessvoltagetobesuppliedtoRaspberryPioverthedefault1.2V.RaspberryPineedmoreenergytoprocessmoreworkathigherfrequency(speed).Therefore,weneedtosupplymorevoltagewhenoverclockRaspberryPi.

Increaseordecreaseby1equalsanincrease(overvolting)ordecrease(undervolting)involtageof0.025V.

NOTE:DONOTsetover_voltageabove6.Valuesabove6areonlyallowedwhenforce_turbospecified(whichsetthewarrantybit).

Thereare2typesofovervolting(akaTurboMode):Dynamic(on-needbasis)andForced(enabledatalltimes).

NOTE:ForcedovervoltingvoidsthewarrantyorRaspberryPi.

GotoCustomandstarttooverclockRaspberryPi2.

Trytoplayaroundwiththe4parameters:arm_freq,sdram_freq,core_freqandover_voltage.

Example,youcanincreasethearm_freqfromoriginal900MHzto950MHz.IfyoursRaspberryPi2operatesasnormalafterlonghours,increaseitthe1000MHz.

IncaseRaspberryPi2/Kodifreezesduringoperation,rebootandtrytoincreaseover_voltageatanyvaluebelow“6”.

SettothelastsetupthatRaspberryPi2runsmoothly.AboveisthesetupofmyRaspberryPi2thatoperatessmoothlyforlonghours.

Youcanalsodirectusemysetupandincreaseordecreaseeachparametersaccordingly.

Note:KodistillshowstheoldCPUspeedduringbootup.ThenewOSMCOverclocksetupwillnottakeeffectuntilyourebootRaspberryPi2.

Goaheadandrebootyoursystemnow.

NowCPUisoverclockedtonewsetup.

Goodlucktoyou!

OverclockingRaspberryPi3OverclockingRaspberryPi3supposedtobeaseasyasRaspberryPi3.However,atthetimeIamwritingthisbook,OSMCVersion“2016.02-3”isnotsettingRaspberryPi3correctly.

Thereisstillanothermethod,involvingchangingthecontentofaconfigurationfileonmicroSDcard,thatcanalsoapplytoRaspberryPi2.

SwitchonyourRaspberryPi3,gotoSYSTEMandclickSystemInfo.

SothehardwareisARMprocessorisrunningat1.2GHz.

ButifyougotoSYSTEM->MyOSMC,itisactuallyRaspberryPi2setup.However,the

processorisrunningat1.2GHzasdetectedbyKodi.

Theproblemiswearenotabletoadjustthearm_freqbeyond1200thusnowayoverclockRaspberryPi3usingthisinterface.

TakethemicroSDcardoutfromRaspberryPi3.

InsertentireadapterintoSDslotofyourPC/laptop

FindtheSDCard.

Thefilewearelookingforisconfig.txt.

Toeditthisfile,youneedatexteditoronPC.YoucanuseNotepadorNotepad++.DonotuseMicrosoftWord.

Asyoucansee,thisisthefilethatsettheactualspeedofmicroprocessorandothercomponents.Thearm_freqissetat1200,whichisdetectedbyKodi.

Youcanchangearm_freqfrom1250,1300to1350andover_voltagefrom1,2,until6.

Formycase,Isetarm_freqfrom1350andover_voltageto2afterafewtesting.Fornow,myRaspberryPi3runssmoothlywithoutproblemsat1.35GHz.Again,goodlucktoyou!Happyoverclocking!

SelectRightMicroSDforRaspberryPiGettingtherightmicroSDcardalsoimportanttoboostupRaspberryPiperformance.

ThespeedofmicroSDisratedbyaclassnumberfrom2to10.Class2istheslowestandisgoodfortakingpicturesandstoringthemsincethereisnoneedtotransferlargeamountsofdataquickly.Class10isthefastestandisusedinvideoequipmentsincetheycantransferdataquicklywithnobuffering.

Ihaveuseda8GBClass4microSDonmyXiaoMiTVBoxanditwasslow.SoClass10isrecommended.

RaspberryPi2and3basicallyuseaMicroSDcardasaharddriveandtostoreanyinformation,frombootuptoexecutionofKodicodeandmoviestreaming.Forthisreason,aclass10MicroSDcardinyourRaspberryPiisverymuchrecommended.

Also,thereisaseparate,evenfastercategorycalledUHSClass1(forUltraHighSpeed),oftenbothareused.IfaUHSclassificationisusedthangetUHSclass1.

TheSDcardholdsallinformationforRaspberryPitorunashometheatremediabox.SosmallcapacitySDcardsarenotgoodenoughforthisTVbox.TheminimumsizetorunKodiisabout4GB.Soatleastgeta8GBmicroSDcard.However,themarketisnowmovingtohighercapacityand8GBmicroSDcardisquitedifficulttofind.ThelargestsizedmicroSDcardaRaspberryPicanuseislistedas32GBalthoughsomepeopletalkingaboutusinga64GBSDcardwithnoproblems.

ThisisonethemostimportantconsiderationstogetarightmicroSDcardforRaspberryPiasmediabox.WearlevelingiswhenthesamespotonaSDcardisnotwrittentooverandoveragainwhenthereisanotherspacetowriteto.ThisfeaturecanextendsthelifeofaSDcardsincemultiplespotsarewrittentoandfrominsteadofthesameopenspotoverandoveragain.MicroSDcardscomewithwearlevellingarecommonlymoreexpensive.

Hereismyrecommendations:

SelectClass10MicroSDwithminimum8GBand80MB/sreadforbettervideoperformance.InmycaseIpurchasedSanDiskExtreme16GB80MB/sreadand30MB/swritespeedClass10MicroSDasbelow.

SanDiskExtreme16GBMicroSDinoriginalpackage.

However,ifbudgetisnotamajorconcerntoyou,getabettermicroSDtoboostupthehardwareperformance.FormyRaspberryPi3,IamusingSanDiskExtremePro32GB95MB/sreadand90MB/swritespeedClass10MicroSDasbelow.

SanDiskExtremePro32GBMicroSDinoriginalpackage.

YoucanpurchaseSanDiskMicroSDfromhere

SanDiskExtremePro32GB

SanDiskExtreme16GB

IntroductiontoKodiKodi,formerlyknownasXBMC(XBoxMediaCenter),isanaward-winningfreeandopensourcecross-platformsoftwaremediaplayerandentertainmenthubfordigitalmediaforHTPCs(HometheaterPCs).KodicanrununderKodibuntu,Android,iOS,Linux,MacandWindows.Kodidevicesusingaremotecontrolastheprimaryinput.Itsgraphicaluserinterface(GUI)allowstheusertoeasilybrowseandviewvideos,photos,podcasts,andmusicfromaharddrive,opticaldisc,localnetwork,andtheinternetusingonlyafewbuttons.

TheKodiprojectismanagedbythenon-profitXBMCFoundation,anddevelopedbyvolunteerslocatedaroundtheworld.Sinceitscreationin2003morethan500softwaredevelopershavecontributedtoKodi,andaround60developersonregularbasis.Also200-plustranslatorshaveworkedtoexpanditsreach,makingitavailableinmorethan72languages.

Kodicomeswithdefaultsettingwhichassumeminimumhardwarecapabilities.Inthiscase,wecanchangethesettingtooptimizeKodi.

KillerHomeTheaterOptimizationWecanchangemanysettingsatKoditooptimizeitsperformance.However,themostimportantpartisincreaseKodivideocache.IfyouwouldliketoknowwhatareothersettingthatcanhelptooptimizeKodiperformance,pleasevisitmywebsiteathttp://shaolinseo.comformoreinformation.

Cacheisanytemporarydatathatisstoredonadevicesothatitcangetdatafaster.Thiscacheisused,asneeded,andthenclearedaftereachuse.Soifthereareanyinterruptionsintransmissionqualityornetworkspeed,itwon’tbringyourvideotoascreechinghalt.

VideoCacheVideocacheisthecacheusedforplayingbackvideosstreamingfromtheInternet(ifyourmediaboxreceivestreamingdatadirectfrominternet)orsomewhereelseonyourlocalnetwork(ifyourmediaboxreceivestreamingdatafromlocalstoragesuchasNFS).

KodiwillusesystemRAM(1GBforbothRaspberryPi2and3)inordertostoreafewsecondsofthefile.SincesystemRAMisthefastesttypeofstorageavailableonjustaboutanycomputersystem,thisisgoingtobeyourbestperformanceoption.

KodiisdesignforsystemwithlittleRAMsuchas1GB.Thedefaultvideocacheissetto60MB.Ifyouhavenetworkstabilityissues,oratroublesomeWi-Ficonnection,thiswillbeyourbestbetforimprovingKodivideoplaybackproblems.

Tochangetheabovedefaultsetting,weneedtoEasyAdvancedAddontocompletethetask.Wedonotneedtodirectchangeafilecalledadvancedsettings.xmlinyourmicroSD.Justusethisaddontogetthejobdone.

EasyAdvancedSettingAddonToinstallEasyAdvancedSettingAddon,dothefollowing:

GotoSYSTEMandclickFileManager

ClickAddsource

AtAddFilesSources,enterhttp://fusion.tvaddons.ag

Enteranameforthisrepository,examplefusion

HitOK.

FilemanagershowsFusionissuccessfullyadded.

NowgotoSYSTEM,clickSettings.

ClickonAdd-ons

ClickInstallfromzipfile

Clickonfusion

Clickxmbc-repos

Clickenglish

ScrolldownandfindrepositoryKinkin-x.x.zip.Clickonit.

WaituntilKinkinsREPOisfullyinstalled.

NowgotoInstallfromrepository

SelectKinkinsREPO

SelectProgramAdd-ons

Yes,that’stheEasyAdvancedSettingsthatwearelookingfor.Clickonit.

ClickInstall

Waituntilthisaddonisenabled.YoucanopentheaddonhereorgotoPROGRAMS.

GotoPROGRAMS

NowwehavetheEasyAdvancedSettinginstalled.ItistimetochangethesettingtooptimizeKodi.Clickthisaddon.

OptimizeKodiSettingsSonowwehavethetooltochangeKodisettings.Let’sdoit.

GotoEditSettings

GotoNetworkSettings

GotoNetwork

Thosehighlightedabovearethekeyparameterswewanttochange.

Beforewemoveon,herearemeaningsoftheparameters:

cachemembuffersizeKodiallocates60MBforcachebydefault.Ifweincreasecachevideos,thenwehavelessvideobufferingissue.

FirstweneedtoknowquantityofRAMavailableforustobeusedasvideocache.

GotoSYSTEM->SystemInfo->Hardware.

RaspberryPi2and3have1GBRAM.Duringoperation,someareusedbyOSMCandKodi.

Sowehave733MBthatcanbeused.Wecansafelyuse30%ofthesememoryasvideocache,whichisaround220MB.

Toallocate220MBascache,weneedtokeyin220x1024x1024=230686720bytesinthesystem.

Alternatively,youcouldsetthecachemembuffersizeto0,whichwouldforceKoditouseyourlocalstorage(microSDCard)forcachingvideos.Inthiscase,thecachesizeislimitedbytheamountoffreespaceavailable,whichlikelymuchlargerthatRaspberryPi’sRAM.

Thecachewillbeautomaticallyclearedandfreeupthememoryuponstoppingthevideo.Notethatthiswillincreasetheread/writeoperationonyourSDcard,whichmayreduceitslifespan.AgoodSDcardwithhigherclassratingisdefinitelyrecommended.Buttrytoavoidthisapproachifyoucanunlessyouhaveagoodreason.

buffermodeThebuffermodesetswhatvideossourceKodiwillcache.Thedefaultis0,whichwillcachealltypesofvideosourcefromtheinternet(http,FTP,WebDAV,etc.).Thevaluesare:

1–Bufferallvideos,includinglocalvideos.IfyouexperienceKodistutteringwhileplayingvideosfromyourlocalnetworkstorage,thenchoose1.

2–Bufferonlytrueinternetstreams(http,strm,etc.)–Recommended.

3–Nobuffer

readbufferfactorThedefaultvaluesetbyKodiis1.0,whichwillmakeitcachealittleabovewhatisneededtoplayitback.Thehigherthevalue,themorevideoKodicacheahead.Thissettingaffectshowmuchofyournetworkbandwidthishoggedtocachethevideo.

Forsmoothvideostreaming,thisshouldtakepriorityoveranyothersetting.Sosettinga2.0,3.0,or4.0willthatmanytimeshigherbandwidthusage.Inmostcasessettingitat4.0or5.0shouldnotcauseanyissues.However,ifyounoticeanyspikesinCPUusageornetworkbandwidthunavailabilityforotherdevicesthenreducethereadbufferfactorvalue.

Asyoucanseefromthephoto,Kodicachesmuchaheadaftersettingreadbufferfactorto5.

FinalSettingsSelectcachemembuffersize–setto715827200bytes

Clickbuffermode–Changethevalueto2

Clickreadbufferfactor–Changethevalueto5

IMPORTANT:Backout3timesandremembertoWriteXMLFiletosaveyoursetting.Elsetheoldsettingstillineffect.

THATISIT!!

YouhaveoptimizeRaspberryPi2/3andKodifrombothhardwareandsoftwareperspective.Enjoyyourhighperformancebudgetmodiabox.

TofollowupwithKodiAdd-ons,pleasevisitmywebsiteathttp://shaolinseo.com.

Thankyousomuch.

CarolH.