Raspberry Pi as HDMI Dongle

[cnxsoft]

I've noticed more HDMI dongles media player appearing in the last few days like the Roku Streaming Stick and Always Innovation HDMI Dongle.

I wonder if we could also do this with the raspberry pi using a male-to-male HDMI connector such as http://www.abccables.com/304-2110.html (I'd like a cheaper one though) and a short USB cable to power the R-Pi with the TV.

The R-Pi could run a media hub software like XBMC.

The remote control would be a problem as we'd have to use a Bluetooth keyboard or WiFi with smartphone or tablet which both require a dongle connected to the R-Pi and it may be a bit too heavy.

Another solution would be to use a standard IR remote and solder a IR sensor on the board.

[jamesh]

cnxsoft said:


I've noticed more HDMI dongles media player appearing in the last few days like the Roku Streaming Stick and Always Innovation HDMI Dongle.

I wonder if we could also do this with the raspberry pi using a male-to-male HDMI connector such as http://www.abccables.com/304-2110.html (I'd like a cheaper one though) and a short USB cable to power the R-Pi with the TV.

The R-Pi could run a media hub software like XBMC.

The remote control would be a problem as we'd have to use a Bluetooth keyboard or WiFi with smartphone or tablet which both require a dongle connected to the R-Pi and it may be a bit too heavy.

Another solution would be to use a standard IR remote and solder a IR sensor on the board.


I'd use a very short HDMI cable and velcro it to the back of the TV!

On a side note, it's a real shame the HDMI spec doesn't supply enough current to run these HDMI dongles, although most TV's now have a USB socket which can be used for power. Probably patented by Apple though.

[slimdan22]

The HDMI dongles that are coming out are based on the MHL standard (Mobile High Definition Link), this standard allows for power over HDMI and for the TV to directly control the device. So i dont think you would be able to do this with the Raspberry PI.

You may be able to power with a TV"s onboard usb (If available) it may be enough to power the Model A but may be pushing it for model B. You could tie in two of the USB ports on the tv to get a 1 Amp charging interface (like some external harddrives use)

With the charging solution, a low profile USB wireless adapter and a short hdmi cable may make it small enough to be just as good =P

Also this =)

[jamesh]

slimdan22 said:


The HDMI dongles that are coming out are based on the MHL standard (Mobile High Definition Link), this standard allows for power over HDMI and for the TV to directly control the device. So i dont think you would be able to do this with the Raspberry PI.

You may be able to power with a TV"s onboard usb (If available) it may be enough to power the Model A but may be pushing it for model B. You could tie in two of the USB ports on the tv to get a 1 Amp charging interface (like some external harddrives use)

With the charging solution, a low profile USB wireless adapter and a short hdmi cable may make it small enough to be just as good =P

Also this =)

(Tried Embedding It, Doesn't want to play nice)


MHL is in very very few TV's though. A few more phones, but its not likely to have a great impact for a few years given how many new TV's are already in homes. There's also wireless HDMI transmission coming out too, so you don't even need the cable.

[aperry]

Pretty sure this will be my first raspi project, using either XBMC or GoogleTV.  XBMC has some great smartphone (IP based) remote control apps, which could be a good solution if you have an iOS or Android device, leaving the USB port free for a mini wifi dongle.

[abishur]

JamesH said:


There's also wireless HDMI transmission coming out too, so you don't even need the cable.



I had always wished wiMax would have been used for this.  It's a very short ranged high bandwidth protocol.  It practically begs to be used as a wireless home entertainment center solution!  Oh, well, at least they're finally getting around to truly wireless setup (no longer will we have to purchased 50 ft cables just because we don't want to mount everything to our ceiling by the video projector!)

[patrickhwood]

WiMax?  I think you mean WiDi.

[hajj_3]

roku are releasing a hdmi dongle player, announced today on engadget.

[patrickhwood]

That was announced a couple of days ago in the run up to CES.  It uses the same Broadcom SoC as the RPi.

[ViewTouch]

By mid year the market is going to be seeing a wave of HDMI plug computers with MHL.  It's my hope that the Raspberry Pi will achieve a form factor of HDMI with MHL, essentially turning any TV or display into a Linux computer or an X terminal merely by being plugged into the HDMI port of any TV or display.  If Raspberry Pi doesn't do this, then I would bet real money that it will happen anyway.  I do, of course, hope that Raspberry Pi is the first HDMI MHL Linux plug computer/terminal.

When this scenario arrives then we will have reached the point in time where a PC is a tiny device you can carry in your pocket and plug into any HDMI display or TV.  FXI tech in Norway is preparing one of these, too, by the way, and I hope it's the first of many.  Linux has been quite shut out of the tablet & smartphone device market, but this is a chance for it to play in the HDMI MHL dongle market and to dominate it.  Much of whether this comes to be is, in my opinion, in the hands of the Raspberry Pi people and their 'customers'.

[patmage]

A possible method for control would be using Consumer Electronics Control (CEC).  Most TV's have it, though each call it something different.  It is nearly impossible to find support for it from computer manufactures though even though it has been in the HDMI specification since 1.0.

Pulse-Eight has a usb adapter that works with their build of XBMC.  It basically breaks out the CEC stream from the hdmi and turns it into something the computer can use and passes it through a usb port.  I believe libCEC is suppose to become standard in XBMC and MythTV eventually.  The adapter sadly costs more than the Raspberry Pi itself at $48.

Just another option though for people that only need basic menu navigating for their setup and not a full keyboard.  Obviously both drivers for the device as well as libCEC support in the ARM version of XBMC would need to be present first.

A far more hacky way to do it would be to use something like synergy.  I currently use it to use a keyboard and mouse with the Ubuntu install on my HP Touchpad and it works well if I am somewhere close enough to my main pc that my wireless keyboard will reach.  Though there are few times that this setup is in any way practical.  In fact I hope to go the other way with it eventually and use the R-Pi as the host computer for Synergy and have it connect to my Touchpad to use a keyboard and mouse.  WebOS currently won't accept a usb or bluetooth mouse, but starting Ubuntu inside WebOS and having a real Text Editor and browser on my Touchpad is just too useful to not take advantage of.  Also it is the only thing I have to impress my friends with their far more expensive iPads.