to noob or not to noob

[pontypool]

I am trying to justify just getting rasbian jessie (full)
First of all what is the difference between Jessie full, Jessie lite and wheezy?
I assumed that Jessie lite would exclude bundled software, but when I discovered Jessie full didn't have a movie player, obviously that isn't the case.

On to the subject matter.. Being no begginer in terms of a bit of dos commands, having owned a zx spectrum 48 k and then a commodore amiga, I can easily learn how to use a linux based operating system, however in the noobs package there is an operating system which looks very much like a smart tv system.
There are others who want to use my raspberry pi, but are instantly put off by how less user friendly it is compared to a windows based system.
for example, movies in omx player aren't as straight forward to run and control as in a windows system.
For that reason I was thinking about instead installing noobs, since it comes with raspbian and the smart tv like OS.
I could however find no information on what version of Jessie is included in noobs? maybe it's the same as I have or maybe it includes (to make it easier) some starter apps.
Although now I have configured and tweaked my Jessie a bit, I am contemplating installing noobs for the benefit of my family who doesn't like to use command prompts. Can I just install the smart tv OS onto my existing installation, or do I need to flash the image and erase everything?

Also I have come across a couple of annoyances that put me off Jessie, so want to ask if they also exist in noobs/wheezy.

When I download a file "show in folder" does not show in folder. Nothing happens
The included browser doesn't seem to have a way to set a homepage.
OMX player doesn't seem to play subtitles??

Finally, when I decide how to put the smart tv feature on my raspbian, what periphals will I need to be able to use a remote control? Can I use my samsung galaxy s5?

Any information you can provide to get me up and running, even if it's not included in my questions, will be read carefully and absorbed

*post edit*
Also when I press in the middle mouse button, why doesn't it allow me to move the mouse around and scroll left. right up and down, as in windows?
I really miss that feature!!

[topguy]

- NOOBS is an installer. It only contains Raspbian as standard, but if it is connected to the internet via cable it can download and install also a few other distros. (together with Raspbian even)

- The "SmartTV" you are talking about I assume is KODI ( http://kodi.tv/about/ ) so use that name so we know what you are talking about.
- KODI can be installed as an application in Raspbian.
- But the best way of using KODI (in my opinion) is as part of a dedicated media-center distributions like OpenElec or OSMC (google them)
- And yes KODI has many different methods for remote control, the android app Kore is just one of them.

- With NOOBS ( and cabled internet ) you can install both Raspbian and OpenElec on the same SD-card but has to reboot to change between them.

I haven't mentioned Wheeze or Jessie ( both are Raspbian ) because, unless you have very specific needs that only Wheezy can solve, we recommend Jessie to new users.

[GTR2Fan]

Although now I have configured and tweaked my Jessie a bit, I am contemplating installing noobs for the benefit of my family who doesn't like to use command prompts. Can I just install the smart tv OS onto my existing installation, or do I need to flash the image and erase everything?

From your current position, the easiest route for a beginner would be to go back to zero then install Raspbian and OSMC or OpenELEC together via NOOBS. As mentioned above, you then have the option of booting into either OS on every reboot.

[pontypool]

Thanks for such a detailed response both of you : )
I will do as you say and just install from noobs, raspbian and the other distros'.
Are there any common configurations I will need to know about? as I just came across a config modification which allows audio through an hdmi cable ^_^

thanks

[GTR2Fan]

Audio will work via an HDMI cable by default if you're connecting to a TV/monitor via HDMI. There really is little to no manual setting up involved in most cases to have a fully functioning basic system.

[plugwash]

- NOOBS is an installer. It only contains Raspbian as standard, but if it is connected to the internet via cable it can download and install also a few other distros. (together with Raspbian even)

Noobs is not just an installer it is also a boot/recover manager. If you install your system using noobs then on each boot noobs boots first and then passes control to the OS you installed.

Unfortunately the noobs developers refuse to offer a supported upgrade path for users moving/cloning their SD cards to new Pi models. It also takes up a lot of space on your SD card for the recovery files. Due to these issues I would personally (the foundation obviously disagree with me on this) reccomend against using noobs.

[pontypool]

- NOOBS is an installer. It only contains Raspbian as standard, but if it is connected to the internet via cable it can download and install also a few other distros. (together with Raspbian even)

Noobs is not just an installer it is also a boot/recover manager. If you install your system using noobs then on each boot noobs boots first and then passes control to the OS you installed.

Unfortunately the noobs developers refuse to offer a supported upgrade path for users moving/cloning their SD cards to new Pi models. It also takes up a lot of space on your SD card for the recovery files. Due to these issues I would personally (the foundation obviously disagree with me on this) reccomend against using noobs.

So how would you go about installing jessie and openelec and/or raspbmc (as a media centre) is there a way I can have multi os and the benefits you described /smaller file size/upgradeability etc.

[Navyscourge]

Check out Berryboot - that is a multi OS system that supports installing to USB storage

[pontypool]

hmm you can't install noobs onto raspbian, it has to be installed seperately , it's an OS then. I was told here it's an app that can be installed onto raspbian??

[DirkS]

hmm you can't install noobs onto raspbian, it has to be installed seperately , it's an OS then. I was told here it's an app that can be installed onto raspbian??

Noobs is not an OS. It's an OS installer, and then lets you choose which one to start. So you can for example choose between Raspbian and Openelec.

You can install Kodi on top of Raspbian. You always start in Raspbian and from there run Kodi to give you the media centre functionality.
If you exit Kodi, you get back to 'normal' Raspbian

[fruitoftheloom]

hmm you can't install noobs onto raspbian, it has to be installed seperately , it's an OS then. I was told here it's an app that can be installed onto raspbian??

As stated above NOOBS is a operating system installer / chooser, each Operating System is installed by NOOBS independently of each other on first boot up. Unfortunately what you choose is what you are stuck with forever including the Partitioning Scheme:

https://github.com/raspberrypi/noobs


Berryboot is a "traditional" Boot Manager with each Operating System sharing the same Kernel:

http://www.berryterminal.com/doku.php/berryboot


All this and so much more has been discussed, try googling ?


Personally I find it easier to just change SD Cards

[retrojerm]

I bought a rasberry pi. I installed raspian and loaded lots of games on it. But then it had a problem. So i deleted everything and started over with NOOBS. Its nice but no one can tell me how do I access emulation station through it?? I dont see and raspi applications anywhere on it. How do i do this?

[peterlite]

NOOBS? NOOBS used to do things that Raspbian did not do. I find NOOBS useless with recent versions of Raspbian and NOOBS creates problems you do not get with a clean install of Raspbian.

Openelec installs Kodi. Kodi can be installed in Raspbian without having a separate boot.

If you are playing only CD music, running Kodi or similar on your development machine will leave enough processing power for Web development and other tasks. Install Kodi on Raspbian.

For video, I suggest two microSD cards. One pure Raspbian. The other Openelec. When you are happy with Openelec, buy a second Pi for your media centre. Keep the original for experiments. Bluray quality video will swamp a Pi and leave no room for anything else.

[retrojerm]

Thanks for the info. Im learning a lot. I used noobs and installed raspbian jessie with pixel. Its a nice OS but I dont see any way to install or run retropie from it....which is what i want.

originally I had installed just retropie....it loaded automatically whenever i plugged in. But i never could figure out how to switch between the gui desktop and retropie/emulation station. and then theres kodi and a dozen other options too. This all so complicated. I think im gonna go back and install raspbian lite

i guess I will use a seperate sd card for each thing.

[topguy]

originally I had installed just retropie....it loaded automatically whenever i plugged in.

Which mean that you didnt install Raspbian (like you said in your first post, typo ?), you installed a dedicated emulation image like RetroPie. Raspbian is a desktop distro and there are many guides on how to install emulationstation on top of Raspbian. ( http://www.emulationstation.org/getting ... standalone )

Noobs will only give you the possibility to install OS-images that is "approved" by the foundation. RetroPie or RecalBox or other specific emulation images are not on that list.
This is understandable because of the somewhat grey copyright area where emulation/roms exists. Also because the foundation want to focus their support on more generic OSes. ( OSMC, OpenElec being an exception, I know )

[procount]

If you want to multi-boot between Retropie, Raspbian PIxel and Kodi, you could use PINN.
PINN is an enhancement of NOOBS that will allow you to install all of the above.
It links to Retropie v3.8, which is not quite the latest release, but still usable.