【Convert TV to Smart TV with Raspberry Pi】MegaGuide ▷ 2022

To the old television that you have at home, we are going to give a touch of modernity turning it into a Smart TV thanks to the Raspberry Pi. With a low investment, we will change your status from “old” to able to connect to the internet, watch streaming and have all the functions of a smart TV at hand.

When we finish the processyou will have at hand a modern equipment to consume entertainment content that will give your discontinued television a second chance, which will now look revamped with applications such as , either .

In this guide we explain the basic resources you will needfour programs that will be your allies in the transformation and some recommendations to properly choose the model of your Raspberry Pi.

What do I need to turn my television into a whole Smart TV with Raspberry Pi?

Although it is true that smart TVs have dropped in price, with this guide you have the option to spend less money at hand and not lose the equipment you have at home.

To put the transformation project to work, we will need the following resources:

• A Raspberry Pi with its respective casing to protect it from blows.
• A TV that has an HDMI connection
• The HDMI cable, that has the type of connection of the Raspberry that you are going to use. In some models it has a micro input.
• A Micro SD card with a minimum capacity of 4GB in which the software must be installed.
• mouse and keyboard with usb connection.
• adapter stream.
• Internet connection, preferably wired.

Learn step by step how to create a TVBox with Raspberry Pi to turn your television into a Smart TV

One of the elements that we need to turn the mini computer into a multimedia center is an audio file player and video.

We have taken several options and we are going to explain their functions step by step:

With Kodi

Kodi is free and open source software that plays images, video, and music from any storage media. Its design is friendly, simple and easy to use, having the ability to play the vast majority of existing formats.

If you prefer to use the Raspbian operating system, now known as the Raspberry PI OS, you can start the configuration by following these steps:

• We start by adding the repositories, You must open the command console and add the following line of code: sudo apt-get install software-properties-common
• Later, you must write: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:team-xbmc/ppa
• Now, what follows is to update the list of software and install the package just like we would do with any other application, To do this, use the following code: sudo apt update
• Finally, you must write: sudo apt install kodi

Once the codes are finished running, We will already have Kodi installed on our Raspberry Pi.

With LibreELEC

This popular Linux-based distro gives us the option to run Kodi. It can only be used for this purpose and they created it with these small cards in mind, in such a way that physical resources are used to the maximum.

To perform the installation, follow the steps below:

• enter to the official page libreelec.tv/downloads/ and press “Discharge” in the option available for the operating system.
• Once downloaded, install “LibreELEC USB-SD Creator” on our computer.
• When a new window appears, select the version for the Raspberry Pi model that you have
• Then choose the version “FreeELEC”.
• Another option is to run an already downloaded installer. To do so, you must indicate if it is on a USB memory or an SD card.
• Then press the button “write image”.
• When the process is finished, you can remove the device where you created it on the PC and take it to the Raspberry Pi.
• When you turn on the device, you can start the program make the basic settings and then enjoy all the options you have at hand.

With OpenELEC

We go to another operating system whose specific function is to run Kodi on a Raspberry Pi.

To use it, we must carefully follow the steps described below:

• We go to its official page openelec.tv/get-openelec, we look for the section “Raspberry Pi” and select the appropriate version for the card. It is important to download the latest version.
• Likewise, you have to download Diskimage that will allow us to install the system on the SD card.
• you also have to download SD Card Formatter, this application will allow the card to be in the correct format. For its use, we introduce the device in a computer, we choose the unit, we go to the option section, we leave the settings in off and we give “Format”.
• It is time to prepare the OpenELEC image. For that, you have to unzip the file that we have previously downloaded. To copy it to the card, we have to use the program “Win32 Disk Imager”. After installing it, we open it, select the file “.img” in section “Image File” that appears in the window that we have on the computer. Next to it is a dropdown called “Device” where we will choose the SD card. At the bottom there are three options, press “White” and we wait for it to be recorded.
• When finished recording, we extract the card and take it to the Raspberry Pimaking sure to have the keyboard and mouse connected to be able to carry out the necessary basic configurations.

with plex

I’ll tell you a little about Plex first. It is a multimedia server through which you can stream or play movies or TV shows. It allows you to neatly organize your audio and video collection for easy access.

The steps to use this system are as follows:

• If you haven’t already, install “Raspbian on your SD card”.
• Download and burn the image, you can use software like “Balena Etcher”.
• When you have a command prompt, identify yourself as “Pi” and the key “Raspberry”after which you will be able to log in.
• Make sure your computer is up to date with the latest version before starting the installation, To do this use the following command: sudo apt-get update
• Later, should be written: sudo apt-get update
• Select option “Yes” that will appear in the terminal in the different queries that it will make.
• It’s time to reboot, and when you turn on again, enter your credentials.
• The next step is to download the repository plex for Linux. To install the download transport, use the following command: sudo apt-get install apt-transport-https
• There it will ask you to enter the password “Plex GPG”you do it with the following command: curl https://downloads.plex.tv/plex-keys/PlexSign.key | sudo apt-key add –
• With that, the key will be added and it’s time to download software: echo deb https://downloads.plex.tv/repo/deb public main | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/plexmediaserver.list
• At the end of the process, update the Pi again: sudo apt-get update
• To now install the plex software just you have to add the following: sudo apt-get install plexmediaserver
• If everything is in place, the installation should be normal. You will now need the current IP address: hostname –I
• Once the data is received, we edit the file “cmdline.txt” with the following command: sudo nano /boot/cmdline.txt
• And we are going to add this line to the end of the file and we give it save: ip=YOUR IP
• After everything is saved, write: Reboot.
• The computer will reboot and you will be able to run the Plex server, entering with the following port: xxx.xxx.x.xx:32400/web/
• The “x” refer to your IP address. When it loads you will be able to enter your audio and video files. With this you will be ready to enjoy your multimedia server.

List of the best Raspberry Pi boards and kits to turn your old LED TV into a SmartTV

No matter what level you are, you can get a suitable kit for you. There are them for the most expert, but also for those who are starting out in the execution of projects.

Here we leave you some Raspberry Pi kits that will help you in your plan to change the use of your old television:

CanaKit Raspberry Pi3

The card model that comes with this kits is the Pi3 B, the micro SD card is 32 GBan HDMI cable, three heat sinks, an adapter, a case, and a PiSwitch.

Keyestudio Pi 4

This package includes a Raspberry Pi4 which includes the original power supply, three heat sinks, the PiSwitch, HDMI cable and the official packaging. With these elements you can make the connection with your TV.

Bqeel Raspberry Pi 4

This one is more complete than the previous one. The main product is a Raspberry Pi4 with a 4GB RAM memory, lThe three aluminum heat sinks, a 64 GB Micro SD card, two equal-ended micro HDMI cables, a fan and the PiSwitch that serves as a lighter for the card.

Bqeel Raspberry Pi 4

This card, as you can see in the description It has an 8GB memory and a high-performance processor. SD card is 32 GBincludes a large heat sink, two fans, two micro HDMI cables and a card reader.

It must be noted that the kits are found in different online stores and that their price varies according to their benefits. The advantage is that you will have several elements at hand, missing to integrate the keyboard and mouse with USB connection.