Exit the operator’s TV box. You can very well watch TV through a Raspberry Pi and what’s more … it’s free! Here are the steps to get there.
Using your broadband internet connection to watch TV has become commonplace. However, you don’t have to go through the operator’s TV box to relax in front of The fires of love. There are plenty of other alternative offers for receiving channels, such as Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick or the many Android TV boxes that can be found online.
You can also DIY your own TV box with a Raspberry Pi. Several multimedia systems exist on the Web to achieve this, all open source and based on Kodi. We chose the LibreElec software, which seemed to us to be the most fluid to use. In addition, it is supported by a fairly dynamic community and benefits from frequent updates.
1. Gather the necessary materials
To perform this installation, you will need the following:
- a computer with an SD or micro SD card reader
- a micro SD card of at least 4 GB with possibly an SD adapter
- a Raspberry Pi 2, 3 or 4 with its power supply
- a keyboard with USB socket
- an HDMI cable
- a smartphone
2. Flash LibreElec on a micro SD card
On libreelec.tv, download the installation software that suits you (Windows, macOS, Linux). This application allows you to download the LibreElec system image and, in the process, to flash it on a micro SD card (minimum 4 GB class 10). Select the platform that suits you (Raspberry Pi Zero / 1, 2/3 or 4), download the system image, choose the destination SD card and press the “Write” button. The operation only lasts a few minutes.
3. Configure your LibreElec box
Insert your memory card into your Raspberry Pi and connect it to the TV with an HDMI cable. Also connect the keyboard to one of the USB ports, then turn on the Raspberry Pi. A configuration wizard will take you by the hand. You will be able to connect the device to your Wi-Fi network and, if you want, activate the SSH remote access service or Samba file sharing.
Then, if necessary, crop the image and calibrate the video in order to properly align the image. Then make the localization settings: AZERTY keyboard, language, time zone.
Finally, enable the display of hidden files. It will be useful later.
4. Install the extension “Catch Up TV & More”
A practical way to recover the signal of hundreds of free TV channels is to install the extension “Catch Up TV & More”, which collects it directly from the Internet servers of the audiovisual groups. Just go in “Extensions → Install from a repository → All repositories → Video extensions”, select the extension in question and install it. It takes a few minutes.
At this stage, it is already possible to watch live channels or their replay content. But that would require navigating the intricacies of the extension’s menus, which is not very convenient. We therefore need an additional tool, namely a “video recorder client”.
5. Install the extension “PVR IPTV Simple Client”
We are going to use this extension to have a better integration of the channels on the LibreElec box. You have to go to “Extensions → Install from repository → All repositories → Video recorder clients”. Select the extension in question and install it.
Then, you have to go to the “Configure” option of the extension. In the “General” part, you must switch the “Location” field to “Local path” and enter the path to the M3U file which gathers all the strings. In this case, it is: /storage/.kodi/addons/plugin.video.catchupandmore/resources/m3u/live_tv_all.m3u. Finally, you have to go to the “TV Guide” section and enter the URL of a program guide. Put: “http://bit.ly/tvguidefr”.
There you have it, all the channels are now accessible directly from the home screen, in the “TV” menu.
6. Create your remote control
Instead of using the USB keyboard, you can also control the LibreElec box through a smartphone. All you have to do is download one of the many remote control applications, which exist on both iOS and Android. They all work more or less the same way and send commands over the Wi-Fi network. Just choose the one that suits you best.
Sources: LibreElec.tv, Catch Up TV & More’s GitHub