OSMC (formerly RaspBMC)

OSMC (formerly RaspBMC) is an completely free and open source Linux kernel-based operating system derived from the award-winning Debian GNU/Linux distribution and designed to bring the powerful XBMC Media Center to the amazing Raspberry Pi mini computer.

If you ever dreamed of having a portable media center with you all the time, one that fits in your pocket, then RaspBMC is the answer. The Linux distribution is specifically designed to run on the ARM processor of the Raspberry Pi computer board.

Distributed as standalone and network images

RaspBMC is distributed as a standalone archived IMG file that will transform your Raspberry Pi into a low-cost HTPC (Home Theatre Personal Computer). A network installed image is also available for download. Both have under 200 MB in size each, which means that you will be able to deploy it on any SD card. USB flash drive or used directly from a NFS (Network File System) share. Please note that the network image requires an active Internet connection.

Features at a glance

Key features include supports for both Wi-Fi and Wired connections, support for multiple languages, simple installation process from any mainstream operating system (Linux, Mac or Windows), auto-update support, support for playing Full HD 1080p videos, complete GPIO support, Ambilight support, and support for AirTunes and AirPlay technologies for sending multimedia files from an iPhone, iPod or iPad device to a TV set.

In addition, the distribution supports Nanny Cam via Raspberry Pi Camera, allows users to share their content, in any format, from their computers to SMB, HTTP, NFS, FTP or USB, it is 100% compatible with the standard Debian software repositories, so you will be able to install any package with a few mouse clicks, and it is secure out-of-the-box (by default, the built-in firewall restricts the network only to LAN).

Among some more advanced features, we can mention support for decoding the 1080p DTS format in software, support for USB sound cards, support for Wake on LAN for remote hosts, a HTML5 web browser, as well as embedded Samba, FTP, SSH, sabNZBD and TVHeadend servers.

What is new in this release:

• Bug fixes:
• Fixed an issue which prevented Xbox DVD remotes from working with their original dongle on Raspberry Pi
• Fixed an issue which prevented some DAC HATs from working on Raspberry Pi
• Fixed an issue which prevented RTL8812AU based WiFi adapters from working correctly on Raspberry Pi
• Fixed playback stability issues on Raspberry Pi caused by new kernel
• Fixed Left and Right channels being reversed when listening to analogue audio on Vero 4K
• Improving the user experience:
• Added support for more Allo digi cards to My OSMC
• Added ZRAM support for Raspberry Pi
• Allow mounting legacy Samba shares without having to change mount options
• Standby mode on Vero 4K will no longer send Wake on LAN packets when active
• Vero 4K will now stop playback before entering standby mode
• A series of usability improvements for the official OSMC skin
• Added support for a series of USB DACs on Vero 4K
• Added ALSA volume control support for Analogue audio on Vero 4K
• Miscellaneous:
• Cleaned up Apple TV from build system
• Add support for NFS debugging to Vero 4K
• Update Raspberry Pi kernel to 4.14.26

What is new in version :

• Bug fixes:
• Fixed degraded performance when using WebDAV shares in Kodi
• Fix VPN DNS leaks caused by running OpenVPN independently of ConnMan
• Fix an issue which caused missing CEC options under Settings -> Peripherals on some platforms
• Fix an issue which would cause VC-1 encoded content to stutter if played back at its native refresh rate on Vero 4K
• Fix an issue which could cause further flickering during HDR playback on Vero 4K
• Fixed an issue with ARM-accelerated versions of selected functions from on Raspberry Pi
• Fix an issue which prevented remotes from working correctly when built with kernel headers > 4.4 on experimental versions of OSMC with Debian Stretch
• Fix an issue where OSMC my not reconnect to WiFi when upgrading the ConnMan package
• Fixed an issue causing poor GUI sound response on Vero 4K
• Fixed an issue with the OSMC installer caused by a Windows 10 update which prevents writing to removable media
• Fixed an issue which prevented Netflix from working on Vero 4K in Kodi Leia nightly builds
• Fix a number of issues which prevented Bluetooth A2DP streaming from working reliably
• Fix an issue which prevented external DACs and Bluetooth audio streaming from working on Kodi Leia nightly builds for Raspberry Pi
• Fix a regression with legacy (2009 era Philips TVs) that misadvertise support for their colour space on Vero 4K
• Fix an issue where multi-channel audio may be incorrectly mapped on Vero 4K
• Fix an issue where some HDR videos would not activate HDR mode on a compatible set automatically on Vero 4K
• Improving the user experience:
• Added initial support for OpenVPN to OSMC
• Improved stability of MT7610U based wireless devices
• Ensure that there is enough free space before attempting to update OSMC to a major new release
• Updated BlueZ to version 5.43 for improved Bluetooth device compatibility
• Set sysctl variables on a per-device basis instead of with a global package for improved performance
• Added support for 2nd generation OSMC RF Remote Control.
• Improved out of the box playback for Vero 4K to reduce buffering and utilise a larger sized cache by default
• Improved WiFi connection reliability
• Added support for FreeWay T3 RF/IR Air-Mouse
• Reduced filesystem size by improving APT cache cleanup routines
• Added CVBS video output support for Vero 4K
• Added initial support for international keyboard layouts
• Miscellaneous:
• Add system uptime to OSMC logs
• Add USB/IP support for Vero 4K
• Updated to Kodi version v17.6
• Add initial support for initramfs on PC
• Updated Transmission Torrent Client to version 2.92
• Use secure (HTTPS) links when fetching kernel sources
• Add Multiple Device support and improved crytography for Vero 4K
• Ensure that OSMC does not bundle man pages with ConnMan by default
• Updated to ConnMan 1.35
• Added support for ext4 filesystem improvements with updated e2fsprogs.
• Added support for sound sequencing for Vero 4K
• Added support for custom branding (boot screens) on Vero 4K

What is new in version 2017.09-2:

• Bug fixes:
• Fixed an issue preventing passthrough audio from working on HifiBerry DACs on Raspberry Pi 2/3
• Fix playback issue of Real Video encoded content on Raspberry Pi
• Fix additional scenarios which could cause Kodi to lose skin settings when rebooting
• Fixes for issues when using PVR and the EPG
• Fix for micro stutter when playing back VC1 encoded content on Vero 4K
• Fix an issue that could prevent DNS resolution from working on NFS-root based installations of OSMC
• Fix an issue with CEC which could cause an AVR to be repeatedly powered on
• Fix an issue with CEC which could cause a TV to be powered on spuriously
• Fix an issue preventing sharing automounted drives via Samba from working correctly
• Fix an issue preventing Substation Alpha subtitles from working correctly on new installations of OSMC
• Fix an issue preventing Zeroconf and auto-discovery of Kodi from working on Vero 4K
• Fix an issue where thumbnails may not display for some videos on Vero 4K
• Fix an issue where the check for apt-get upgrade may fail due to argument ordering
• Fix an issue preventing add-on migration when updating from an older version of Kodi
• Improving the user experience:
• Added support for USB only (no SD card required) booting on Raspberry Pi when using NOOBS
• Added UUID support for NOOBS based OSMC installations
• Improved boot time for NOOBS based OSMC installations
• Improved user experience when installing OSMC via NOOBS
• The internal WiFi adapter on Apple TV should now work out of the box
• Improved HEVC playback performance on Raspberry Pi
• Added an option to reboot if NFS root is not available to give more time to wait for the network
• Allow passthrough of audio for Live TV on Vero 2
• Enable inputstream add-ons by default, which makes installing add-ons such as iPlayer easier
• BTRFS improvements for Vero 4K
• Added new icons to the OSMC skin
• Miscellaneous:
• Added further logging information to make debugging issues easier for other devices
• Use HTTPS for log uploading by default
• Add userspace cryptographic API for Raspberry Pi
• Add support for building ARMv6 and ARMv7 binaries on devices with an Aarch64 kernel, such as Vero 4K
• Update to ConnMan 1.34

What is new in version 2017.05-2:

• Bug fixes:
• Fixed an issue preventing passthrough audio from working on HifiBerry DACs on Raspberry Pi 2/3
• Fix playback issue of Real Video encoded content on Raspberry Pi
• Fix additional scenarios which could cause Kodi to lose skin settings when rebooting
• Fixes for issues when using PVR and the EPG
• Fix for micro stutter when playing back VC1 encoded content on Vero 4K
• Fix an issue that could prevent DNS resolution from working on NFS-root based installations of OSMC
• Fix an issue with CEC which could cause an AVR to be repeatedly powered on
• Fix an issue with CEC which could cause a TV to be powered on spuriously
• Fix an issue preventing sharing automounted drives via Samba from working correctly
• Fix an issue preventing Substation Alpha subtitles from working correctly on new installations of OSMC
• Fix an issue preventing Zeroconf and auto-discovery of Kodi from working on Vero 4K
• Fix an issue where thumbnails may not display for some videos on Vero 4K
• Fix an issue where the check for apt-get upgrade may fail due to argument ordering
• Fix an issue preventing add-on migration when updating from an older version of Kodi
• Improving the user experience:
• Added support for USB only (no SD card required) booting on Raspberry Pi when using NOOBS
• Added UUID support for NOOBS based OSMC installations
• Improved boot time for NOOBS based OSMC installations
• Improved user experience when installing OSMC via NOOBS
• The internal WiFi adapter on Apple TV should now work out of the box
• Improved HEVC playback performance on Raspberry Pi
• Added an option to reboot if NFS root is not available to give more time to wait for the network
• Allow passthrough of audio for Live TV on Vero 2
• Enable inputstream add-ons by default, which makes installing add-ons such as iPlayer easier
• BTRFS improvements for Vero 4K
• Added new icons to the OSMC skin
• Miscellaneous:
• Added further logging information to make debugging issues easier for other devices
• Use HTTPS for log uploading by default
• Add userspace cryptographic API for Raspberry Pi
• Add support for building ARMv6 and ARMv7 binaries on devices with an Aarch64 kernel, such as Vero 4K
• Update to ConnMan 1.34