OpenELEC or RaspBMC - which is better?
The Raspberry Pi is often used as a media center. This practical tip will tell you whether OpenELEC or RaspBMC is better suited as software for this.
OpenELEC and RaspBMC: What is it?
- OpenELEC and RaspBMC are two complete software packages that have the Kodi media center software (formerly XBMC) preinstalled. With the two distributions it is possible to convert your Raspberry Pi into a media center. We compare the two systems below.
- Note: The comparison applies to the Raspberry Pi 1. RaspBMC is not available for the Raspberry Pi 2. The successor of RaspBMC for the Raspberry Pi 2 is OSMC.
Installation: OpenELEC vs. RaspBMC
At the beginning there is the installation of OpenELEC or RaspBMC. You can find out below which installation is quicker and easier.
- RaspBMC: RaspBMC has its own installer. With this, the operating system is quickly loaded onto the SD card. The card must then be inserted into the Pi and the installation must be ended. The entire installation process takes around 45 minutes.
- OpenELEC: The installation of OpenELEC only takes about 10 minutes or less. You only need to complete a few more steps during installation than when installing RaspBMC.
Starting speed: OpenELEC vs. RaspBMC
If you want to watch a film or series, as little time as possible should elapse between starting the device and playing it.
- RaspBMC: The Raspberry Pi with RaspBMC takes about a minute to boot. This is mainly due to the fact that RaspBMC contains a full DEBIAN operating system.
- OpenELEC: With OpenELEC, the Raspberry Pi only needs about 30 seconds to boot up.
- Tip: The Raspberry Pi uses very little power. In order not to have to start or shutdown the Pi all the time, you can also leave it permanently switched on.
Performance: OpenELEC vs. RaspBMC
Stutters when choosing or playing a film are annoying. We will show you which software offers the higher speed below.
- After both operating systems have started up, no difference in performance is noticeable. The menu runs smoothly, films are played smoothly with OpenELEC and RaspBMC.
Features: OpenELEC vs. RaspBMC
If you want to expand your media center, both systems offer different options.
- RaspBMC: Since RaspBMC is based on a fully-fledged DEBIAN operating system, you have the most options here. You can easily install all DEBIAN packages - e.g. a Bittorrent client or a file server. All Kodi add-ons are also available.
- OpenELEC: OpenELEC is only designed for operation as a media center. So you can only install add-ons that come with Kodi.
Conclusion: OpenELEC vs. RaspBMC - for whom is which software suitable?
If you want to operate your Raspberry Pi as a pure media center, we recommend the OpenELEC distribution. As soon as you place more emphasis on independence and a flexibly expandable system, you cannot avoid RaspBMC.
In the next practical tip you will learn how to put your Raspberry Pi into operation.