Ruvbox - VLC Kiosk Edition

Smelltu hér fyrir íslensku (Icelandic)

This is the ultra-resilient, read-only version of the RÚV appliance. Instead of using a complex media center like Kodi, this setup uses Raspberry Pi OS Lite and VLC to create a true, unbreakable "dumb TV".

I built this project to solve a very specific problem for my elder relatives. Modern smart TVs and streaming apps have become incredibly complex, requiring multiple remotes and confusing menu navigation just to watch the evening news. They just wanted to turn on the TV and watch RÚV with Icelandic subtitles—no menus, no apps, no fuss. This appliance does exactly that.

• No UI to break: There are no menus. It boots straight into the fullscreen stream.
• Immune to power cuts: By enabling OverlayFS, the SD card becomes read-only. You can unplug it from the wall 10,000 times and it will never corrupt.
• Lightweight: Runs on a minimal operating system without a desktop environment, saving memory and booting faster.

• Raspberry Pi (3, 4, or 5): Ideal for a dedicated TV appliance.
• Any Linux PC: The script automatically detects your environment. It can be run on Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint, or an old laptop!
• Mini PCs & SBCs: Works perfectly on cheap Intel NUCs or other single-board computers like Orange Pi or Odroid running a Debian-based OS. You can even use this setup for professional digital signage just by swapping out the stream URL.

(Looking for the older LibreELEC/Kodi version? You can find it in the kodi-edition/ directory).

Use the Raspberry Pi Imager to flash Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64-bit) (found under Raspberry Pi OS (other)). Before writing, click the gear icon (OS Customisation) and:

• Set a username (e.g., pi) and password.
• Configure your Wi-Fi settings.
• Enable SSH.

Turn on the Raspberry Pi and use SCP/SFTP (like FileZilla or WinSCP) to copy this entire pi3b-VLC folder into the home directory of the Pi (e.g., /home/pi/pi3b-VLC).

SSH into the Raspberry Pi and run:

cd pi3b-VLC
sudo ./install.sh

The script will install VLC, configure the automatic boot service, and start the stream.

To make it an unbreakable appliance, you must make the file system read-only so you can safely pull the power plug:

1. Run sudo raspi-config
2. Navigate to Advanced Options (or Performance Options on newer versions) -> Overlay File System.
3. Select Yes to enable the overlay, and Yes to make the boot partition read-only.
4. Reboot.

By default, the Raspberry Pi auto-detects audio. If it boots before the TV is fully on, it might mistakenly switch audio to the 3.5mm headphone jack instead of HDMI. To guarantee audio always goes to the right place:

1. Run sudo raspi-config
2. Navigate to System Options -> Audio.
3. Hard-code your output by selecting either HDMI or Headphones (3.5mm jack).

Note on Wireless Headphones for Seniors: If the user needs wireless headphones and TV speakers simultaneously, the most reliable method is to plug the wireless headphone transmitter directly into the TV's Audio Out / Headphone port rather than the Raspberry Pi. The TV will automatically split the HDMI audio to both the speakers and the headphones.

Note: If you ever need to update the system or change the script, you must run sudo raspi-config and disable the Overlay File System first, make your changes, and then re-enable it.

This project is free, open-source software licensed under the MIT License. You are free to use, modify, and distribute it.