How to install OSMC on Raspberry Pi

OSMC is a media player operating system based on the Kodi media center. Its purpose is to make an easy to use, easy to understand entertainment interface for watching TV, Movies, and other types of media. Currently, OSMC is supported on Raspberry Pi, PC, and other types of hardware. In this guide, we’ll go over how to set up OSMC on Raspberry Pi.

Download OSMC for Raspberry Pi

OSMC for Raspberry Pi must be downloaded from the developer’s website before it can be set up on an SD card. To get your copy of OSMC for the Raspberry Pi, head over to the official website, click on “Download,” and find the release for the Raspberry Pi you use.

Note: OSMC does not yet support the Raspberry Pi 4. As of now, the OS only supports Raspberry Pi 1,2,3, and Zero.

Don’t want to go to the official website to download OSMC to your computer? If you’re downloading the OSMC image on a Linux PC, open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. Then, use the wget downloading tool to grab the OSMC release image through the command-line.

Pi 2/3/3+

cd ~/Downloads

wget https://download.osmc.tv/installers/diskimages/OSMC_TGT_rbp2_20190808.img.gz

Pi 1/Zero/Zero Wireless

cd ~/Downloads

wget https://download.osmc.tv/installers/diskimages/OSMC_TGT_rbp1_20190808.img.gz

After downloading your copy of OSMC to your computer, do not extract the TarGZ archive. Instead, keep it in the file and move on to the next step in the setup process.

Install OSMC on SD Card

To set up OSMC on an SD card, you must burn the files to an SD card. To burn an SD card on a computer, you’ll need to download an SD card imaging tool.

There are many good SD card imaging tools available to use. In this guide, we will use Etcher, as the app works on Mac, Linux, and Windows. Also, it is dead simple to use, meaning anyone can figure out how to use it.

To create your OSMC SD card, follow the step-by-step instructions below.

Step 1: Head over to Etcher.io, to download the Etcher SD/USB imaging application to your Linux, Mac or Windows computer, and install the application.

Step 2: Launch the Etcher application on your computer desktop. Then, when the app is open, plug in your SD card into the reader port.

Step 3: Find the “Select image” button in the Etcher application and click on the button. Selecting this button will open up the file browser dialog. Use the file browser to find the OSMC TarGZ image file you downloaded previously, and click on it to load it into Etcher.

Step 4: Click on the “Select drive” button. Then, use the Etcher UI to select your SD card so that the Etcher application will use it as the imaging device.

Step 5: Find the “Flash!” button, and click it with the mouse. This button will start the SD card imaging process. Be patient!

When Etcher is done, safely eject the SD card from your Windows, Linux, or Mac computer. Then, plug in the SD card into the Raspberry Pi, power it on, and follow the steps below to learn how to set up OSMC.

Set up OSMC on Raspberry Pi

Setting up OSMC on the Raspberry Pi is a very straightforward process, thanks to its streamlined installation wizard. To get it going, follow the steps below.

Step 1: On the “Welcome” screen, you’ll need to select your language. Using your mouse, remote, or another pointing device, select the language you wish the OSMC interface use.

Step 2: On the next page, OSMC will ask you to set the device name. Select “current name” and change it from “osmc” to whatever you’d like to call your new Raspberry Pi-powered media device. Then, click the “Accept” button to continue.

Step 3: Following the “hostname” section, OSMC will ask if you’d like to enable SSH support. This feature will allow you to access your Raspberry Pi 3 media service remotely. Check the box if you want this feature. Otherwise, skip it and click “Accept.”

Step 4: After the “SSH” section, OSMC will present a software license on the screen. Read through it, and click “Continue” to accept it.

Step 5: In the “Networking” section, after the software license, OSMC will ask to set up a network. Using the interface, configure your network connection. If the connection fails, you may need to do this manually at a later time.

Step 6: Once the OSMC installation is connected to the internet, you’ll be brought to the “Look + Feel” area. Here, you’ll be instructed to choose the OSMC skin that you like best.

Step 7: With the skin chosen, OSMC will ask if you’d like to sign up for the newsletter. Select “no thanks.” Or, if you’d like to keep up with OSMC development, choose the “Sure, sign me up”option.