Raspberry Pi 1 Model B+ (B PLUS) 512MB Computer Board (2014)

Met my expectations and more. I bought this device mainly to test out using it as a home theater before dropping hundreds on a new computer to do just that. I figured that if this failed at what I needed it for in regards to the home theater, that I'd be able to find use for it in a number of other areas given it's flexibility and ease of programming.Installed the Raspberry Pi XBMC version and started messing with the config, themes & plug-ins and realized that it does amazing work with all my video files. 1080p MKV? Worked for me. Paid for the decoder licenses (like $6) for WMV & MPG files. Those also work awesome. The HDMI out is more crisp & clear than the WDTV Live box I was using. It is almost like having a new TV.For this setup I have a NAS with all my video files, which stream to the Pi on my big screen. There is no stutter & all video files I've tried to stream have streamed no problem. I haven't watched all 700 movies in my library, but I'm going to assume that they will all work out just fine. I have not tested a DVD ISO yet, so I can't speak to how well those work, but I have used AVI, MKV, MPG, WMV, etc. All with success.After that exceeded my expectations, I went out and bought a second microSD card and loaded up the retro video game emulator on that. It was able to play all my NES & SNES ROM files without a problem. The only hangup was getting my USB Xbox 360 controller to work how I wanted while in game, but that's not the Raspberry Pi's fault. Once that was completed though, I was playing NES games on my big screen in a way I would have loved to do as a kid. Crisp clear HDMI graphics despite the simpleness of the NES games. SNES work great. Up next will be the N64.This device with both it's cost & ease of use make it worth much more than what you have to pay for it. If you have a little bit of technical knowledge and a go-getter attitude you can make this little machine do just about anything you want it to.Anytime I need a standalone machine for a future task, I will be looking at one of these first.** 2015 update **I now have 2 of these. Kodi (XBMC was rebranded) wasn't bad, but it was a bit of a pain in terms of features (not marking off TV shows you had watched so that you can go to the next episode for example), so I started evaluating more options. Plesk is the OS I decided to go with. My wife loves the UI, it has an On Deck feature that puts the next episode of a TV show on the screen to select, so I can't complain.It also supports CEC functionality, so I don't need a keyboard or mouse for the Pi, the TV remote does the trick. Also makes it so you don't have to try and get an IR receiver to work. I did try to do just that at one point, but the documentation and functionality of those add-ons are not quality and so it was a waste of money.I still highly recommend a Pi as the core of your home theater. I will be ordering another one in the next month or so.

The Raspberry Pi has been a ton of fun to play around with and learn a little about programming. For somebody who is not interested in programming it is a great inexpensive "living room" computer (after a few tweaks) that is great for surfing the web or sending out some emails. You can also convert it and use it as a media player however you should be aware that when you purchase the Pi it will not come with anything you need to get up and running. You will need to get a power cord, a micro sd card an HDMI cord (at the very least). Most of these items you may have already. The Pi works with the same size power cord as a galaxy s4. Depending on you needs you may also need to get/find a wired keyboard and mouse. The raspberry Pi comes just as it is pictured meaning it has not outer protective case. I have seen people make a case out of legos, altoids tins and even cardboard. There are also a ton of places you can find cases made for the raspberry pi that will help to protect it. Even if you had to buy all of the essentials to get up and running it is still a great price. Keep in mind it probably won't be replacing your Home PC but you can do a bunch of cool things with the Pi. A few google searches will help you find a bunch of projects people are working on and you can even find tutorials if you're fairly new to computers. I have seen tutorials for people making robots with their Pi, emulating retro game systems, media centers- its like a chrome cast/ amazon fire stick or apple tv with a lot more flexibility.I haven't found anything about the Raspberry Pi I'm unhappy with especially at the price point. Don't expect it to be up and running right out of the box but you can get it all set up in less then a half hour by following tutorials online. I would definitely recommend it.

This is a Fantastic little device! Currently using this with two different SD cards to run both a RetroPie console and Xbian media center. For the RetroPie I added two USB Super Nintendo controllers and have had some great throw back gaming marathons with my friends. It's so tiny I can take it anywhere with me and it's the life of the party. Wasn't able to get the N64 and PS1 emulators to run as they need a little more power. I've ordered some heat syncs to look try and overclock the Pi and see if that will let me run them. Xbian runs smoothly even with HD video. Takes a few seconds to initially buffer but plays smoothly after. Looking forward being able to turn this into a portable media player when I'm out of town.Pros:- Arrived quickly in anti static packaging- Tiny form factor, can be taken anywhere- Easy to setup even for beginners, with plenty of online guides- The two extra USB ports on the B+ are a mustCons:- No good way to shut down the device if it freezes except pulling the power (this is a limitation of all raspberry pies as they do not have a button with a shutdown script).Great device for beginning projects and I look forward to turning one of these into a custom home security system or anything else I can dream of.