Use a Raspberry Pi for streaming YouTube to TV etc?

I have heard of Raspberry Pis but have no knowledge of their technical capabilities, although it seems they run some sort of Linux OS.

My question: could I use a Raspberry Pi to display the internet, such as YouTube etc, on my TV which has HDMI input sockets? I have an external modem with an ethernet output, so the Raspberry Pi (RP) would have to have an ethernet socket.

Secondary question, could I plug a large capacity pen drive into a RP and then use it as a general purpose computer, with a printer attached via a USB socket?

I presume the RP is completely silent without any fan. Every desktop computer I have ever had has been unpleasantly noisy. I did buy a fan-less "thin client" computer recently because it is silent, but the solid-state HD is very small and I cannot find out what specific product I need to buy (online) to increase the SSHD size, so I have not used it.

Thanks

grumpyskeptic,

Raspbian is the official Linux OS for RPi:
https://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads/raspbian/

RPis are often used to stream media to TVs and monitors.

You can buy a RPi kit which comes with Raspbian pre-installed:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Raspberry-P.../dp/B01CI5879A

and then put Kodi on it.

Alternatively it is probably much simpler to buy a RPi Media Centre kit with Kodi preinstalled:
https://thepihut.com/collections/ras...dia-centre-kit

Kodi tutorial:
https://mediaexperience.com/raspberr...-with-raspbmc/

Connections:
https://pihw.wordpress.com/guides/gu...-pc-monitortv/

Adding storage:
https://blog.alexellis.io/attach-usb-storage/

The Raspberry Pi Forums are a good source of information:
https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/

LQ also has this forum:
https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...d-computer-78/

Keep up to date with the legal use of Kodi in your locality:
https://thevpn.guru/is-kodi-legal-sa...vacy-security/

yes, I do that regularly (watching youtube on my TV, with an RPi3), with KODI. It works very well for me.

Sorry, I now see that I should have put this thread in the single-board sub-forum. (I do not mind if it is moved there).

Thanks beachboy2 for all the information about it and Kodi, but can the normal Raspberry Pi operating system also stream video from YouTube? I would also like to do some web-surfing and other computer use with it. Can Firefox be installed for example?

Yes, the Pi can be uses as a general purpose PC although could be limited due to speed and memory depending on what and how many apps your running etc.

There are several operating systems you can install on the Pi but raspbian was the original and optimized for the Pi's hardware. The latest release runs the LXDE desktop and includes Chromium but you can install Firefox as far as I know.

You can print but it would depend on the printer make/model. Some manufactures might provide x86 binaries which will not work on an ARM processor.

No problem plugging in USB drives.

The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ has just been released, you may want to look at that, upgraded Quad core ARM processor, WiFi, four USB2 ports, etc. (Visit the page I've linked and check the specs)

Other uses are as the controller for a NAS device (Network Attached Storage) by installing OpenMediaVault instead of Raspian and plugging in a few USB external drives (self powered would be best). You could then use this in tandem with your Kodi Media server Pi as a source for your ripped DVDs, photographs, videos, etc.

You can also use your Pi as a 3D printer server, controlling and monitoring your 3D prints by installing Octopi which is Octoprint running on a Pi. You can access it via a web browser or a phone app and attach a webcam to remotely view your prints in real time or generate time lapse videos.

The uses of this mini marvel are endless!

Play Bonny!

Moved: This thread is more suitable in <Linux - Embedded & Single-board computer > and has been moved accordingly to help your thread/question get the exposure it deserves.