Updated August 2022
The short answer is “no”, I’m afraid you can’t.
The long answer is that we get asked about running Xibo Player on RPi a lot. Unfortunately, the device isn’t suitable for our purposes for a variety of reasons.
- The Xibo Player is more than just images and video. We do a lot of operations behind the scenes which require resources the RPi didn’t historically have.
- Purchasing a RPi isn’t a simple choice for the non-DIY user.
- The RPi is an ARM based CPU; when the RPi first came out and we were looking to support an ARM platform, Android was a better choice.
- There are a lot of good hardware options for x86/x64 platforms and it was a natural choice to focus our efforts in that direction for the Linux Player.
We think the RPi is an excellent device for many uses - we have a couple of them ourselves for doing some office automation! They are particularly well suited as a learning tool, for DIY projects and great for people who want to get involved in hardware.
As a platform, our goal is to have a reliable Player option on which we can provide good support, for the operating systems used in Digital Signage, and this meant focusing our resources into x86/x64 for Linux.
There are a few companies who have chosen to put all of their efforts into the RPi, and if the hardware choice is your most important requirement when choosing Digital Signage, we’d recommend looking at those options.
What about the Raspberry Pi 3 or 4?
Sorry, but we don’t think any model of the Raspberry Pi is suitable for our needs.
But I’ve seen downloadable images for a Xibo Player?
Some time ago, the community ported the old Linux Player to run on the RPi. The Player does run, but is very very slow and isn’t of sufficient quality for us to be happy to support it as a viable Player. Due to the old Player version, you will be limited to a 1.4.x or 1.6.0 CMS and therefore won’t have access to a lot of current functionality within Xibo.
But I can run Android on my RPi and then run Xibo for Android?
We’ve had mixed reports about people running Xibo for Android on the RPi. It does work, but some have reported issues accessing the settings menu on that platform. The RPi is not on Xibo Signage’s recommended hardware list for Xibo for Android, so it’s not a recommended platform to run on.
If you need a similar form-factor board to run Xibo for Android, test your specific application on an ODROID C1+. Xibo Signage have tested that board and there are some minor issues, hence it’s not on their recommended hardware list. Extensive testing for your specific use case is therefore strongly advised.
I’ve heard I can run Windows 10 IoT on my RPi to run Xibo for Windows?
I’m afraid you can’t. The RPi uses an ARM CPU, and Xibo for Windows is a 32 bit x86 application. You can’t run x86 binaries on ARM CPUs.
But what about the Xibo for Linux Player (available via Snap)?
The Xibo for Linux Player (released 2019) has been designed for a system with more resources than are available on the RPi and requires a 64 bit AMD or Intel CPU.