TV player for Raspberry Pi

Version 2026.11.11, published 2026-11-11. The same file works on every board of one family.

Raspberry Pi images

For this first version, write tv=tv.wanta.bet in tv/tv.txt. Newer versions arrive by themselves over the internet.

Raspberry Pi 5, 4 / 400, 3, Zero 2 W

Tested on the device: Raspberry Pi 5. Built for Pi 4 / 400, 3 and Zero 2 W, not yet tested on them.

tv-player-pi-3-4-5-zero-2-w-2026.11.11.img.xz

Size: 1.31 GB · SHA-256: 4b035cdb4668bca6f2ce7440b360cf7a7e066a081b7e651e40a13ffc48c8623b

Raspberry Pi 2, 1, Zero / Zero W

tv-player-pi-1-2-zero-2026.11.11.img.xz

Coming shortly, tonight.

Write the card in three steps

Download the file for your model (above) and install Raspberry Pi Imager.
In Imager: Choose Device (your model) → Choose OS → Use custom → pick the downloaded .img.xz → Choose Storage (an SD card of 8 GB or more) → Next. When it offers OS customisation, choose No.
When writing is done, take the card out and put it back into the computer. On the BOOT drive, in the tv folder, create tv.txt (and wifi.txt for Wi-Fi). Eject the card, put it into the Raspberry Pi, connect the TV by HDMI and power it on.

Raspberry Pi 5 and 4: connect the TV to HDMI 0, the port next to the USB-C power.

After power on the picture appears in less than a minute (a new card's first start takes longer). If tv.txt is missing, the screen is blue and shows how to set it and the device's name: the card is fine, just add tv.txt.

The two text files on the card

tv.txt

tv/tv.txt (required): the TV address your operator gave you, the channel, and the language (optional). Without this file the screen shows how to set it and nothing plays.

tv=tv.wanta.bet
channel=2
lang=en

Only the tv= line is required; channel= (the channel at power-on) and lang= (the language) are optional.

If the screen does not show your TV, check the address in tv/tv.txt: the line must read tv= followed by the address your operator gave you, without quotes, for example tv=tv.wanta.bet. When that address does not answer as a TV, the screen is blue and says which address was tried and why it was refused; the device tries it again every 20 s and starts the TV by itself once the address works.

wifi.txt

tv/wifi.txt (only for Wi-Fi; a network cable needs nothing): the network name, its password and the two-letter country code.

ssid=MyNetwork
psk=my-password
country=RS

The examples are also on the card: tv.txt.example and wifi.txt.example. After that the player updates itself.

Which Raspberry Pi do I have?

The model name is printed on the board. If you cannot see it, the connectors tell:

Raspberry Pi 5	a power button on the board's edge, two micro-HDMI outputs, USB-C power
Raspberry Pi 4 / 400	two micro-HDMI outputs, USB-C power, no button (the 400 is built into a keyboard)
Raspberry Pi 3 (B, B+, A+)	one full-size HDMI, micro-USB power, "Raspberry Pi 3" printed on the board
Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W	a small board, mini-HDMI, "Zero 2 W" printed on it
Raspberry Pi 2	one full-size HDMI, micro-USB power, "Raspberry Pi 2" printed on the board
Raspberry Pi 1 / Zero / Zero W	Pi 1: one full-size HDMI, no Wi-Fi; Zero and Zero W: a small board, mini-HDMI, no "2" on it

Check a downloaded file: its SHA-256 must be the one shown here (Windows: certutil -hashfile file-name SHA256; macOS and Linux: shasum -a 256 file-name).