Sorry if there is a dedicated thread to this, but what's the hype about Kodi? I remember hearing about XMBC back in the day, and that is now Kodi?
I did a quick Google search, and I've read Kodi is 100% legit, but the third party apps(?) you can download within it(?) are not. Most are now using in on the Amazon Fire Stick (version 2?). What's the skinny on all this?
(plus it can't hurt the forum to get a new thread going )
I've been using a "Kodi box" I ordered from Amazon for at least a couple years. It's basically a very simple computer that runs Android as its Operating System. Think of it as an Android tablet but you need to connect it to a TV. You can run most Android apps, and Kodi is one of them.
Kodi is the new name for XBMC. The developers changed the name a few versions ago because it had evolved so far from XBox that the name didn't make sense anymore. Some argue that the new name doesn't make sense either.
It is basically a media player. You point it to media sources and it creates menus, thumbnails, plot rundowns etc. It's just a nice interface for browsing a media library.
Kodi itself doesn't have any media files included with it and the application developers officially condemn using it illegally. But of course, many people use it for viewing illegally downloaded files and many of the available addons will stream content directly from internet sources. With these addons, you don't even have to download a file before playing it.
If you have some movies or TV shows downloaded, you can install Kodi on your PC and try it out. You'll be able to get a feel for the software and decide whether you want to use it on a TV. The software is free, and the addons are free, so if you're curious, go for it.
The new version (v17) looks really great. I'm still using 16.1 because my Android box needs an OS upgrade before I can run the new one, but i've played with it on my PC.
I think quite a few of us here use Kodi, so if you have questions, you're sure to get some answers.
I've been using Kodi 16.1 on my Amazon FireStick. I don't have cable, DirectTV or Dish and can still watch all my shows and sporting events with no problems.
I used adbLink software to wirelessly connect to my FireStick and install the APK package. You can google how to install Kodi on a FireStick (my preference) and it's pretty awesome. I also installed it directly on to my laptop for road trips.
^^^ First post? Welcome, if you're truly a new member.
You mention "sports." Like I could view *any* sporting event (White Sox, Hawkeyes are my favs)? I've heard of some people watching PPV UFC fights live for free too?
Inside Phoenix, I go to Phoenix Sports and then Sports Demon LIVE. Inside there, there are multiple different flavors of what you can watch. During NFL season, you can watch any of the live games. Same as NBA, MLB and NHL games. Only live games.
You can also watch other events such as UFC PPV fights and even replays of other fights that you may have missed.
I don't have very good luck finding stable high quality feeds for live sports but they are there. It's probably something on my end that I haven't done the digging to figure out so don't let that deter you. I use Specto to watch TV shows and movies without a problem.
Its tough streaming live sports in my experience. You can buy a sports package http://sportsaccess.se/ and use it in the sportsdevil app. I haven't used it in a few years. It was 100 bucks a year (if bought on black Friday) and you could stream any sports including PPV events. I primarily used it for NFL games. The links were a lot more stable using this method. Even then it was a pain in the ass sometimes.
Nuzbin is the one to talk to about this shit.
Different packages work differently pending the area your in. One Channel used to be the nuts. Now it sucks. I use Specto, Pheonix, or Exodus for my shows/movies. Specto seems to work the best for me.
Hey man, so ya, I am by no means an expert....at all.
Here's what I can say.
I wanted to be able to watch any Movie/TV series I want (past or present). My Kodi has them. It's like having an external harddrive hooked up without having to download the shows/ movies myself. The "build" I have has sections of tv, movies, sports, etc. and I can just search and find things. I have noticed that new episodes of shows are available the next day. I haven't tried watching live TV/sports yet but I'm told i can (or can make it so I can). I have been told that live TV can be spotty depending on the feed.
The shows and movies are available in HD. There's essentially about 30 "feeds" to pick from and you pick one and watch. I've only had to look for multiple feeds once so far. Usually just click one and go. The situation I had was the audio was not in line with the actors when they were speaking. But found a different feed and it worked.
For TV, it has pretty much every channel and you just search through and find a show they air. For some shows not on TV still I just search that name and it pops up elsewhere in the system.
Movies are listed by every category there is: Genre, By year, In theatre, Classic, etc.
Anyways, like I said before, I'm sure there's lots I'm not getting from it yet but will find out over the next few months.
It is a pretty good, easy, quick way to install OSMC. OSMC is basically Kodi, but with its own look. It runs, if I am not mistaken, Raspbian underneath the hood, so you can actually use it as a computer, but with the front-end running Kodi (OSMC-style.) I like it.
In the UK there has been a huge legal situation made out of some individuals selling "fully loaded Kodi boxes." Those are android boxes with Kodi and a lot of 3rd party pirate addons installed. They are advertised as getting premium channels, sports, etc FREE. The European Union and British courts have come down hard on people selling these "Kodi Boxes." Several sellers have wound up in jail.
Here in the US, DishTV has sued the developers of the ZEM addon, which simply stole channels from DishTV and streamed them. DishTV has also sued the TVAddons.ag website for distributing the ZEM addon while knowing it was a pirate addon that stole content.
Both ZEM and the TVAddons website have disappeared as a result. Most of the 3rd party Kodi addons that TVAddons hosted have disappeared along with them. The developers of pirate addons are running for cover right now, although a few have resurfaced on other websites.
Along with the pirate addons, TVAddons hosted a lot of perfectly legal 3rd party addons which disappeared along with the TVAddons website. Team Kodi (the developers of XBMC/Kodi) are now actively trying to recruit those developers to include their addons in the "official" Kodi repository for distribution.
All-in-all, a very active and interesting past few weeks in the Kodi world...
Short version: Anything/everything you could want.
Longer version: Many video options are clear and obvious (modern movies, re-runs of TV shows, etc.) but SOME options take a little more effort, and aren't always simple (live TV, more obscure movies/tv/music). While someone fairly tech-savvy shouldn't have much trouble, and may even find it "fun" looking for various items, I could see others not so comfortable with tech (significant others?). It is by no means as slick or smooth as a cable package or satellite layout...but, for the most part, it is FREE. Basic FireTV software is solid, within the Amazon eco-system, but dropping Kodi and some add-ons right on top makes it really, really powerful.
If you have space, access to power, etc. I'd suggest a full Amazon FireTV "box" as opposed to the smaller/lighter FireTV "stick". Both should work in a similar fashion, but the box is a bit more powerful, allows for wired (Ethernet) connections, etc. The box is a couple of dollars more than the stick, but I'd suggest it is worth it, especially if you have the space for a small piece of equipment, and don't need to hide the stick behind the TV in a HDMI slot. Just my $0.02.
I'm still not 100% sold on a setup like this completely replacing a TV package, especially when it comes to LIVE programs and simplicity (remote control, menus, integration, obvious search choices...) It is getting dang close, but still not perfect...yet.
FWIW, I did it with some decent instructions from Nuzbim a couple years ago without to much trouble. It did take me a solid 1.5-2 hours to figure out and get everything set up properly but after that it wasn't too big of a deal. I ended up not using it very much because I had a lot of trouble with the content no streaming smoothly. I was getting a lot of interruptions and buffering while watching and so I kind of gave up on it. That may have been challenges with the ISP I had in San Diego though because I did have it hard wired which should have prevented the latency issues. Not completely sure. I should probably give it another try though in my new setup. I think the main reason I haven't yet is that it will have to be wireless. It works great for many people though so it might be work giving it a shot.
Does the device that the Kodi is installed on make a significant difference? I'm looking on Amazon at some of the devices, and these Leelbox boxes seem to be the #1 thing that keeps popping up. Are they any good or should I be looking at something more "name brand"?
I (personally) have never purchased any sort of "Kodi Box", "Media PC", or whatever they might be called. I've used regular laptops, Raspberry Pis, Amazon FireTVs, etc. These have always been relatively cheap, powerful (enough) for my use, and easy to come by. They also have other uses, aside from Kodi/media access.
If you are looking for something else, maybe something specifically geared toward media presentation and nothing else, I'd search for the greatest variation in outputs (7.1 surround, Dolby/DTS, 4k video, HEVC decoding, ad nauseum...) I don't have any experience with any of them, but I'd compare the capabilities of them all, and then most likely go with the one that has the most and/or future-proofs your setup as best you can. Faster processor, better graphics chip, more memory...same things I'd look for in a typical PC/laptop.
So we installed kodi onto our firestick. So now what? We've been clicking around through the various menus for half an hour and we can't figure out what this really does for us. We got into a movies menu that seems to have info on thousands of movies, but so far we haven't been able to watch anything with it.
You (probably) want to / need to install some KODI addons to get to what you want.
Unfortunately, if you haven't installed some of the older, more established ones already, you MIGHT run into some issues. (Quite a few have shut down, as of late, so new installs are much more difficult.)
Looks like my OS is too old for the new version of Kodi
Probably why Covenant isn’t loading either
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