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Kodi (formerly XBMC) is a free and open-source media player that allows users to play and view most videos, music, podcasts, and so on.
It has many add-on features, such as the ability to add your favorite app and simply run it. This app also allows you to watch live television for free. This app has provided me with a positive overall experience.
What is Kodi?
Kodi is a home media server that consolidates all of your content and allows you to access shows, photos, movies, and music across multiple devices. Kodi, formerly known as the Xbox Media Center (XBMC), is a completely open-source and free-to-use media player with over 900 official add-ons.
With these add-ons, you can turn your phone into a remote, stream live TV, listen to your favorite radio station, and more. Among these add-ons are numerous movie and TV streaming services.
It’s important to note that Kodi isn’t a replacement for music and video streaming services, but rather a hub for managing your subscriptions and local media collection.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- The service is completely free and open-source.
- There are over 900 available add-ons.
- Can connect to the majority of paid and free streaming services
- A very active user base
Cons
- The initial learning curve is steep.
- The app does not include any streaming content.
- Does not apply metadata to your files automatically.
- It can be difficult to locate add-ons.
What Can You Watch on Kodi?
Nothing beats the thrill of opening a streaming service app for the first time. When you see all of the new content waiting to be explored, the anticipation is quickly replaced by joy, surprise, nostalgia, and a healthy dose of excitement. I adore that sensation!
But you won’t get that feeling with Kodi because it isn’t a streaming service. On the other hand, this app is a media center application.
In other words, it’s a location where you can store your media files, ripped DVDs, and legally downloaded movies and then stream them to all your devices. It can house massive content — but you have to put it there!
Because it is primarily used to view your own content, the size of your Kodi library will be determined by how obsessively you’ve been collecting Movies and TV series over the years.
Downloading public domain movies or other free content from legal P2P file-sharing services can help you expand your Kodi library.
The app’s add-ons provide another way to watch movies and TV shows. Although Kodi does not produce original content, add-ons bring many popular free and paid streaming services into the Kodi app.
South Park, the free streaming service Crackle, and Pluto TV are among peoples favorites.
Baseball streaming service MLB.TV, PBS Kids, Twitch, and over 100 other apps and services are also available. You can even connect Kodi to Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video if you download the PlayOn Browser add-on.
The personal video recorder (PVR) add-on can bring over-the-air (OTA) TV into Kodi, but the process is lengthy. A TV tuner and the PVR backend software are required. Fortunately, Kodi has a comprehensive PVR wiki page that will walk you through the process.
How does Kodi Work
Kodi is an XBMC foundation-owned centralized media center that allows you to store all of your content in a single location and access it from virtually anywhere. It should be noted that Kodi does not provide media; users must provide their own content or manually point it to online media.
It was created with the TV audience in mind, who are accustomed to enjoying digital content—this interface is also known as a 10-foot UI.
Almost all audio and video file formats are supported by the Kodi platform. This allows you to run older and newer files with equal ease. You can stream content from a variety of free video services such as YouTube, Vimeo, and others using a variety of plugins.
Aside from playing common media formats, Kodi also supports slideshows, weather forecasts, audio visualizations, and other features.
However, unlike MythTV and Windows Media Center, it does not include an internal digital TV-tuner backend for Live TV functionality. You can begin streaming TV on Kodi with the help of a suitable Kodi add-on.
Kodi can also be used as a gaming console. Many Kodi addons let you browse and launch emulator ROMs and standalone games in XBMC.
Is Kodi Safe to Use?
“Is Kodi safe to use?” is one of the most commonly asked questions. Kodi is completely legal software; it’s just like your web browser. If Kodi is illegal because it is used to stream pirated content, then browsers are illegal because they are used to download pirated content and watch it on such websites.
However, Kodi is gaining negative attention as a result of third-party add-ons that are being used to connect to access subscription streaming services for free.
A large number of Kodi Boxes are being sold with add-ons that link to pirated streams, even though they are completely unaffiliated with the official Kodi Team. However, if a Kodi Box does not include add-ons that promote pirated streaming, it is legal to use such a box.
Kodi has made this clear on numerous occasions in the past. “Kodi does not supply any media.” Users must supply their own content or point Kodi to third-party online services manually. “The Kodi project does not support bootleg video content,” according to the project’s official website.
However, we recommend that you use a VPN with Kodi to hide your digital footprints. Because many third-party add-ons use copyrighted content, the risk of legal repercussions is always present. As a result, using a VPN with Kodi is recommended.
However, it is always good to use a VPN for Kodi.
Features and Streaming Quality
When playing content from your own media library, Kodi supports full HD and 4K resolutions. When you play content from add-ons, the streaming quality will vary.
You’ll need to find a streaming service with 4K content and a Kodi add-on that supports 4K streaming, and you’ll need to confirm that their add-on supports 4K streaming. Because of Kodi’s bandwidth limitations, some add-ons downscale their 4K content to HD.
Kodi can be configured to function as a Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) server. That means you’ll be able to stream content from your media center PC to all of your other devices. The only restrictions are that the devices be on the same network as the media center PC and run the Kodi app.
The majority of Kodi’s features are provided by add-ons. I can’t possibly list them all, so I’ll just give a few examples of what they do. Some add-ons will scrape subtitles or movie metadata from the internet and apply them to your media files.
Other add-ons provide skins that completely redesign the Kodi app’s look and feel. There are even add-ons that offer emulators for a variety of older video game systems.
Support for Kodi
Kodi is available and simple to install on desktops and laptops running Windows, Mac, and Linux. It’s also available in the Android app store, making it suitable for everything from an Android phone to an Android TV device. It is also very simple to install on Fire TV and Raspberry Pi devices.
Things become more complicated once you get past those devices. Installation is just as difficult on an Apple TV device as it is on an iPhone. We discovered Kodi installation hacks for a variety of other devices, but they range from difficult to dangerous, so most users should stick to officially approved Kodi apps.
Kodi Value
Free is a fantastic value. I appreciate that Kodi does not try to hide its more advanced features behind a freemium model. By the time I finished customizing, I had created a feature-rich, content-heavy media center application for free.
If you want to watch Hulu, Netflix, or MLB.TV in your Kodi app, you’ll need a subscription to each of those services. That is not, however, charging you money. This app is simply a user-friendly interface for your favorite free and paid streaming services.
Verdict
Some cord-cutters prefer simple-to-use streaming services that work right away. Those people will most likely despise Kodi. A service like Netflix, HBO Max, or Disney Plus would be far more beneficial to them. If they want to view their own media content, they should probably run a Plex media server.
Others want to design their own streaming interface. They want access to multiple streaming services as well as their content library. They are willing to go through a few installation processes, choose between add-ons, and fine-tune settings to perfection. If this describes you, we think you’ll fall in love with Kodi.
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