{"id":5314,"date":"2019-01-05T16:16:47","date_gmt":"2019-01-05T21:16:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dronebotworkshop.com\/?p=5314"},"modified":"2019-06-24T14:08:21","modified_gmt":"2019-06-24T18:08:21","slug":"kodi-raspberry-pi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dronebotworkshop.com\/kodi-raspberry-pi\/","title":{"rendered":"Multimedia with Kodi on Raspberry Pi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introduction<\/span><\/h2>\n

A multimedia player is a great addition to any home theatre system. \u00a0To that effect, many people have purchased \u201cAndroid boxes\u201d, small devices running Google’s Android operating system and connecting into their television and sound system. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Like most Android devices these units are capable of running \u201capps\u201d, small software applications that perform specific functions. One of the most popular apps is Kodi.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kodi<\/span><\/a> is a multimedia player with many advanced features. One of its strengths id it is extremely customizable, allowing the user to tailor their setup to their unique tastes and requirements. <\/span><\/p>\n

Part of that customization is the ability to include \u201cadd-ons\u201d in your Kodi customization. Add-ons allow you to view and listen to specific content, similar to the way channels work on your standard television. You can get a wide variety of free add-ons for Kodi, allowing you to set up your system with a selection of live television, sports, entertainment, game and educational selections that are suited to your own tastes.<\/span><\/p>\n

But you don\u2019t need an Android box to run Kodi. Kodi is available for almost every computing platform, and it is also available for single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi.<\/span><\/p>\n

Personally, I own an Android box and get a lot of enjoyment out of it, my main application is Kodi and I use it to view material I store on a media server on my home network. And when I wanted to add a second Android box to a television in another room I decided to build a Kodi installation on a Raspberry Pi instead.<\/span><\/p>\n

Follow along and I\u2019ll show you how to put one together yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kodi<\/span><\/h2>\n

Kodi is a product of the <\/span>XBMC Foundation<\/span><\/a>, it was formerly known as the <\/span>XBMC player<\/span><\/i> which stood for <\/span>XBox Media Center<\/span><\/i>, a project to allow multimedia on the first generation of XBox video game consoles. It is available for a wide variety of computing platforms including Windows, Linux, OSX and well as Android and IOS.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Kodi<\/p>\n

Kodi employs what is called a \u201c10-foot User Interface\u201d, this refers to a graphical user interface that is designed for televisions. \u00a0This means that the text used in the interface is much larger than the text employed in desktop computer applications.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can customize the look and feel of your Kodi installation using \u201cskins\u201d. The product comes with a number of them and if you have the talent you can even design your own. <\/span><\/p>\n

While the most common use for Kodi is for multimedia centers it also finds use in hotel television systems, digital signage and as an internal component in Smart TVs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Legalities<\/span><\/h3>\n

The open source nature of Kodi and the availability of third-party add-ons has been both a blessing and a curse to the Kodi community. It has opened up Kodi to exploitation by those who create and distribute add-ons that facilitate unauthorized access to copyright protected material.<\/span><\/p>\n

This problem has been compounded by the actions of some vendors who have distributed devices loaded with Kodi and these illegal add-ons. These devices are commonly referred to as \u201cFully loaded\u201d digital media players.<\/span><\/p>\n

The XBMC Foundation does not endorse the use of these add-ons and has taken legal action against some of the creators of these products for unauthorized use of the Kodi trademark.<\/span><\/p>\n

The use of Kodi and its authorized add-ons is completely legal. <\/span><\/p>\n

Features<\/span><\/h3>\n

Kodi sports a number of features that make it an ideal multimedia center for most home and commercial applications.<\/span><\/p>\n