Kodi is a free and open-source media center application that’s available for most major platforms including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and even the Raspberry Pi. It’s the perfect platform for a home theatre PC since it features some knockout features.
Play Just About Any Media Source
Kodi is first and foremost a media playback solution, so it’s reassuring that it plays a huge number of formats and sources. This includes local media on internal or external drives; physical media like Blu-Ray discs, CDs, and DVDs; and network protocols including HTTP/HTTPS, SMB (SAMBA), AFP, and WebDAV.
According to the official Kodi wiki, audio and video containers and format support is as follows:
- Container formats: AVI, MPEG, WMV, ASF, FLV, MKV/MKA (Matroska), QuickTime, MP4, M4A, AAC, NUT, Ogg, OGM, RealMedia RAM/RM/RV/RA/RMVB, 3gp, VIVO, PVA, NUV, NSV, NSA, FLI, FLC, DVR-MS, WTV, TRP and F4V.
- Video formats: MPEG-1, MPEG-2, H.263, MPEG-4 SP and ASP, MPEG-4 AVC (H.264), H.265 (as from Kodi 14) HuffYUV, Indeo, MJPEG, RealVideo, RMVB, Sorenson, WMV, Cinepak.
- Audio formats: MIDI, AIFF, WAV/WAVE, AIFF, MP2, MP3, AAC, AACplus (AAC+), Vorbis, AC3, DTS, ALAC, AMR, FLAC, Monkey’s Audio (APE), RealAudio, SHN, WavPack, MPC/Musepack/Mpeg+, Shorten, Speex, WMA, IT, S3M, MOD (Amiga Module), XM, NSF (NES Sound Format), SPC (SNES), GYM (Genesis), SID (Commodore 64), Adlib, YM (Atari ST), ADPCM (Nintendo GameCube), and CDDA.
On top of this, there’s support for most common image formats, subtitle formats like SRT, and the sort of metadata tags you’d commonly find in files like ID3 and EXIF.
Stream Local Media Over the Network
Kodi was primarily designed for network playback, which makes it an ideal solution for accessing networked content. This is where support for common network formats like Windows file sharing (SMB) and macOS file sharing (AFP) comes in especially handy. Share your files as normal and access them using a device running Kodi on the same network.
The media supports other streaming protocols like UPnP (DLNA) for streaming from other media servers, the ability to play back web streams over HTTP, FTP connections, and Bonjour. You can map these network locations as part of your library when setting up collections, so they act like standard local media.
There’s also “very limited support” for AirPlay streaming, with Kodi acting as a server. You can turn this on under Settings > Services > AirPlay, though Windows and Linux users will need to install other dependencies.
Download Covers, Descriptions and More
Kodi allows you to build up a library of media, which is categorized by type. This includes movies, TV shows, music, music videos, and more. Media is imported by specifying its location and type, so it works best if you have categorized this media (keep all your movies in one folder and your music videos in another, for example).
When you do this, Kodi will automatically use the relevant metadata scraper to find out more information about your library. This includes cover images like box art, descriptions of media, fan art, and other information. This makes browsing through your collection a richer and more polished experience.
You can also choose to ignore the library and access media by folder if that’s more your thing.
Make Kodi Your Own with Skins
Kodi’s basic skin is clean, modern, and looks great on anything from a small tablet to a huge 8K television. On the other hand, one of Kodi’s greatest features is its customizability. You can download and apply other skins, customize the sounds that the media center makes, and even design your own themes from scratch.
You’ll find around 20 themes to download from in the Kodi Add-Ons repository under the Add-Ons > Download section. Alternatively, you can download skins from elsewhere and apply them to Kodi.
Expand Kodi with Add-Ons
It’s not just skins that you can download in Kodi. The media center includes a huge number of add-ons within the official repository, which you can access under Add-ons > Download. These allow you to massively expand on what is achievable with the media center, turning it into something far more powerful.
Use these add-ons to add streaming services like local on-demand TV providers, online sources like YouTube and Vimeo, and cloud storage services like OneDrive and Google Drive. You can also use add-ons to enable music playback from sources like Bandcamp, SoundCloud, and radio providers.
Kodi can also be used as a virtual console through the use of emulators and native game clients. Add a huge number of emulators using Libretro (RetroArch), MAME clients, plus launchers for classic games like Doom, Cave Story, and Wolfenstein 3D.
You can also download screensavers for when your media center sits idle, visualizations for music playback, and tie Kodi to other services or apps you may already use like Plex, Trakt, and the Transmission BitTorrent client.
Expand on existing functionality to turbo-charge Kodi by adding more sources for subtitle downloads, more weather providers for the in-built weather functionality, and more scrapers to make for a richer media library.
On top of this, you can find Kodi add-ons outside of the official repositories. Add third-party repositories to access all sorts of weird and wonderful add-ons. You should always make sure you trust a repository before you add it,
Watch Live TV and Use Kodi as a DVR/PVR
Kodi can be used to watch TV too, complete with an electronic program guide (EPG) to see what’s on at a glance. On top of this, you can configure Kodi to behave as a DVR/PVR by recording live TV to disk for later playback. The media center will even categorize your recordings for you so they’re easier to find.
This functionality does require some setup, and you’ll need to use one of the supported TV tuner cards as well as a DVR backend. If live TV is important to you then it’s probably worth following the DVR setup guide to get everything working.
UPnP/DLNA Streaming to Other Devices
Kodi can also act as a media server using the DLNA streaming protocol which works using UPnP (universal plug-and-play). DLNA stands for Digital Living Network Alliance and it refers to the body that helped standardize basic media streaming protocols. You can enable this feature under Settings > Services.
Once you’ve done so the library you have built within Kodi will be available for streaming elsewhere on your local network. This is ideal if your primary goal is to have a polished media center in your living room while still being able to access your media elsewhere in the house.
DLNA streaming works using many smart TVs without any need for third-party software, but also using apps like VLC on standard platforms.
Control with Apps, Controllers, or the Web Interface
You can control Kodi with your keyboard if you’ve installed it on a standard platform, but the media center arguably works better with a dedicated controller. iPhone and iPad users can use the Official Kodi Remote while Android users can use Kore. Both apps are free to use, though further premium remote apps exist on the App Store and Google Play.
Kodi can also be controlled using game controllers like the Xbox Core wireless controller using the setup under Settings > System > Input. This is ideal if you’re going to use your media center PC to also play games. Alternatively, use CEC over HDMI with your TV’s standard remote, use Bluetooth and RF (radio frequency) remotes, or home automation control systems.
You can enable the Kodi web interface to provide full playback under Settings > Services > Control. For this to work you’ll need to first set a password, and you’ll need to know the local IP (or hostname) for your Kodi device. You can use the web interface to control everything, from simple playback to changing Kodi settings.
Set Up Multiple Profiles
If you’re using Kodi in a multiple-user household and you want a unique user experience, set up multiple profiles under Settings > Profiles. You can then enable the login screen so that it’s the first thing you see when you boot Kodi.
By doing this you can create a custom experience with customized view settings (like skins), locked folders, separate media libraries, and unique preferences on a per-user basis.
Access System Information and Logs
Under Settings, you’ll find a section for System Information and an Event log. System Information gives you a quick rundown of the current setup, from the hardware inside your host machine to the current version of Kodi and free space remaining. You’ll also be able to see the host’s current IP address, which is handy if you want to use the web interface from another device.
In addition to hardware information, you’ll also be able to see how much system memory is currently in use as well as the system CPU usage and current temperatures.
The Event log is also handy if ever you’re trying to troubleshoot crashing. If you’re trying to pinpoint a problem, make sure you enable debug logging under Settings > System to get as much information as possible.
Try Out Kodi Today
Kodi is free, open-source, and under active development. If you’re looking for a front-end for your media center, you should download it and give it a try today. The application includes a huge number of features and functionality, and you can further expand this with add-ons.
Mini PCs make ideal media centers, perfect for installing Kodi. Check out our top recommended mini PCs for some shopping ideas.
