Whether you’ve just started digitizing your movie and music collection or have long since abandoned physical media, you’ve probably heard of Kodi. It’s a well-known commodity in more technically-minded corners of the internet, essentially a tool for bringing all your content together in one place and sharing it across multiple devices. There are a lot of the best Kodi that will meet your need.
However, as networked home media centers become more appealing and easier to set up, the appeal of Kodi is reaching a wider audience. WIRED explains how to use the media server software that has quietly grown to dominate home streaming as an all-in-one hub for your film, music, and television content.
About Kodi
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A free, open-source media center software that can run on anything from your Android phone to your home PC, as well as a variety of other devices in between. It debuted in 2002 as XBMP, or Xbox Media Player, before evolving into the more well-known XBMC, or Xbox Media Centre, in 2004.
Kodi was originally designed to control all of your digital media from a central hub in your home, and it ran on the first Xbox – albeit only if you had a modchip installed or hacked the console, as the independently written program wasn’t authorized by Microsoft. It has been greatly expanded upon by numerous coders but is largely overseen by the XBMC Foundation.
Long after splitting support for the original Xbox onto its own software fork, XBMC was rebranded as Kodi in August 2014. The name change assisted in establishing it as a multifaceted media center in its own right, no longer associated with Microsoft’s aging console. Since then, it’s grown in popularity, becoming one of the most popular home streaming tools available.
Use of Kodi
Begin by downloading an installer in the format of your choice. Installation is quick, and each time you do something new, the software provides a one-time mini-tutorial, making it simple to learn the fundamentals.
is quick, and each time you do something new, the software provides a one-time mini-tutorial, making it simple to learn the fundamentals.
To get the most out of Kodi, install some of the add-ons mentioned above. You can do this in two ways: first, you can download individual mods from their creators or from a repository like SuperRepo. The Kodi Wiki also has a comprehensive list of add-ons.
To install a single downloaded add-on, go to the main Kodi screen and select system,’ then settings,’ ‘add-ons,’ and ‘install from zip file.’ The zip file will then be available for selection from wherever it was saved. However, do not extract the zip package yourself; Kodi will do it for you.
Kodi is designed for a 10-foot TV, meaning you can watch shows and films on your TV at the same time. Playing media is as simple as browsing storage locations on your networked devices – Kodi has an integrated Universal Plug and Play server to assist with this.
Kodi Legality
Kodi is legal, without a doubt – it’s just a piece of software distributed under the GNU General Public License. Anyhow, just as a torrent client can be used to distribute files legally or to share illegally uploaded content, so can Kodi.
Although, the XBMC Foundation is remarkably open about what Kodi is. All supported platforms’ source code is available on GitHub, and the creators collaborate with the Software Freedom Law Center, which provides advice on issues such as copyright and trademark.
However, because Kodi is open-source, some of the compatible plug-ins and add-ons can be used for less reputable content access. Essentially, it is your responsibility to use Kodi responsibly, but it is perfectly legal to have a build of the media center on any device you own.
An EU court ruled in early May that using a multimedia player – such as Kodi, though Kodi was not specifically mentioned – to stream pirated video content online is subject to the same laws as downloading an illegal copy.
Copyright infringement occurs when you download an illegally copied show, film, or game because you are effectively “stealing” and keeping a copy. Streaming, on the other hand, stores the file temporarily on your computer, and temporary copies have traditionally been exempt from copyright laws.
The temporary reproduction of a copyright-protected work obtained without the consent of the copyright holder is not exempt from the “right of reproduction”.
This means that anyone who streams an illegally copied film or television show is breaking the law in the same way that they would if they downloaded it because streaming’
Simply put, copyright holders lose money when people stream content for free without paying. The pre-installation of the aforementioned add-ons is the primary draw of the multimedia player for prospective buyers.
