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media:kodi [2025/10/06 14:01] – removed Bernard Condrau | media:kodi [2025/10/06 15:32] (current) – [Kodi 21 (Omega)] Bernard Condrau | ||
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+ | ====== Kodi 18-20 ====== | ||
+ | This guide was originally written for the Kodi 18 " | ||
+ | ====== Kodi 21 (Omega) ====== | ||
+ | * [[kodi: | ||
+ | * Android Settings -> Display & Audio -> Audio: Allow passthrough | ||
+ | * Kodi Settings -> System -> Audio: Allow passthrough | ||
+ | * Kodi Settings -> Media -> Videos: Movie set information folder | ||
+ | * Kodi Subtitles: File Manager -> Add source: Select < | ||
+ | ====== Kodi 20 (Nexus) ====== | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Setup ===== | ||
+ | ===== Kodi Setup ===== | ||
+ | ==== General Setup ==== | ||
+ | - Install [[https:// | ||
+ | - Install addons: | ||
+ | - //Program Addons -> Keymap Editor// | ||
+ | - <color red>// | ||
+ | - //Weather -> Gismeteo Weather// addon | ||
+ | - Missing Movies | ||
+ | - Install custom version of Estuary skin as explained in the next section. | ||
+ | - Set Screensaver to //Dim//. | ||
+ | - Enable //Show movie sets// in Settings/ | ||
+ | - Add file paths through main menu //Videos//, then //Files/Add videos.../ | ||
+ | - Add file path for (example) **Concerts**, | ||
+ | - Select the movie set, then select //Add to favorites// through the context menu. | ||
+ | - Repeat for other movie types you want to group into it's own menu item, for example **Billiard** and **Foreign movies**. | ||
+ | - Add file path for **Music**, go to // | ||
+ | - Add photos file path and make the path a favorite. | ||
+ | - Optional: Zattoo Box addon | ||
+ | |||
+ | - Setup | ||
+ | - General setup | ||
+ | - Customizing UI | ||
+ | - Network sources | ||
+ | - Addons | ||
+ | - Storage setup | ||
+ | - Backup and cloning | ||
+ | - Subtitles | ||
+ | - Scraping | ||
+ | - Artwork | ||
+ | - Naming conventions | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Setup ===== | ||
+ | On a device with limited storage capacity, for example the Mi Box S which is an Android Box with only 8GB storage capacity (5.4GB available to apps), you will likely run into capacity problems when your Kodi library grows. You can either format a USB drive (or SD card if your device has a slot) as device storage and then move the entire Kodi app data, or just the '' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Starting with Android version 10 it is not possible to access another app's user data due to the tightened security policy. Also, access to the device using SSH (e.g. starting an SSH server on the device) requires root access. If you like to modify a skin, or update the Kodi databases, then you need to move Kodi's configuration files to a storage space which you can modify. | ||
+ | |||
+ | There are 2 method' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Setup on devices with limited storage capacity ==== | ||
+ | - Similar to [[# | ||
+ | - To move the '' | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | - Then move the '' | ||
+ | - Note that the the Texture Cache consists of two interlinked data stores - the '' | ||
+ | - Remember to restore database and folder at the same time from the same backup if you keep a backup of your Kodi installation and later restore it to either the same client or a different client. If you restore to a different client, create a separate folder in your external network drive. | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Devices running Android / AndroidTV version 10 or newer === | ||
+ | - Starting with Android version 10 it is not possible to access another app's user data due to the tightened security policy | ||
+ | - Copy or move '' | ||
+ | - Alternatively you can copy or move '' | ||
+ | - Modify '' | ||
+ | - Copy or move '' | ||
+ | - Do this before setting up the Kodi media library, e.g. before scraping videos and music | ||
+ | - If you already have a Kodi media library in place you need to copy the entire '' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Links === | ||
+ | * [[https:// | ||
+ | * [[https:// | ||
+ | * [[https:// | ||
+ | * [[https:// | ||
+ | * [[https:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Setup on external storage (Android) ==== | ||
+ | - Similar to [[# | ||
+ | - Choose an external device with a decent transfer speed | ||
+ | - If you choose a SD card, format the card on the device as external (portable) storage, not as device storage. On Samsung and other devices with KNOX technology SD cards cannot be formatted as device storage anyway. | ||
+ | - Create folder '' | ||
+ | - Use //FX File Explorer// (Android 9 or older) or Kodi's built in file manager (Android 10 or newer) to move your existing '' | ||
+ | - If you have Android 10 or newer you need to use Kodi's built in file manager to access data within the Kodi data space. For Android 9 you can still use any Android File Manager. | ||
+ | - Create and copy a text file named '' | ||
+ | - This is how the Android OS accesses the storage. The path might start with /storage/ as on my Samsung devices, but might be different on other devices. You can find the correct path by using a file explorer, like "File Browser" | ||
+ | - Since the Kodi configuration files now are on an external device you can replace or update files simply by modifying files in a PC. | ||
+ | - Kodi's UI will load a little slower, but it has no impact on movie load times and performance, | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Links === | ||
+ | * [[https:// | ||
+ | * [[https:// | ||
+ | ===== Backup and clone ===== | ||
+ | Setting up and maintaining a well tagged video and music library with Kodi can be a lot of effort, particularly if you want to have it perfectly done, and the library grows big. I highly recommend to take a full Kodi backup after having completed the setup. The backup can then be used to restore or clone a Kodi installation. More advanced techniques are also discussed in my guide: | ||
+ | - simple but effective full Kodi backup | ||
+ | - clone the Kodi setup from one client to multiple clients in the same network | ||
+ | - clone the Kodi setup from a client to another client on a different subnet (for example, if you maintain different subnets for LAN and WLAN) | ||
+ | - clone the Kodi setup to a different network in a different location | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Backup ==== | ||
+ | - Exit Kodi | ||
+ | - Use a FX File Explorer (or any File Manager) or LAN drive - SAMBA Server & Client to copy folder //.kodi// from “/ | ||
+ | - If you have Android 10 or newer you need to use the File Manager in Kodi. | ||
+ | - If you moved your " | ||
+ | - To restore, follow the steps lined out in the following section. | ||
+ | ==== Clone Kodi setup in the same network ==== | ||
+ | - Make sure Kodi is installed and was run at least one time (this will create links to Kodi's user data) | ||
+ | - Remove folder //.kodi// in “/ | ||
+ | - If you moved your " | ||
+ | ==== Clone Kodi setup for different subnets ==== | ||
+ | If you use different subnets in your LAN/WAN setup, then you might need to modify Kodi databases and xml setting files prior to restore (clone) a Kodi installation, | ||
+ | * the cloned device lives on a different subnet than the Kodi master installation, | ||
+ | * you have used host names rather than host ip addresses when setting up the Kodi master | ||
+ | * If your NAS or server have a fixed IP address you can add a //hosts// entry to file " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | <entry name=" | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | * If you have Android 10 or newer you need to move the // | ||
+ | |||
+ | For a permanent change of the host name(s), refer to the following section [[# | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Clone Kodi setup for different networks ==== | ||
+ | Media server(s) on a different network almost certainly have different host names and are assigned different ip addresses within the network. To be able to clone a Kodi installation to a client on a different network all references to the media servers must be updated. | ||
+ | |||
+ | I have written a few batch files to automate the process, which are explained below. They work under " | ||
+ | - Unzip the {{ : | ||
+ | - Change directory to folder // | ||
+ | - Check the databases with:< | ||
+ | - This will return the number of patterns (search pattern is the hostname) found in the tables of the database, output similar to:< | ||
+ | tables in db " | ||
+ | path: 1264 found | ||
+ | source: 1 found | ||
+ | source_path: | ||
+ | art: 990 found</ | ||
+ | - Check the tables with:< | ||
+ | - This will return the number of patterns found in the fields of the tables of the database, output similar to:< | ||
+ | fields in db " | ||
+ | strPath: 1264 found</ | ||
+ | - To be sure you can also verify the pattern with:< | ||
+ | - This will return the number of patterns found in the fields of the tables of the database, and also return a line with the number of patterns found which were not identified through the regex expression containing the pattern. If the number of patterns found are different for the two lines you need to adjust the regex pattern in all batch files (variable PATTERN, and also variable REPLACE which is used in the update batch files). | ||
+ | - Check the xml files with:< | ||
+ | - All returned tables and field names need to have an update line in file " | ||
+ | - Make sure you are in folder // | ||
+ | |||
+ | === Links === | ||
+ | * [[https:// | ||
+ | * [[https:// | ||
+ | * [[https:// | ||
+ | * [[https:// | ||
+ | * [[https:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Scraping ===== | ||
+ | * Prepare an artwork folder for movie sets. You can also first scrape the movies in Kodi and then replace the movie set artwork where necessary by saving set artwork into the artwork folder, then selecting **Manage... --> Choose art** through the context menu in Kodi on the movie set to change. | ||
+ | * Change resolution of all images in movieset:< | ||
+ | for /r %a in (poster.jpg) do C: | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Change Kodi User Name and/or Password ===== | ||
+ | * Exit Kodi and make sure the app is not running. | ||
+ | * Add new user //kodi// to your NAS or server as member of the same group as the user you use to store media files (in a Synology NAS this would be group //users//). | ||
+ | * Check that all files in your media folder on the NAS or server have group set to the same group (e.g. //users//). | ||
+ | * Modify samba user credentials in files // | ||
+ | * Update the databases the same way as explained in [[# | ||
+ | * Start Kodi, then go to //Settings --> File manager// and create a new source. This will trigger samba to update user and password in it's internal cache. | ||
+ | * Verify that the thumbnails are loading and video and audio files can be played back. Afterwards you can remove the source created in //Settings --> File manager//. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Enable Thai subtitles for srt, ssa and ass subtitle files (up to Kodi v20) ===== | ||
+ | - Download [[https:// | ||
+ | - Create folder " | ||
+ | - Copy ArialUni.ttf to /Main Storage/ | ||
+ | - Enable ArialUni in Kodi, Player -> Language -> Font to use for text subtitles | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Enable Thai subtitles for srt, ssa and ass subtitle files (Kodi v21) ===== | ||
+ | - Download [[https:// | ||
+ | - Create folder " | ||
+ | - Copy ArialUni.ttf to /Main Storage/ | ||
+ | - Enable ArialUni in Kodi, Player -> Subtitles -> Font to use for text subtitles | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Enable Thai subtitles for srt, ssa and ass subtitle files (Kodi v21 - AndroidTV 12 and newer) ===== | ||
+ | - Download [[https:// | ||
+ | - Within Kodi, go to Settings --> File Manager, add a new source by overwriting '' | ||
+ | - Go to home/media and create a new folder '' | ||
+ | - Copy the font file to a USB stick | ||
+ | - If the font file is invisible in the File Manager, copy the font file to a network path Kodi can access and add the source to that path | ||
+ | - Left: open the USB stick or that source, Right: home/ | ||
+ | - Close Kodi and restart, then go to Settings --> Player and change the font in // | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Thai fonts for Kodi system ===== | ||
+ | - Place the TTF ( such as ArialUni.ttf) to .kodi/ | ||
+ | - Edit the file .kodi/ | ||
+ | - Change the ' | ||
+ | - change the filename for each definition to the filename of your name font file. | ||
+ | - Finally go to settings > interface > skin > fonts and select the new font. | ||
+ | * See [[https:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Thai Subtitles in mkv movie files ===== | ||
+ | - Find [[http:// | ||
+ | - Find movie, then select the Thai flag to the right, and download | ||
+ | - Check timing of subtitles against movie and adjust if necessary | ||
+ | - Add the subtitle file to the mkv movie file or as a separate file in the movie folder | ||
+ | - Consider the following for the different formats: | ||
+ | - srt: no change necessary | ||
+ | - ssa: change encoding to Thai | ||
+ | - ass: change font name in the style definition to Arial Unicode MS | ||
+ | ====== Kodi Setup ====== | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Skin ===== | ||
+ | * [[kodi: | ||
+ | ==== Add-ons ==== | ||
+ | === Music add-ons === | ||
+ | * Radio | ||
+ | === Program add-ons === | ||
+ | * Keymap Editor | ||
+ | * Log Viewer for Kodi | ||
+ | === Video add-ons === | ||
+ | * Embuary Info | ||
+ | * Missing Movies | ||
+ | === Weather === | ||
+ | * Multi Weather | ||
+ | ==== nfo Files ==== | ||
+ | * see [[https:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | ====== Kodi 18 with Estuary skin ====== | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Modify Menu Entries ===== | ||
+ | The new default skin " | ||
+ | - Login to your box (for Android use // | ||
+ | su | ||
+ | cp -R / | ||
+ | ; LibreELEC: | ||
+ | cp -R / | ||
+ | - Instead of / | ||
+ | - Rename the copied directory to skin.estuary.mod, | ||
+ | ; LibreELEC: ~/ | ||
+ | - Fix directory and file permissions | ||
+ | - Reboot Kodi, first enable the new skin in Addons, then set the new skin in Interface | ||
+ | - Make the desired views a favorite, for example you want to have a menu item for foreign language movies, so add all foreign language movies into the same movie set and make it a favorite. | ||
+ | - Note the ActivateWindow command including the parameters in between the (brackets) in favorites.xml, | ||
+ | ; LibreELEC: ~/ | ||
+ | - Modify all custom menu entries and menu icons in Home.xml:< | ||
+ | ; LibreELEC: ~/ | ||
+ | - For that, choose a menu item you do not use, for example " | ||
+ | - Rename the entry within < | ||
+ | - Remove visibility check within < | ||
+ | - If you want to remove the text when moving to your new menu item, first open file strings.po and find the string id (for " | ||
+ | ; LibreELEC: ~/ | ||
+ | - Open Home.xml again and find id 31162, comment out from <include content=" | ||
+ | - To create more than one extra menu item, copy the new menu item and rename the < | ||
+ | - Reorder your menu items to your liking and reboot Kodi | ||
+ | - Optionally, change the splash screen by replacing splash.jpg in the kodi install folder, or by placing splash.png into the user folder:< | ||
+ | / | ||
+ | / | ||
+ | |||
+ | Refer to the example file {{ : | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | In my setup, it is Concerts(1), | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Links ==== | ||
+ | * [[https:// | ||
+ | * [[https:// | ||
+ | * [[https:// | ||
+ | * [[https:// | ||
+ | * [[https:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Movie sets and media files ===== | ||
+ | ==== Movie set artwork ==== | ||
+ | Kodi 19 introduces a central movie set artwork folder. Prior to that, movie sets got their artwork from one of their movie members, but this does not work anymore in Kodi 19 beta2. I use tmm (tiny media manager) to create artwork, which also adds movieset artwork. This is how to extract the movieset-poster.jpg and movieset-fanart.jpg files from the movie folder and move them to a central artwork folder.< | ||
+ | $ find . -name ' | ||
+ | $ find . -name ' | ||
+ | $ cd / | ||
+ | find . -name ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | In addition, you need to create file // | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Links ==== | ||
+ | * [[https:// | ||
+ | * [[https:// | ||