Hi folks,
I'm somewhat of a tech nerd, currently own way too many computers, gaming consoles etc. yet I'm ashamed to say that I've only just heard of KODI. On the face of it, this wonderful piece of work may be the answer to one of the biggest annoyances my wife and kids have around use of the TV.
Just as an FYI, we are based in Perth, Australia and currently we have the following devices connected:
* Foxtel
* HD TV (set top box)
* Apple TV
* PS3
* Xbox One
* Blu ray player
*Edit*
Sorry, I forgot to mention, with exception of blu ray movies, main items which are watched are Netflix, TV shows and sport (soccer and AFL)
*end edit*
These are all connected to a Denon amplifier which is the only device then connected to the TV. I see KODI as an opportunity to potentially get rid of Foxtel, HD TV and possibly the Apple TV, however am after some advice as to which would be the best option for me.
Having a look around, there appear to be a number of options, however there are conflicting stories about which are the best and also fairly drastic price differences depending on where you look. We have a 55" LG tv (not 4K, however that is on the shopping list for next upgrade). I'm after something that will give a good picture and preferably won't need to be upgraded when we replace with a 4K panel next time around.
Welcome to the forums.
My first suggestion would to be to do bit of reading on here. We have hardware forums and also a great wiki for beginners and long time users alike.
(2016-09-27, 07:16)Phartpants Wrote: [ -> ]These are all connected to a Denon amplifier which is the only device then connected to the TV. I see KODI as an opportunity to potentially get rid of Foxtel, HD TV and possibly the Apple TV, however am after some advice as to which would be the best option for me.
I'm not sure where you heard about us but there is a lot of misinformation out there. Kodi is basically an advanced media player system that is a fantastic tool for playing back your own legally owned content. It is also has a number of add-ons that extend the functionality and can give you access to some great legitimate material (dependent on your region) via streaming services.
Kodi is not a replacement for your cable TV box in most cases. You have to supply your own media. Most of the solutions (that are not on this forum) and dodgy sellers tell you that you can get a lifetime of free movies and TV from there magic box. You must be aware that these are using illegal sources for a start (which of course we do not provide support for whatsoever) and that they are wholeheartedly unreliable.
There are legitimate PVR solutions that integrate with Kodi that might be of interest to you but these mostly only support free-to-air channels to due to encryption / DRM that providers usually include with premium channels.
Some links:
http://kodi.wiki/view/Free_content
http://kodi.wiki/view/first_time_user
http://kodi.wiki/view/PVR
Thanks Dangelus
I had a look through the hardware section, but although there is a thread of condensed information, for someone who doesn't understand all the terminology, its a little hard to make a good decision from.
I have a substantial library of video's and TV shows (legal - ripped from copies I own or have purchased online) which I would like to be able to access via the TV instead of watching on the computer. I would also like to be able to stream free-to-air broadcasts. Working in IT I'm only too well aware of how many ways of obtaining copyrighted information there are.
I already have the Apple TV, which has been fine for a number of years, but doesn't provide the same level of functionality that Kodi appears to, hence me looking
Gday mate - a fellow Perth bloke interested in Kodi !
First question, do you know what sort of video content you will be playing/streaming on the media player like Kodi box ?
As the Android Boxes like the nVIDIA Shield, do a whole lot more with Android Apps than just using Kodi
(2016-09-27, 10:33)wrxtasy Wrote: [ -> ]First question, do you know what sort of video content you will be playing/streaming on the media player like Kodi box ?
As the Android Boxes like the nVIDIA Shield, do a whole lot more with Android Apps than just using Kodi
The files I have available to me at the moment are in a number of formats - AVI, MKV etc. so need to lpay those. Preferably I would also be able to play other media (i.e music from my iTunes library etc), however thats not a deal breaker if you can't. Other must is the means to watch free-to-air TV channels Not sure what other functionality is available?
Thanks
(2016-09-27, 11:24)Phartpants Wrote: [ -> ] (2016-09-27, 10:33)wrxtasy Wrote: [ -> ]First question, do you know what sort of video content you will be playing/streaming on the media player like Kodi box ?
As the Android Boxes like the nVIDIA Shield, do a whole lot more with Android Apps than just using Kodi
The files I have available to me at the moment are in a number of formats - AVI, MKV etc. so need to lpay those.
Kodi in Android and in LibreElec will both play most wrappers (aka. AVI, MKV, TS, MP4 etc.) and codecs (like MPEG2, MPEG4, H264, H265, MP3, OGG, AAC etc.) which are inside these wrappers if you get the right box or platform.
Quote:Preferably I would also be able to play other media (i.e music from my iTunes library etc), however thats not a deal breaker if you can't.
Again - Kodi does that without breaking a sweat
Quote:Other must is the means to watch free-to-air TV channels Not sure what other functionality is available?
Do you want to play these via a free-to-air reception scheme (i.e. through a TV aerial/antenna, satellite dish etc.) or are you looking to access them via an online portal like iView (or iPlayer in the UK)?
If you want Spotify, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video etc. then this can skew recommendations. If you only want to play files and watch non-pay TV then things are a bit easier.
@Phartpants, A/V requirements are pretty much the same as mine actually.
You need more Hardware for a PVR setup. A HDD and Tuner, even then these are not fully fledged retail PVR options like the Humax or Fetch TV PVR's
Really the only thing missing is PVR Timeshift functions tho when running LibreELEC / Kodi / TvHeadend.
My setup for PVR + Kodi, but in reality you only need 1 device:
PVR backend server = ODROID C1 + 3.5 HDD + on old PS3 PlayTV Dual Tuner (DVB-T) and I then use.....
LibreELEC / Kodi Jarvis 16.1 = ODROID C2, used for Music, TV and 1080p/4K movie clips. The AMLogic S905 C2 pretty much plays any mainstream popular video formats.
No Netflix on C2.
Second option for DVB-T PVR use, in a nicer looking box would be the recently released WeTek Play2 (AMLogic S905), that comes with a Single Tuner only. If LibreELEC Kodi were run on that, the PS3 Dual Tuner could be also attached I believe (I can test this soon actually). Play2 has 1080p Netflix, but Netflix audio is 2.0 only.
Third option if you do not need Netflix App, Hardware HEVC decoding or 2160p(4K) is a Intel Chromebox + PS3 Tuner.
Thanks for the info. Its sounding like the WeTek Play2 may be the best option for me, as Netflix is possibly the main thing that the family watch. Will do some digging and see what apps are out there - I havent used Android before so have no idea whats out there!
Thanks for the PM, but I can't respond unfortunately, when I click reply I get this:
Kodi Community Forum
You do not have permission to access this page. This could be because of one of the following reasons:
Your account has either been suspended or you have been banned from accessing this resource.
You do not have permission to access this page. Are you trying to access administrative pages or a resource that you shouldn't be? Check in the forum rules that you are allowed to perform this action.
Your account may still be awaiting activation or moderation. (Resend Activation Code)
You have accessed this page directly rather than using appropriate forms or link.
That is just an Automated response so users mailboxes don't get spammed by some Auto mailbot.
Once you reach a certain number of posts you can PMail.
Personally once you start talking a PVR TV Server is a must have, you are better of either buying a NAS that can also run the TvHeadend PVR server and also serve up your media collection, or get a seperate, cheap TvHeadend server and hide it away somewhere connected to your home Ethernet network. Even a dirt cheap, old RPi2 can be used as a TvHeadend server.
That way your choices for Kodi media player boxes widens and does not become dependant on certain particular boxes.
It depends how serious you are about TV and the amount of $$$ you want to spend. Some people just want a 1 box solution.
What will be interesting to see is if the just released Android TV OS - Xiaomi Mi Box (AMLogic S905X) can deinterlace 25/50fps mpeg2/H264 TV streams properly or if it too is crippled like the nVIDIA Shield when trying to deinterlace 25/50fps DVB streams.
Also, because of Foxtel and AFL (maybe less so with Soccer) you will find it almost impossible for a one-box solution.
You might be able to get away with getting Optus EPL and AFL via Android apps but I don't know of a way to get Foxtel onto the TV with Kodi. It's hard enough to get Foxtel onto the TV without the foxtel set-top box.
Unless the new/upcoming Foxtel SVOD plans include Sports, I wonder if there'll ever be a legitimate way to get Foxtel onto the TV with Kodi
I sometime (legally) watch AFL replays of games using a AFL Video - Kodi Plugin from Andy Botting.
You get decent H264 1280x720p video quality as well, without Ads and extra rubbish.
I believe these streams come from the Publicly accessible AFL servers, that the AFL uses for its own Website and free Android App.
https://github.com/andybotting/xbmc-addon-afl-video
Looks like Andy has added paid AFL Live Pass access as well since I last looked. This addon keeps getting better and better
I've used that AFL Video add-on as well, it's pretty good.
That link doesn't say anything about paid AFL Live Pass so apart from two of the files mentioning "Live Streaming" can you point me to where it says it works with AFL Live Pass?
I have an account via Telstra and wouldn't mind trying it. Even though there's only one game left haha!
Back to the OP, if some of your home content is DRM'd (like iTunes Store purchases), then those won't be playable with Kodi. You would need to keep that Apple TV for that!
(2016-09-28, 07:59)KoopaTroopa Wrote: [ -> ]I've used that AFL Video add-on as well, it's pretty good.
That link doesn't say anything about paid AFL Live Pass so apart from two of the files mentioning "Live Streaming" can you point me to where it says it works with AFL Live Pass?
I have an account via Telstra and wouldn't mind trying it. Even though there's only one game left haha!
I downloaded the Zip file from GitHub and installed and Live Pass has now been added to the Settings options since I last looked.
Username and Password of course required. PM me if you feel like being generous and I will test as well
I would also consider a FireTV 2 (4k). There you will have comfortable Netflix and Amazon prime instant video support, as well as spotify. I don't know exactly about TV headend support there, but it should be the same as on any other Android box I guess.
Currently kodi 4k and auto frame rate switching is being tested on FireTV 2
http://www.aftvnews.com/spmc-begins-test...n-fire-tv/
As soon as this is finally out of testing phase, the fire tv could get an appropriate alternative to the coming shooting star wetek hub. The advantages of firetv to wetek etc. are the complete netflix and content industry support: Netflix will output multi channel DD+ audio (and 4k video) on Firetv, whereas the wetek devices (albeit being a huge step forward for an android box with Netflix 1080p output) will output "only" stereo (correct me if I'm wrong). This might be a selling point pro FireTV in your case, since you own a denon AVR (so i assume multi channel cinema feeling might be important for you)
The voice remote is also quite a killer feature.
On the other hand I think (but I'm not sure) using kodi on FireTV will not be capable of outputting the HD Audio standards. AFAIR it is restricted to AC3(dolby digital) and DTS. Also best way to access local media would be a NAS, as external USB does not support NTFS (only FAT32 afaik unless rooted)
Here are the advantages of wetek hub and similar devices... They can output every single audio format to your AV receiver perfectly (that is actually the point why I am using my beloved LibreELEC odroid C2 - can't thank enough @wrxtasy).
In my case I use 80% my FireTV 2, because of its Netflix and prime instant video integration. (daily use)
But as soon as it comes to watching a movie (bluray iso/mkv) with friends/family every ~1-2 weeks, I love to have the Odroid C2 for that. Also IPTV is very well working on the C2... Never tried setting it up on FireTV kodi.
Also one could consider for the future: let's say you choose the superb wetek hub / play2 and you are unsure about netflix (lack of M-CH audio) and Amazon prime instant video, then it might be possible, that you simply (own) or buy a TV which has integrated Netflix / Amazon support already. Then those points won't bother you (if it all).
@
wrxtasy
You mentioned the absence of timeshifting on tvheadend hmm. Last time when I played around with tvheadend (set up some IPTV channels) I was able to activate timeshifting in the servers Webinterface and it actually worked surprisingly good (surprisingly because I'm not used to have this luxury, since I usually use only IPTV simply client). Or are you talking about timeshifting on specific (analog or so?) sources?
(2016-09-27, 11:24)Phartpants Wrote: [ -> ]Other must is the means to watch free-to-air TV channels Not sure what other functionality is available?
(2016-09-28, 09:16)infinity85 Wrote: [ -> ]I would also consider a FireTV 2 (4k). There you will have comfortable Netflix and Amazon prime instant video support, as well as spotify. I don't know exactly about TV headend support there, but it should be the same as on any other Android box I guess.
Definitely stay away from Android boxes like the FireTV's and nVIDIA Shield for 25/50fps deinterlacing of TV streams.
Not recommended at all
Intel or AMLogic boxes only for 25/50fps EURO/AUS/NZ TV & top quality deinterlacing.
(2016-09-28, 09:16)infinity85 Wrote: [ -> ]@wrxtasy
You mentioned the absence of timeshifting on tvheadend hmm. Last time when I played around with tvheadend (set up some IPTV channels) I was able to activate timeshifting in the servers Webinterface and it actually worked surprisingly good (surprisingly because I'm not used to have this luxury, since I usually use only IPTV simply client). Or are you talking about timeshifting on specific (analog or so?) sources?
I'm talking about timeshifting like you would get from a normal OTA Broadcast PVR box. Not IPTV. Last time I checked timeshifting was not working reliably (if at all) with a LibreELEC/ Kodi / TvHeadend local server. You can watch Recordings already in progress and catchup to Live OTA TV that way, but its not like a fully fledged retail PVR.