[iconoklaster]

Hi developers!

I'm doing some research on Kodi addons related to Sling TV and other paid TV services that stream video content online. My question is somewhat multi-faceted, but I'm hoping some knowledgeable devs might be able to assist.

I noticed that services legit IPTV services like Sling TV have no addons, but I can't for the life of me understand why. I know other subscription-based services, like Crunchyroll for example, have addons that work in Kodi, but, knowing little about how Python scripts work, I can't figure out why a service like Sling does not have one yet. I saw some forums on here from back when Sling was announced with a few people suggesting that addons would soon follow. That was in 2015. Still nada.

So my question is: is there an issue with licensing? API? Something with getting a Python script to work with these services?

The upcoming YouTube TV service re-piqued my interest. I know that YouTube already integrates well into Kodi, but the new YouTube TV service is likely to share more in common with Sling than YouTube, so I'm fairly certain fetching streams won't work the same. YouTube has also failed to update its Terms to suite, so I'm not sure how that will look for something like an addon.

The second area is -- if I wanted to try to dig my hands into developing an addon for this, where would I even start (assuming its possible).

Any help would be great. Thanks!

[Roman_V_M]

I guess, those services are just not interested.

As for technical aspects, the open-source license of Kodi (GPL v.2) is not compatible with security requirements of paid services: DRM, storing access credentials and such. And Python is inherently open-source and cannot be used to handle sensitive stuff with an end-user having access to addon sources.

Binary Python libraries and the new Kodi input stream API may be a solution, but nobody has done anything like that because it for this you need a skilled developer with knowledge of Python, C++ and Kodi internals.

The basic info about addon development you can find in the Kodi Wiki, but beyond that it's all trial and error approach.

[Lunatixz]

Even if a binary plugin was created the submission process is still open, and public. All code is available to the public, I inquired about this process a few months ago... Was told it's against the spirit of open source to keep the code private and just for Team Kodi's eyes.

Sent from my SM-G935T

[iconoklaster]

I guess, those services are just not interested.

As for technical aspects, the open-source license of Kodi (GPL v.2) is not compatible with security requirements of paid services: DRM, storing access credentials and such. And Python is inherently open-source and cannot be used to handle sensitive stuff with an end-user having access to addon sources.

Binary Python libraries and the new Kodi input stream API may be a solution, but nobody has done anything like that because it for this you need a skilled developer with knowledge of Python, C++ and Kodi internals.

The basic info about addon development you can find in the Kodi Wiki, but beyond that it's all trial and error approach.

Ok, that's interesting. Considering there are other Kodi addons that do allow logins to private accounts, I would think that the security requirements for such paid services would not be any different (such as my previous example of Crunchyroll, but I know there are a few others).

I'm interested in the second thing you mentioned, the new Kodi input stream API. What is that, exactly? (Again, I'm not really a developer, but I've been told Python is easy and a good place to start if you're going to start learning). I'm at the point where I know what some things mean but not others, and for the most part, don't know how to do any of it.

[Roman_V_M]

Ok, that's interesting. Considering there are other Kodi addons that do allow logins to private accounts, I would think that the security requirements for such paid services would not be any different (such as my previous example of Crunchyroll, but I know there are a few others).

I guess they simply don't bother. The thing is that addon settings are stored in plain text, so potentially things like logins, passwords, API keys can be extracted from addon code or addon settings.

I'm interested in the second thing you mentioned, the new Kodi input stream API. What is that, exactly? (Again, I'm not really a developer, but I've been told Python is easy and a good place to start if you're going to start learning). I'm at the point where I know what some things mean but not others, and for the most part, don't know how to do any of it.

Input stream API is not Python but C++. I'm afraid it's not documented anywhere except in Kodi source code. As I understand, it allows to process media streams before feeding them to Kodi player, so potentially can be used, for example, to decrypt DRM-protected streams. But if your streams are not DRM-protected and distributed in standard media formats, you don't need all this.

And as Lunatixz said, we do not accept closed source addons in the official repo. But beyond that you can do anything you like as long as it does not violate Kodi license and applicable laws in your jurisdiction.