have been using a windows 10 nuc for my kodi machine but have decided to give nvidia shield a try, for several reasons, including better audio capabilities and a much more seamless app experience (windows apps are limited and the charm of running an android emulator has worn thin) ... the thing is i've set up kodi on my windows machine exactly how i want it, including a lot of skin customizations, that i would like to keep/see when i launch the kodi app on the nvidia machine...
so is this an easy process, to make the kodi app look exactly like windows desktop program when launched? is it a matter of just copying existing files from the windows kodi folders to the folders the app install creates using file explorer? any help would be great appreciated!
Install a file explore on the Shield like X-Plore (recommended), then launch Kodi once then exit it.
Then copy the contents from \user\AppData\Roaming\Kodi\ on you PC to /Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/ on the Shield.
Alternately, you can use the Shields file share service and copy the contents directly from your PC to the Shield. Either way, you need to make sure you have "show hidden files/folders" selected before you'll see the .kodi folder.
(2017-05-31, 03:44)Tinwarble Wrote: [ -> ]Install a file explore on the Shield like X-Plore (recommended), then launch Kodi once then exit it.
Then copy the contents from \user\AppData\Roaming\Kodi\ on you PC to /Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/ on the Shield.
Alternately, you can use the Shields file share service and copy the contents directly from your PC to the Shield. Either way, you need to make sure you have "show hidden files/folders" selected before you'll see the .kodi folder.
thanks very much tinwarble, thought it might be something like that....
the thing is, and i don't think i dreamnt this, i believe that the user\appdata\roaming\kodi\addons path once contained a \skin.estuary directory which contained the same files as the \skin.estuary directory in the install location, the difference being that the files in the user\appdata directory were my edited files which reflected my modding, while the files in the install directory were originals (stock) - iirc this made updating kodi a snap as the updates didn't alter the edited files in user\appdata directory, does this make sense?
but now that i look at it there is no longer a \sin.estuary folder in the user\appdata\roaming\kodi\addons directory, instead it only appears in the install location, with the edited files, not the original file any longer....
as such, wouldn't i need to copy the edited files for the mods to work on the nvidia machine? not sure how copying just the contents of the user\appdata\roaming\kodi directory would work?
btw, is the kodi landing page new? it's absolutely awesome! very slick!
That's because the settings are in ...\Kodi\userdata\addon_data\ this is where you'll find skin.estuary.
It's all the same whether it's Android or PC, the only difference is \Kodi\ (PC) vs. /.kodi/ (Android). As I said, just copy everything from \Kodi\ to /.kodi/ and you'll have the same setup when you launch Kodi on Android.
(2017-05-31, 05:17)Tinwarble Wrote: [ -> ]That's because the settings are in ...\Kodi\userdata\addon_data\ this is where you'll find skin.estuary.
It's all the same whether it's Android or PC, the only difference is \Kodi\ (PC) vs. /.kodi/ (Android). As I said, just copy everything from \Kodi\ to /.kodi/ and you'll have the same setup when you launch Kodi on Android.
yes, but that folder only contains the settings.xml file (at least for me),..
iirc the c:\users\myname\appaata\roaming\kodi path used to contain a \skin.estuary folder, in the addons folder, that housed all of the edited xml files (includes.xml, view_55_widelist.xml, myvideonav.xm, etc., etc.), but that doesn't seem to be the case any longer... as such, if i copy the everything from the c:\users...\kodi folder to the nvidia machine, how will my edits be recognized?
and thanks again for your help tinwarble.
Only if you copied it there. The skin has never been in the AppData folder, it's where ever you have Kodi installed, usually C:\Program files(x86)\Kodi\addons\.
Unless you made a modified version of Estuary you don't need to copy it to Android, you just need the settings in \userdata\addons_data\.
If you modified Estuary, then you can just copy it to /.kodi/addons/, but you'll need to rename it and make the name changes in the addon.xml.
Just change the folder name to something like "skin.estuary.mod", then in the addon.xml change the line to
Code:
<addon id="skin.estuary.mod" version="1.9.12" name="Estuary Mod" provider-name="phil65, Ichabod Fletchman">
(2017-05-31, 07:38)Tinwarble Wrote: [ -> ]Only if you copied it there. The skin has never been in the AppData folder, it's where ever you have Kodi installed, usually C:\Program files(x86)\Kodi\addons\.
Unless you made a modified version of Estuary you don't need to copy it to Android, you just need the settings in \userdata\addons_data\.
If you modified Estuary, then you can just copy it to /.kodi/addons/, but you'll need to rename it and make the name changes in the addon.xml.
Just change the folder name to something like "skin.estuary.mod", then in the addon.xml change the line to Code:
<addon id="skin.estuary.mod" version="1.9.12" name="Estuary Mod" provider-name="phil65, Ichabod Fletchman">
hey, thanks again tinwarble....
what you've described is what i had, what i tried to describe/explain above, an estuary skin folder in c:\users\myname\appdata\roaming\kodi\addons which contained a copy of the estuary skin files in the install directory, but with my edits, the folder was titled skin.estuary i believe, just like the folder in the install directory.... in fact i think it was created when i updated kodi, seems that there was some dialog during the upgrade process asking if it was a new install or update, is that possible?
anyway, i'm trying to plan ahead, the console arrives today and i'll get a chance to tackle it.... if it's anything like the pc process, it should be painless, if i mess up just do it again, couldn't believe how install friendly kodi was on the pc, very easy to correct errors with a clean install...
a quick question tho - is the install pretty much the same on an android device as it is a windows device in terms of folder structure? does the android install also create an install folder and a user folder?
also, off topic, is there a way to attach an external bluray drive to the nvidia console and have it run under kodi/android? thanks again!
(2017-05-31, 18:21)aeneas1 Wrote: [ -> ]a quick question tho - is the install pretty much the same on an android device as it is a windows device in terms of folder structure? does the android install also create an install folder and a user folder?
also, off topic, is there a way to attach an external bluray drive to the nvidia console and have it run under kodi/android? thanks again!
The install process is, open the Play Store app, search for Kodi and install. Couldn't be easier.
No, the folder structure is not the same. It does have a "install folder" and "user folder" but where Kodi is installed is a protected directory (data/data/) and you can't access it unless you root the Shield. The user folder is accessible and is in /storage/emulated/0/ (will just show up as /Android/ in file explorers).
There will be a learning curve going from Windows to Android, but once you figure things out it becomes easier. You should also be aware of the limitations and read through the Hardware thread for the Shield
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=304226.
No, you can't attach a BD drive as there are no drivers for Android.
(2017-05-31, 19:13)Tinwarble Wrote: [ -> ] (2017-05-31, 18:21)aeneas1 Wrote: [ -> ]a quick question tho - is the install pretty much the same on an android device as it is a windows device in terms of folder structure? does the android install also create an install folder and a user folder?
also, off topic, is there a way to attach an external bluray drive to the nvidia console and have it run under kodi/android? thanks again!
The install process is, open the Play Store app, search for Kodi and install. Couldn't be easier.
No, the folder structure is not the same. It does have a "install folder" and "user folder" but where Kodi is installed is a protected directory (data/data/) and you can't access it unless you root the Shield. The user folder is accessible and is in /storage/emulated/0/ (will just show up as /Android/ in file explorers).
There will be a learning curve going from Windows to Android, but once you figure things out it becomes easier. You should also be aware of the limitations and read through the Hardware thread for the Shield http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=304226.
No, you can't attach a BD drive as there are no drivers for Android.
just wanted to give you an update given you generous help..... played around with the console for a few days but decided it wasn't for me, thought i could get the androd to look how i wanted in terms of gui interface, but options are very limited even if rooted, nowhere near as gui tweakable-friendly as a pc... also, the more i played around with it the more it seemed clear that it was geared towards gamers, which i'm not, and i found it to be a bit sluggish, with intermittent hangs and odd behavior, frankly the console struck me more as a work in progress than a finished product... anyway, thanks again for your help!
Kodi is the gui for many of us
(2017-05-31, 07:38)Tinwarble Wrote: [ -> ]Unless you made a modified version of Estuary you don't need to copy it to Android, you just need the settings in \userdata\addons_data\.
If you modified Estuary, then you can just copy it to /.kodi/addons/, but you'll need to rename it and make the name changes in the addon.xml.
Just change the folder name to something like "skin.estuary.mod", then in the addon.xml change the line to Code:
<addon id="skin.estuary.mod" version="1.9.12" name="Estuary Mod" provider-name="phil65, Ichabod Fletchman">
finally got around to playing with this some more and wanted to let you know that your instructions worked like a charm, such an easy process, and everything seems to be working without a hitch, altho i haven't had time to test everything, but so far so good...
1. installed kodi 17.3 x64 on my shield pro, downloaded the kodi 18 x64 apk to my pc, dragged it to es explorer via the pc/shield usb connection, installed it.
2. my pc has the same setup, a fresh kodi 18 x64 install.... as you suggested, i created an addon folder for my estuary mods (skin.estuary.mod) and put it in my "users\myname\appdata\roaming\kodi\addons" folder, the kodi install path has a clean, unmodded instance of skin.estuary... by going into kodi addon settings and selecting the skin.estiary.mod addon, the clean skin.estuary instance is ignored and the modded version is used.
3. i then dragged the skin.estuary.mod to the "shield android tv\internal shared storage\android\data\org.xbmc.kodi\files\.kodi\addons" folder, copied everything from my pc's "users\myname\appdata\roaming\kodi" folder to the shield android tv\internal shared storage\android\data\org.xbmc.kodi\files\.kodi", launched kodi in shield tv and, bam, had the modded version up and running.
4. the great thing about this setup is that it will be so easy to make changes, if needed, to the pc version of the modded skin (skin.estuary.mod) and then simply drag it to the shield tv in order to update, it also makes backing up shield/kodi user settings a snap.
one thing tho, log files don't seem to be created in the "shield android tv\internal shared storage\android\data\org.xbmc.kodi\files\.kodi" folder as they are in the users\myname\appdata\roaming\kodi" folder? are they stored in a different location?
thanks again tinwarble!