Can somebody explain to me what the
Plex Addon for Kodi is all about?
I've read article after article about how good this is but nowhere have I read anything that tells me what it does that Kodi doesn't already do itself.
So that you can connect to your Plex Media Server using an official Plex add-on.
Connecting to a PMS is not something Kodi can do on it's own.
Hrm. So my followup post didn't seem to get posted.
After some reading, I suspected, as you have confirmed, that it's so that Kodi can access a Plex Media Server.
But why would I have a Plex Media Server if I already have Kodi? And vice versa, I suppose... if I have a Plex Media Server, why would I want Kodi?
Put another way, If I thought Kodi was a better media server (which is what I would think if that's what I was using and thus wanted a Plex Media Server addon), why wouldn't I move my media from my Plex Media Server to my Kodi server and get rid of the Plex Media Server altogether?
Anyway, I guess I just need to go read some comparisons. My main question/confusion has been answered, regarding the need for a Plex Media Server for this addon to be useful.
Kodi is a media player, not a media server.
Whilst it does have some capability for sharing (mostly via upnp) but they are rather limited. Plex is more designed for that sort of thing, so the idea is to have kodi as the front end player being fed by Plex as the server.
It is one of several source options though, alongside does like nas shared (SMB, NFS etc) or online sources.
It's not a either/or situation. As @
DarrenHill already stated, Kodi is NOT a media server and some people want to use Kodi as well as have access to their Plex Media Server on another system.
There could be several reasons for this, not the least is being able to access their library remotely. It's an option, that's all, and you can configure your setup the way you want.
I guess I was just assuming that everyone who wants Kodi on more than one television just points it at some kind of shared media (NAS, SMB, NFS, etc.). I suppose Plex is an alternative to sharing like that. Although I'm not sure why I'd go to the trouble of setting up Plex vs. just sharing the media that Plex would be otherwise serving for Kodi installations to access directly and play.
Some people already have pre existing Plex set ups and then discover kodi. It can then be used to front end what they already have nicely.
Plus Plex is also an option for remote streaming over the net when traveling for example. Again there it can be a good setup for serving media from home when away easily and securely.
But you are correct that Plex is another option for locally serving too in addition to SMB, NFS etc.
In the end it's just to give flexibility and options. Some ways work best for some and others for others. With the cross compatibility you can choose what works for you.
Many people run a Plex server for their media (i.e.MKV's, etc.), as well as the Plex Media Player on their devices for viewing this library of videos.
I believe most people run Kodi for its Add-on ability, running many assorted Add-ons, enhancing their viewing experience. Note also, Kodi has a great interface, many additional features, as well as being a great quality visual player.
By having a Plex Add-on for Kodi, it gives the user another avenue to access their Libraries in their Plex server, while having Kodi as the player.