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MisterTic · 2018-01-03, 15:16

Hello,

I have Kodi installed on my raspberry 3pi on my main TV.

On my second TV upstairs I have a chromecast key connected. I run my movies using the android Yatse app.

However, when my movies are in .AVI format, chromecast does not want to play them (unsupported format). Kodi is not able to transcode.

How can I use the second TV without going through the Windows VideoStream application by launching my movies via my transcoding PC and without setting up a second raspberry with a centralized Kodi database?

Do you have a solution ?

Last question, is it possible to watch his films remotely (remote network)? Like plex server.

Thank you

trogggy · (This post was last modified: 2018-01-03, 15:20 by trogggy.)

The obvious solution, that you presumably don't like, would be to buy a second pi (or whatever) to run kodi, and connect it to the upstairs tv.
Anything else will be second-best.

**DarrenHill** · (This post was last modified: 2018-01-03, 15:21 by DarrenHill.)

You'd have to convert the avi file into something that the Chromecast can cope with (transcode is a temporary on-the-fly conversion, I mean a permanent one to a second file). Kodi can read a wide range of formats, but the limitation there is what the Chromecast can support. So if you convert your avi into an mp4 (for example) then everyone should be able to read and play everything. Use software like Handbrake to do that. Or just get a second player upstairs (another Pi for example).

For your second question, not really. It is possible to send stuff via UPnP between Kodi installations, but it's not a very good solution and isn't the same as how Plex works. That's why both Kodi and Plex exist, as they serve different usage cases.

MisterTic · (This post was last modified: 2018-01-03, 18:09 by MisterTic.)

(2018-01-03, 15:20)DarrenHill Wrote: You'd have to convert the avi file into something that the Chromecast can cope with (transcode is a temporary on-the-fly conversion, I mean a permanent one to a second file). Kodi can read a wide range of formats, but the limitation there is what the Chromecast can support. So if you convert your avi into an mp4 (for example) then everyone should be able to read and play everything. Use software like Handbrake to do that. Or just get a second player upstairs (another Pi for example).

For your second question, not really. It is possible to send stuff via UPnP between Kodi installations, but it's not a very good solution and isn't the same as how Plex works. That's why both Kodi and Plex exist, as they serve different usage cases.

Hello,

Thank you for your explanations.

I have already tried to convert movies and series but it is very long operation.

I have two solutions:

- Double raspberry with centralized database
- Plex server on the raspberry (NAS not powerful enough) with an NFS link (already tried) and install an Amazon Fire TV key with the plex client upstairs. No need for transcoding. With the advantage of being able to view my movies remotely.

Kodi and Plex each have their advantages, the first with its many pluggins, the second, the ability to see his movies remotely on any device.

If I buy a smart TV, the plex client is included. For Kodi, I have to buy an android TV to install it or use a raspberry again.

MisterTic · (This post was last modified: 2018-01-04, 10:38 by MisterTic.)

I just installed Kodi (LibreElec) instead of (RecallBox) on my raspberry pi, I had too often returns on the menu of games without knowing why.

On the main TV everything works perfectly.

On the second TV some movies are launched, others not (.avi not supported on chromecast, and lately movies that I downloaded in .mkv 1080p).

I had never cast 1080p movies on the chromecast using Yatse.

So today I am forced to use either a second raspberry or a box like a Xiaomi MI TV on the second TV to avoid all these problems of incompatibility. Thanks Google...

Today I am forced to use a common database that I have to create on my NAS synology (I saw a tutorial, it does not seem very complicated) to retrieve the information between each Kodi client. Movie already seen, take a movie where it stopped ... Tell me if I'm wrong?

**DarrenHill** · 2018-01-04, 10:40

Use a MySQL (wiki) database centralised somewhere on your network - your NAS can probably support it (mine does and it's a very basic and cheap one).

Kodi is basically designed for "point of use" application via a plugged-in box or these days even installed directly on Android TVs. Trying to "transmit" it via a Chromecast or similar device isn't really where the project is aimed at.

MisterTic · 2018-01-04, 11:00

Alright I understand.

I have to choose between a raspberry or a xiaomi mi tv.

For the second, I have to check that we can insert a file for the common database ...

AdvancedSettings.xml

Android Android / data / org.xbmc.kodi / files / .kodi / userdata /

I think to buy a connected TV in a few months. Plex is generally integrated, this is not the case of Kodi. I understand that it takes a TV android to install Kodi easily.

If today I use connected boxes, I do not really need to buy a connected TV. Netflix? I think we find it in Kodi addons.

What do you recommend ?

**DarrenHill** · 2018-01-04, 11:30

MySQL (wiki) and the advancedsettings.xml (wiki) files work on all OS versions of Kodi (certainly store Windows, Linux, Android and Pi variants). So there should be no issue there, aside from all the Kodi devices accessing the database needing to be on the same major Kodi version (Jarvis, Krypton, Leia etc).

Yes you are also correct that to run Kodi directly on a TV, it needs to be running an Android based OS. That said personally I'd always buy a dumb TV and use a plug-in box, as you're much more future proof that way as the box can be upgraded and/or replaced as things progress much more easily and cheaply than trying to do the same on the TV. Of course it needs a little more set-up and effort (and an extra power socket usually) but it can also save you money (dumb TV + box vs expensive "smart" TV).

Also there are unofficial Netflix add-ons available for Kodi, and the effectiveness of those type of add-ons will get better when Kodi Leia is released, as it has much better support for DRM. Having said all that I'm not an expert on such cases as I don't use any such subscription service personally so I don't speak from personal experience.

MisterTic · 2018-01-04, 11:55

I totally agree that a TV can not evolve, while a box is possible. from a financial point of view but also firmware.

In addition, it will save me a lot of money by taking a simple UHD TV. ^^

I do not think a box like Xiaomy mi tv evolves for free, while a raspberry can evolve as we see fit.

Thank you very much for your clarification. Strongly the new version "Leia".

d'Wooluf · 2018-01-05, 09:35

I'll stick my nose in and suggest going for a smart tv. No, it won't be upgraded forever but nothing is. And just because it's 'smart' it doesn't lose its 'dumb' capabilities. On my cheapish Samsung, Kodi sits there alongside Netflix, iView, and Youtube. The interface works beautifully. You leave Kodi to watch some Netflix and Kodi is still there, paused at the point you left it. It's very fluid and natural. Personally very glad to have gone 'smart'.

MisterTic · 2018-01-05, 09:39

The Samsung TVs are not android it seems to me, it's proprietary.
You have to manually install Kodi, can it update automatically or do you have to update manually every time?

bubblegum57 · 2018-01-05, 10:28

Just to add, I don't think you can install Kodi to a samsung tv. Check out youtube, lots of hits talking about it, but no actual instructions.

In my opinion, don't buy an android tv, just buy yourself a cheap android tv box, they can be bought for £30

some samsung smart tv's have a plex app, & if you have a synology nas, you can install plex as the server.

**DarrenHill** · (This post was last modified: 2018-01-05, 10:47 by DarrenHill.)

Samsung's generally run Tizen rather than Android, and there is no Kodi version for that.

Smart TVs do have their place, but the problem for me is give it a year or two and when the providers change their streaming methods or sites, then quite often the apps on the TVs are no longer supported and basically don't work. In the newer sets with Android it's not a problem as you can use the "official" apps from the Play Store which are updated as well, but some of the lesser brands (and even some of the major ones) have proprietary apps which they don't care about once the set is out of the factory door.

It's a similar argument to paying your car company several hundred pounds to have a sat-nav system built into the dashboard, compared to paying Garmin or TomTom much less and having a little box stuck to the windscreen. It doesn't look as elegant and it's not quite as multi-functional sometimes with the car systems, but it's cheaper, works, is easy to upgrade or replace and it's portable between devices (cars in this case).

Plus in many cases you're paying a premium on the set price for the smart capabilities, which is much more than you'd pay for a plug-in box.

d'Wooluf · 2018-01-07, 02:33

Agree with most of what you say, but... If you go 'dumb' you'll have more choice in the lower screen sizes and generic brands. I doubt you'll find a 65" Samsung UHD HDR dumb tv (waits for someone to prove him wrong). I think Samsung and the rest would be stupid to trash their brand by not supporting their smart tvs for a reasonable length of time. They also exist in an ecosystem where the services (Netflix etc) that feed those tvs need some degree of continuity. A friend of mine still watches Netflix on a plasma tv. Finally, my 55" Samsung UHD set cost less than many people pay for their mobile phones. Anyway, from a couch potato's point of view, we're in a pretty good place at the moment.