Kodi 19 for beginners: basics, library, addons, remote control
From zero to a bag of chips, this is how you get started with the Kodi media center
Whether Smart TV, NAS, Amazon Fire device or set-top box - Kodi can be used almost anywhere. For own local media it's first choice anyway, but you can also Live TV, streaming providers, Youtube, media libraries and so on directly in Kodi. games? Also the! Remote control via smartphone? Of course. Thanks to a number of addons, Kodi can do an incredible amount, while remaining simple and pretty. Here you will find everything you need to get started, from the first start to lounging on the couch with the remote control.
Kodi: THE media center
It feels like Kodi has always been there, even if it was called XBMC Mediacenter a long long time ago and was intended for the Xbox. In the meantime, Kodi has largely established itself as the standard media center and runs on all possible platforms. Why? Well, Kodi is extremely comfortable, looks damn good, is quite technically mature, constantly evolving and being extended by a huge community. One and only Price For that: Kodi has never been a performance miracle, it also runs on older Raspberry Pis, but there are constant problems with the buffer and the surface, the spooling in streams and various addons.
The First question So is: where do you want Kodi to run? And for this we have all kinds of articles on offer:
- Kodi on the Fire TV
- Kodi on the Fire HD
- Kodi on the Fire TV
- Kodi on the Raspberry Pi
- Kodi via the Windows Store (older)
- Kodi via the Android Store (legacy)
- Code on the NAS
- MSI Cubi vs Raspberry Pi 4
- 8 ways to bring Kodi to TV
Kodi runs perfectly on the current Raspberry Pi 4, boxes like Nvidia Shield TV or right one Computers like MSI Cubis have enough power anyway. The tip is simple: the hardware for Kodi should not be undersized, otherwise Kodi will run but not be fun.
Once installed, Kodi always uses the same method – so have fun getting started! We'll show you the Setup in four sections:
- Basic configuration (language, control, interface, etc.)
- Library (median and metadata/scrapers)
- Extensions (Repository from ZIP and Add-on from Repository)
- Set up remote control
There are also hundreds of other settings and options and extensions - but you've gotten to know the basic procedure for everything important about Kodi and should be able to implement your own wishes with confidence. Well, there are things that need to be explained in more detail, for example adding your own categories or even own icons in title lists. You can find many more examples in our well over 100 Kodi articles.
1. Basic configuration
After the start you land on the Home by code. the Settings, or the area System, you reach via that gear icon.
First you should open the media center German change so that the instructions also fit word for word - that starts in the area Interface:
Then select below Regional/Language easy German off – the language will then be installed and activated automatically.
You can still stay in the user interface settings. By default, you only see part of the settings in Kodi. To change this, click the button on the bottom left several times Default …
...until your there Expert and see the corresponding new settings next to it. Of course, you will rarely need such settings, but if you don't see them, you can't know...
Now switch to Settings/Skins/Main menu items: Here you can reduce the categories of the main menu - many use Kodi only for video content, so you don't have to clutter the interface with sections for photos, music, live TV and so on. Disabled here as needed.
It continues to go down Settings/System/Energy saving: A sensible attitude is definitely put screen to sleep while idle, to take the largest power consumer in the system out of play when nothing is running.
Below in the area Wake could you Wake on LAN activate: If Kodi then wants to access content on a NAS in the network, for example, which is currently on standby, it tries to start the NAS - does not always work, but often.
Switch to the area addons and may allow the installation of extensions from unknown sources. This is always a theoretical security risk, but as long as you don't suck illegal extensions from Russian Darknet exchanges... In any case, you can then also install extensions outside of Kodi's own repos (directory).
Switches to Settings/Services. Here you make three settings. First under General: Kodi services and content can sometimes be used on the network with other tools. Enabled for this to work Report available services to other systems. If you don't see a need: At some point you'll use an app, Kodi will appear in it and you'll think of something interesting - but only if you activate it here.
Under Settings/Services/Control you should allow control via HTTP to Kodi for example via a browser control on another device. In addition, you activate Allow remote control by applications on this device/other devices. You can then use Kodi, for example, via a Remote control like Kore (see below) or Yatse on an Android device or tools on the Kodi server.
Settings/Services/UPnP/DLNA: Here you should Allow remote control via UPnP. With this you integrate Kodi into your UPnP universe - and if that doesn't mean anything to you, here we explain it.
That would be them main Settings are set - the boring part is over ;) Of course there is still a lot to do if you have special needs - would you like an example? Here is a very special Kindle eBook to illustrate (which, by the way, is available at Kindle unlimited would be free):
2. Set up library
Now it's getting exciting, the library is being set up: media are added and enriched with metadata from the Internet, i.e. descriptions and pretty little pictures. entry point is System/Settings/Media.
Videos will serve as an example, so select the section Library/Videos…
It continues with Add video...
In the video source dialog, click Search.
You end up in a list of possible Sources. Typically you will want to add your media from, for example, a NAS. Theoretically, you could traditionally browse your network here, via Windows network (SMB). However, you will no longer find anything there in current LANs, since this Rummage no longer works for security reasons. So click on Add network share...
Here you have to manually Server & Hosting specify in the form of an IP address that Release in the form of the shared folder or shared disk, as well as the access data for this release. For example, how you can share a USB hard drive in the network under Linux, we show here.
Back back in the source selection you will now find a new entry with your approval, for example here smb://192.168.178.68/evo for a USB hard drive on an MSI Cubi. Open this point.
Now you can browse again and the whole source via OK use or select a subfolder first. You should create your own sources for films, series, music and pictures - this can always be done via the entry you just created with the release.
So, for example, select your Movies folder so that you can see your list of movies (subfolders within are okay), and select OKAY.
forgive one Namur and confirms the new source.
Now you have to specify what kind of content is in the source - so click on This folder contains... None.
Then choose the point Film.
... and choose as Preferred Language the point en-DE.
Confirm the dialog and then allow Kodi to fetch the information for this new source.
And in the Movies section you no longer just see old text lists, but pretty artwork with German descriptions.
Tip: In order for getting the metadata, the scraping, to work well, the media must have proper names - Big_Buck_Bunny.mkv is a good name bbb 720p video.mkv is a bad name ;)
The library is there and you could get started - but then you would miss a lot!
3. Set up extensions
You can get extensions from repositories, such as the Kodi repo that is already integrated, or in the form of ZIP files. There is a decent selection at Kodi itself. You also get repos from third parties as ZIP files and install them that way. Below you can see the installation of the Kodinerds.net repos and then the ARD and ZDF media library. So get the repo-ZIP first.
Then it starts in Kodi system/addons.
Calls the area Install from ZIP file .
Then look for the downloaded file in the file system, here repository.kodinerds-7.0.1.1.zip.
After its installation you call the area Install from repository .
Let's continue about that Kodinerd's addon repo.
The addons are sorted by category, media library addons can be found under video addons. Chooses ARD and ZDF ...
... and installs the extension.
The addon itself can then be called up via the addons area on the start page.
4. Set up the remote control
As a rule, you will probably have Kodi running on the network. The perfect remote control: The Smartphone. There are various apps for this, the app is official Korean, your at Google Play gets and also with F Droid.
After installation, however, it is very similar for all apps anyway:
- Searching for Kodis on the network (so Kodi should be running!).
- If found: click, done.
- If not found: enter the IP of the Kodi device and port 8080, if necessary login data, done.
- Sit down, open your bag of chips, relax.
With that, Kodi is basically set up. Other topics will arise over time, such as a shared library for multiple Kodis in the network, setting up streaming services, smart playlists and so on.
Kodi now runs on many smart TVs, NAS, set-top boxes, and things like Amazon's Fire devices. If you want to set up a device specifically for Kodi, the Raspberry Pi is probably still the first choice. If you need a little more performance, still silent, but a bit larger, then an MSI Cubi is a great alternative, which can then also take on other tasks. As a decision-making aid: MSI Cubi vs Raspberry Pi 4. And afterwards you are welcome to go shopping, preferably via our Amazon affiliate links – active redistribution of Bezos' space money to three people from Cologne who invest it regionally in Kölsch ;) Thank you!
Looking for a Bluetooth remote control for Windows 10 and Kodi, does anyone have a recommendation?