Kodi for all platforms. Actually, it's a platform all by itself.

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
There is another thread in this forum called "The Magical Builds of Kodi". But it is written for the more geeky of us. Kodi is really quite user friendly. Once set up, it automatically maintains itself with updates, and the content is seamlessly added into the hundreds of online add-on libraries available to Kodi when connected to the internet. Even when not connected, it becomes an AWESOME home theater library which accesses all your music, pictures and videos, and put the control of them at your fingertips with your cellphone, a mouse and keyboard, or (with LOTS of additional tweaking), your Amazon Echo using your voice.

I wanted to start this thread because it's important to know that something is out there that is FREE and quite frankly makes Netflix and Amazon Prime Video seem downright stripped down. As an experiment, I fired up my Kodi and my recently re-activated Netflix (I am in my 1 month free period right now), and chose random films to watch. I went to Netflix first, and I even decided to choose Netflix originals. And what did I find? Kodi has EVERYTHING on Netflix plus a lot more. Yes, that includes the Netflix originals too. It includes the latest movies in the theaters, old TV series, obscure anime in it's original language, and stuff I never imagined was ever committed to video from faraway cultures and making no sense to me. It's all there and FREE.

Needless to say, I am not really able to make a good case to go paid with Netflix whilst I have Kodi. And I can't control Netflix with a remote or my phone. And Netflix does not have music I can choose from, nor can it access my library. With Kodi, I can use the awesome Kodi remote app for my phone which gives me full control without a need for an IR remote. I can play music throughout my place by tapping it up on my phone remote, even while sitting outside with coffee.

More coming (a video). :) Download the basic Kodi here (Windows, Linux, Android, iOS and Mac):

https://kodi.tv/

The Kodi remote app is in the Google Play store and also the Mac App Store. To make it truly awesome though, you need add-ons. I strongly recommend SpinzTV.

https://kodiapps.com/how-to-install-spinz-tv-build-on-kodi
 
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YJ02

Well Known GateFan
so, if "they" ever find a way to trace users, what would be the criminal charge involved? :) I am thinking NAPster and other sites previously shut down for illegality and the examples made of some of the users.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
so, if "they" ever find a way to trace users, what would be the criminal charge involved? :) I am thinking NAPster and other sites previously shut down for illegality and the examples made of some of the users.

Users are never at risk. Only the down loaders of the content. Imagine you have downloaded a bunch of stuff or have a huge video library and then add yourself as a streaming source to Kodi. It's like that sort of. Except you cannot just easily add yourself. Kodi's servers sort available content, scrape the web for synopses, actor lists, cover art, etc, and you get it on Kodi ready to click and stream. You can pull up movie info too. :)
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Umm Hmm...famous last words! :winking0052: :anim_59:

First words, actually. :) To get to the ones who have broken the law, the content would have to be shut off at the sources. Streaming is a one way data stream. There is no way to trace a user, much like you cannot ever tell who around you is eavesdropping on your conversations when you are in public or anywhere within earshot. But it's easy to spot the talker (you).

One thing about the geek world is that it follows much different rules than terra firma. Like Morpheus said in The Matrix, "...rules of the computer can be bent. Some can be broken." Those trying to lock things down still have to seek out geeks to accomplish that task for them because they are clueless how to do it. As soon as the checks have been written and the geeks have gone back to Zion, they immediately exploit ways to defeat the protections they were paid to create.

All I am saying is that everything has been well thought out already. :) Kodi is BETTER THAN NETFLIX. I will not be reviving my Netflix account after this 30 days is over. I went for more than a year without it, and now that I get another free trial, I still don't like it as compared to Kodi. Much less content and a clunky new interface as well as a higher price (price at all!), it makes no sense for me to keep it.
 
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Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
I would have had to pay for Netflix if I had not just canceled my account which is free till January 15th. Netflix cannot hold a candle to Kodi. Besides 100% of everything that is on Netflix, it has at least 50% more material (probably more), and the old TV series and movies stay on there, they do not suddenly disappear (hello Netflix?). And then there is that four letter word: FREE!

The interface is better, the quality of the content varies from meh to Oh Wow! And you can search by title, or browse by genre or year of release, or even by IMdB rating. And there are addons which expand it even further. Besides all of that, you can access your own collections and Kodi will fetch all of the associated movie art, album covers, and information synopses on them PLUS will index it all.

Why should I consider keeping Netflix? It was a no-brainer to cancel it. :)
 

YJ02

Well Known GateFan
And then there is that four letter word: FREE!

And that other four letter word; geek

as in, for the use of geeks only :)

I looked at it, I downloaded the platform or whatever you get from the kodi page, and then? nothing

I -as a plain old everyday consumer of the internet-with no special skills- do not know what to do next. I just have kodi's message which basically says "thx for downloading, know you are on your own if you actually want to watch something!"

Is Kodi better? I'll take your word for it. Is it user friendly-and not just to coders or programmers or ppl with other IT/PC skills? No

NETFLIX,AMAZON etc, is just plain easier for a low price and no tech hassle.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
And that other four letter word; geek

as in, for the use of geeks only :)

I looked at it, I downloaded the platform or whatever you get from the kodi page, and then? nothing

I -as a plain old everyday consumer of the internet-with no special skills- do not know what to do next. I just have kodi's message which basically says "thx for downloading, know you are on your own if you actually want to watch something!"

Is Kodi better? I'll take your word for it. Is it user friendly-and not just to coders or programmers or ppl with other IT/PC skills? No

NETFLIX,AMAZON etc, is just plain easier for a low price and no tech hassle.

Let me configure it for you tonite. Once kodi is set up it maintains itself. For FREE.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
And that other four letter word; geek

as in, for the use of geeks only :)

I looked at it, I downloaded the platform or whatever you get from the kodi page, and then? nothing

I -as a plain old everyday consumer of the internet-with no special skills- do not know what to do next. I just have kodi's message which basically says "thx for downloading, know you are on your own if you actually want to watch something!"

Is Kodi better? I'll take your word for it. Is it user friendly-and not just to coders or programmers or ppl with other IT/PC skills? No

NETFLIX,AMAZON etc, is just plain easier for a low price and no tech hassle.

Easy is subjective. Kodi is easy for me, Adobe After Effects is a challenge for me
 

Tripler

Well Known GateFan
There are a ton of instructional videos around on how to setup and use Kodi .
Simply Austin is the best and easiest instructional vid I have found so far ...


I just installed Kodi on my Win 10 Labtop and it works great tho I am still a newb on figuring out a lot of stuff . It has a hell of a lot of content and it will take some time to widdle it down to an easier user friendly program of stuff that I want and not all the other tons of content .

;) ;) ;)
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member

OMG compared to Netflix, Kodi makes Netflix look like some stripped down basic service. Kodi has so much content available that you can't explore it all in a single day. Netflix, you could. In about 2 hours. I am talking just reviewing the titles available in all the genres. But Kodi, no way can you do it. Plus, it grabs seeders who just downloaded movies or shows or videos and makes that content available so it is dynamic, unlike Netflix.

It puts a checkmark next to what you have already watched, or lets you resume where you left off watching. And it also allows you to make playlists and set favorites. Netflix? Lol.
 

YJ02

Well Known GateFan
or lets you resume where you left off watching.

NF lets you resume where you left off at. To start from the beginning you must actively select that option

also automatically creates a "continue watching" list. one can also create a "to do list" as well. this is all in the roku app. perhaps it is only in the roku app ? (ROKU was initially created by NF as a way to stream their content when they first began streaming. roku was later spun off as a division of NF. so perhaps these NF things I can do areas a result of using roku? dunno
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
the kodi site say you must find your own content? what is that about?

It's merely a legal bathrobe. :) Kodi itself contains no content. What it does is aggregate content from sources, and allows you to "call" content from unknown sources. From your perspective, you simply see a listing for the movie, TV show or documentary or song/artist you want to watch or hear, and click it to play. Or, you can bring up the related information, cover art, lyrics, whatever. PLUS, when you play music, it will play visualizations that are sound activated!

Netflix is to Kodi as a Playskool toy phone is to a tricorder.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
There are a ton of instructional videos around on how to setup and use Kodi .
Simply Austin is the best and easiest instructional vid I have found so far ...


I just installed Kodi on my Win 10 Labtop and it works great tho I am still a newb on figuring out a lot of stuff . It has a hell of a lot of content and it will take some time to widdle it down to an easier user friendly program of stuff that I want and not all the other tons of content .

;) ;) ;)

That is a particularly good instructional video for Kodi! I am GLAD more people don't know about it because as soon as some "company" gets a hold on it, everything will go to shit. It will be subscription paid, will have ads, and "levels" of "premium" and who knows what else. Facebook integration? :smiley-015:
 

Tripler

Well Known GateFan
the kodi site say you must find your own content? what is that about?
Did you watch the video I posted? Kodi is just a shell of a program on initial install . Add the links as Simply Austin shows you and you will then get content . But if you want to do it the easier way but you miss out on a little bit of tech training then go further down the video and install Ares . With Ares you have a plethrera of different builds that users have made for others to use to get to content . It's actually quite easy once you start to install stuff in Kodi and its fun to see things work . Simply Austin holds your hand threw the complete process...

;) ;) ;)
 
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Tripler

Well Known GateFan
That is a particularly good instructional video for Kodi! I am GLAD more people don't know about it because as soon as some "company" gets a hold on it, everything will go to shit. It will be subscription paid, will have ads, and "levels" of "premium" and who knows what else. Facebook integration? :smiley-015:
Give it another year and I am sure the super greedy will grab it and gut it to peices .

;( ;( ;(
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Did you watch the video I posted? Kodi is just a shell of a program on initial install . Add the links as Simply Austin shows you and you will then get content . But if you want to do it the easier way but you miss out on a little bit of tech training then go further down the video and install Ares . With Ares you have a plethrera of different builds that users have made for others to use to get to content . It's actually quite easy once you start to install stuff in Kodi and its fun to see things work . Simply Austin holds your hand threw the complete process...

;) ;) ;)

I went the Ares route. From Ares, I installed the latest SpinzTV build because I love the themes they have. I am also a huge fan of Turk's TV and Movies. I have added some addons that I don't even know what is in them. But Kodi still can access their repositories and display the content in searches, so hey that's ok. :) I have seen every theater release on Kodi within a day or two of opening night. Rogue One was on it the SAME night. Yeah, it was a cam but a very watchable one. Within two weeks there was a great copy up there. Last night I watched Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and enjoyed that.

Like you said, it's quite easy when you understand how it does things. And the remote app for the phone is a marvel in itself! It displays the media art, gives you the ability to browse your entire Kodi content and play it from there, or pause, FF, rewind and turn volume up and down. You can also bring up the information. I have it controlling two Kodi installs.
 
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