How to Install Kodi Media Center 19.0 in Ubuntu 20.04/18.04

Last updated: February 20, 2021

The Kodi media center 19.0 now is available to install via its official Ubuntu PPA.

Kodi 19.0 “Matrix” is a new major release for the open-source home theater software. Though it’s not officially announced at the moment of writing, the PPA packages has been updated, available for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 20.10, Linux Mint 20.x and derivatives.

What’s New in Kodi 19.0:

There are many new features in the release. And here are some big changes:

  • AV1 Codec support.
  • New color for subtitles and ability to change opacity.
  • static HDR10 and dynamic Dolby Vision HDR support.
  • Move to Python 3 for addons.
  • New functions in the PVR.

How to Install Kodi 19.0 via PPA:

Open terminal either from system app launcher or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, run following commands one by one to get the new release packages.

1. Add Kodi PPA.

To add the official Kodi PPA, run command in terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:team-xbmc/ppa

Type user password when it asks, with no asterisk feedback, and hit Enter to continue.

2. Install / Update Kodi.

The Software Updater utility will prompt you to run a “partial upgrade” since the dependency packages switched from Python 2 to Python 3. So it’s recommended to install or upgrade Kodi by running terminal commands.

Firstly refresh system package cache, if you’re on Ubuntu 18.04, via command:

sudo apt update

Then install Kodi via command:

sudo apt install kodi

If you’re going to upgrade Kodi, the previous command may not update the add-ons, so I recommend to run apt upgrade instead:

sudo apt upgrade

How to Downgrade:

You can purge the Ubuntu PPA as well as downgrade Kodi to the stock version available in Ubuntu main repositories. To do so, run command:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:team-xbmc/ppa

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I'm a freelance blogger who started using Ubuntu in 2007 and wishes to share my experiences and some useful tips with Ubuntu beginners and lovers. Please comment to let me know if the tutorial is outdated! And, notify me if you find any typo/grammar/language mistakes. English is not my native language. Contact me via ubuntuhandbook1@gmail.com Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/ubuntuhandbook1

One response to How to Install Kodi Media Center 19.0 in Ubuntu 20.04/18.04

  1. Nice article