Archives For XBMC media center

Kodi 19.1, the first update for the “Matrix” series, was released with various bug-fixes.

The new release of the media player and entertainment hub contains mainly bug-fixes. It fixed HDR metadata detection issue, playback of optical DVDs in Linux, and BD-J Blu-ray chapter skipping via remotes/keyboard.

System fonts and use fonts detection for ASS subtitles, as well as rendering of semi-transparent ASS subtitles on Wayland are now fixed in the release.

Kodi 19.1 also enabled filecaching by default for network filesystems, improved reliability for HTTP and NFS network filesystems, and added support for WS-Discovery protocol to locate SMB servers and browse shared folders via SMBv3.

Other changes in the release include:

  • Fixed media flagging for DVD/BluRay
  • Fixed incorrect HDR metadata
  • Fixed green screen when playing the menu of some DVDs
  • See the release note for more.

How to Install Kodi 19.1 in Ubuntu:

The official Kodi PPA has made the packages for all current Ubuntu releases including Ubuntu 21.04.

Open terminal either from system app launcher or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, do following steps one by one.

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.

If you’re now running the stock version of Kodi package in Ubuntu, the Software Updater will refused to update it. So it’s recommended to use the command below to install or update the media player.

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

Once installed Kodi, either launch it from system app launcher or log out and select “Kodi” session to login.

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

Kodi media center 18.7 was released today. Now it’s available to install via PPA in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.10, and Ubuntu 20.04.

Kodi 18.7 is a bug-fix release that contains following changes:

  • Add more PVR context menu support.
  • Add scroll to plot on PVR Channel Guide Dialog
  • Add an icon for Blu-rays
  • PVR addon API documentation updates and fixes.
  • improve bluray menu detection.
  • allows encrypted dvd playback on ios
  • Add “Get all” button to Controller dialog.
  • Fix playing games with VideoPlayer when emulators are disabled
  • And much more other changes.

How to Install Kodi 18.7 in Ubuntu:

Though it’s not been officially announced in Kodi website, Kodi Team PPA has made the packages for all current Ubuntu releases and derivatives.

1. Open terminal either from application menu or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

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

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. Then either upgrading Kodi from an existing version via Software Updater:

upgrade Kodi

or refresh system package cache and install Kodi 18.7 via commands:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install kodi

Uninstall:

To remove the Kodi PPA repository, simply open Software & Updates -> Other Software.

To remove Kodi, run command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove kodi kodi-data kodi-bin

Kodi Media Center 18.6 now is available to install via its official PPA in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.10, and their derivatives.

Kodi 18.6 is a maintenance release contains mainly bug-fixes and stability improvements. It’s not officially announced at the moment. According to the changelog, changes in the new release include: add image mime type for support over imagedecoder.raw, fix launching zip and 7z files from MyGames, fix error playing disk image games, remove now superflous HeadSet check, Remove Headphone check, and much more other changes.

How to Install Kodi 18.6 in Ubuntu:

The Kodi stable PPA has made the new release packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04, and Ubuntu 19.10.

1. Open terminal either from application menu or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

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

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. Then either upgrading Kodi from an existing version via Software Updater:

upgrade Kodi

or refresh system package cache and install Kodi 18.6 via commands:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install kodi

Uninstall:

To remove the Kodi PPA repository, simply open Software & Updates -> Other Software.

To remove Kodi, run command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove kodi kodi-data kodi-bin

Kodi “Leia” 18.2 was released a day ago with numerous bug-fixes and performance improvements. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, and higher.

Kodi 18.2 is a bug fix release with no real new functionality. Release highlights include:

  • Fix performance and dependency regressions in GLES rendering path.
  • Fixes to the AML platform
  • VAAPI on Intel improvements.
  • Fixes and improvements across all aspects of PVR
  • Music experience improvements.
  • Huge number of improvements for the Android platform

How to Install Kodi 18.2 in Ubuntu:

The Kodi stable PPA has made the new release packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 18.10, and their derivatives.

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or from application menu. When it opens, paste below command and hit run:

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

Type user password (no asterisks feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. Then refresh system package cache and install Kodi 18.2 via command:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install kodi

For Ubuntu 18.04 and higher, you can skip the apt update command.

Uninstall:

To remove the Kodi PPA repository, simply open Software & Updates -> Other Software.

To remove Kodi, run command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove kodi kodi-data kodi-bin

Kodi 17.4 Released! How to Install it in Ubuntu

Last updated: August 24, 2017

Kodi media center, formerly known as XBMC, reached the 17.4 release a few days ago with a bunch of bug-fixes. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.04, and their derivatives.

Changes in Kodi 17.4 include:

  • Potentially fix crashing on Windows due to an issue in Python
  • Potentially fix crashing on Windows when enabling zeroconf
  • Fix sporadic crash on Windows when installing or updating add-ons
  • Fix issue for users with reverse proxies attempting to forward websockets.
  • Fix possible issue if Linux distro uses system ffmpeg and cause black screen with 10-bit H.265
  • Properly throttle scraping music information online to prevent overloading the provider
  • Fix native keyboard on iOS 11
  • Fix potential crash on Android O loading App icons
  • Fix non showing Kodi banner on Android O
  • Fix potential crash on Android with certain keymaps
  • Fix wrong detection of VP6 and VP8 videocodec on Android
  • Update FFmpeg to 3.1.9
  • Set hard requirement to use FFmpeg 3.1.x only
  • Fix for Hangup when viewing recording and pressing next/previous
  • Fix merged scraped album type and label correctly with that derived from tags from music files
  • Fix possible crash on Linux when using ALSA
  • Save skin settings immediatly after they have changed instead of only on shutdown

How to Install Kodi 17.4 in Ubuntu:

Kodi has an official PPA that contains the latest packages for Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, and Ubuntu 17.04.

1. Open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching it from app launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

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

Input your password (no visual feedback while typing) when it asks and hit Enter.

kodi ppa

2. For those who have previous release installed, upgrade the media center via Software Updater:

upgrade Kodi

or run commands to check updates and install kodi:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install kodi

Once installed, log out and log in back with Kodi session, or launch Kodi from Unity Dash, Gnome app launcher, or other app launcher.

Uninstall:

Run command to purge the PPA which also downgrade Kodi to its stock version in your Ubuntu:

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

To remove kodi, either use your system package manager or run command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove kodi