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For anyone who is looking to heighten their entertainment experience through videos, music, games, and more, Kodi can make it easy to do – all in one place. This free app has been designed to run on home servers and computers that are connected to larger TVs.
As an all-in-one streaming media center, the Kodi app will pull content such as television shows, podcasts, movies, and pictures to select tablets and smartphones for viewing and listening. Finding what to download is relatively easy, too, as Kodi uses the digital media files from network and local storage, as well as from the Internet, in order to locate the media that users want.
Initially developed back in 2003 – and since that time shaped by over 500 software developers and in excess of 200 translators – this open source software media player and entertainment application can now be quickly and easily be installed on a wide range of different devices, including Android, as well as Windows, iOS, and OSX. Kodi doesn’t provide any media itself. Instead, users of this app need to either provide their own content, or manually point the app to a third-party online service.
Previously known simply as XBMC, this app is also highly customizable. For instance, a wide variety of skins can change the way that it looks, and a number of different plug-ins will allow Kodi’s users to access streaming media content through various online services like Pandora Internet Radio, Amazon Prime Instant Video, YouTube, and Spotify.
This app also makes it easy to record and store clips, as well as full-length movies, because it offers a personal video recorder (or PVR), that enables it to record live television, and a DVR for recording purposes.
Unlike Napster, Amazon Fire TV Stick and Apple TV, Kodi is not held back by either licensing or a curated app store, so users are able to download a variety of community-made apps, and to watch whatever they choose without the worry of legal issues surrounding the streaming of content.
The Kodi app also includes several other unique features, such as:
- A 10-foot UI, which allows it to be read from a “theoretical distance” of up to ten feet away
- Browsing capability that allows users to browse podcasts, videos, and photos, due to its built-in codes
- The ability to be hooked into a television, allowing viewers to watch content that was initially downloaded on a smaller device via a larger television screen
How to Install Kodi
The installation of Kodi can be fairly straightforward, particularly for users who have a Chromebook, Pixel, Asus Flip Chromebook, or an Acer R11 Chromebook. All that is required is to download the application directly from the Google Play Store, and within just a minute or so, it will be ready for use.