Editing Kodi (software) (section)

==Core features==

===Live TV with EPG and PVR/DVR frontend===

The TV feature allows users to watch some TV broadcasts that may be transmitted by a [[digital terrestrial television]], [[asymmetric digital subscriber line]] (ADSL), cable, or Internet streaming, depending on the chosen add-on.

From version 12.0 (Frodo), Kodi has a native Live TV with [[Electronic program guide|EPG (Electronic Program Guide)]] and [[Digital video recorder|DVR (Digital Video Recorder)]] features with a PVR (Personal Video Recorder) frontend GUI, which enables [[video capture]] and playback to and from a [[hard disk drive]] with PVR Client Addons for most popular PVR backends ([[TV tuner card]] server). These addons can be installed separately as plugins in Kodi.

The PVR backend can either be a DVR set-top box connected to the network or a PC with a digital video recorder software. This software can run on the same computer or on other computers on the same network. The PVR software can turn computers or other appliances into DVRs. The operating system can be [[Linux]], [[macOS]], [[Microsoft Windows]], and [[Android (operating system)|Android]] devices.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.techhive.com/article/2031217/htpc-showdown-which-front-end-interface-is-best-.html |title=HTPC Showdown: Which front-end interface is best? |website=TechHive.com |access-date=30 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141127211232/http://www.techhive.com/article/2031217/htpc-showdown-which-front-end-interface-is-best-.html |archive-date=27 November 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Several types of PVR Client Addons are available:
* addons used for many PVR software and hardware such as Argus TV, DVBLogic DVBLink, [[DVBViewer]], ForTheRecord, Tvheadend, [[MediaPortal]], [[MythTV]], [[NextPVR]] (formerly [[GB-PVR]]), [[Video Disk Recorder|VDR]], [[Windows Media Center]],
* addons used for [[Enigma (DVB)|Enigma2]]-based DVR set-top boxes such as [[Dreambox]], [[DBox2]], and [[Vu+]].,
* addons used for direct LAN connection to network-attached TV-Tuners such as [[HDHomeRun]], PCTV Systems Broadway, [[VBox Home TV Gateway]], and Njoy Digital AnySee N7 DVB-S2 Network-Tuner.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tv2lan.com/page/show/faq-en#nil |title=Njoy N7 FAQ |publisher=Tv2lan.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201170152/http://www.tv2lan.com/page/show/faq-en#nil |archive-date=1 February 2014 |access-date=28 January 2013}}</ref>
* addons used for the Internet-based television providers [[FilmOn]] (FilmOn.TV Networks), and Stalker Middleware,
* addons used for [[IPTV]] in general, e.g. the simple PVR client addon.

===Video playback===

====Video Library====
The Video Library, one of the Kodi [[metadata]] databases, is a key feature of Kodi. It allows the organization of video content by information associated with the video files (e.g., movies and recorded TV shows) themselves. This information can be obtained in various ways, like through scrapers (e.g., [[web scraping]] sites like IMDb, TheMovieDB, TheTVDB), and [[.nfo|nfo]] files. Automatically downloading and displaying movie posters and fan art backdrops as background wallpapers. The Library Mode view allows users to browse their video content by categories; Genre, Title, Year, Actors and Directors.<ref name="XBMC 9.11 makes your open source home theater look shinier" /><ref name="XBMC is the best media center application. Period." />

====Video player cores====
Kodi uses one multimedia video player "core" for video-playback. This video-player "core" for video-playback is an in-house developed cross-platform media player, "DVDPlayer", which was designed to play back [[DVD-Video]] movies, and this includes support native for DVD-menus, (based on the free open source libraries code [[libdvdcss]] and libdvdnav). This [[FFmpeg]] based video-player "core" today supports all widespread mainstream formats. One relatively unusual feature of this DVD-player core is the capability to on-the-fly pause and play DVD-Video movies that are stored in [[ISO image|ISO and IMG]] DVD-images or DVD-Video ([[IFO file|IFO]]/[[VOB]]/[[.bup|BUP]]) images (even directly from uncompressed [[RAR (file format)|RAR]] and [[ZIP (file format)|ZIP]] archives), from either local harddrive storage or network-share storage.<ref name="XBMC 9.11 makes your open source home theater look shinier" /><ref name="XBMC is the best media center application. Period." /><ref name="XBMC 9.04 delivers impressive media center experience" />

===Audio playback===

====Music Library====
The Music Library, one of the Kodi metadata databases, is another key feature of Kodi. It allows the organization of a music collection to allow searching, and creating smart playlists by information stored in music file [[ID3|ID meta tags]], like title, artist, album, production year, genre, and popularity. Automatically downloading and displaying album covers and [[fan art]] backdrops as background wallpapers.<ref name="XBMC 9.11 makes your open source home theater look shinier" /><ref name="XBMC is the best media center application. Period." />

===Digital picture/image display===
Kodi handles all common [[digital camera|digital picture/image formats]] with the options of panning/zooming and slideshow with the [[Ken Burns effect]], with the use of CxImage open source library code. XBMC can handle CBZ (ZIP) and CBR (RAR) [[comic book archive]] files, this feature lets users view/read, browse and zoom the pictures of comics pages these contain without uncompressing them first.<ref name="Modding The Xbox Into The Ultimate Multimedia Center" />

===Games Manager and game console emulators===
Development was in progress {{As of|2013|alt=in 2013}} on new core features integrating a built-in Games Manager and Game Launcher front-end GUI with a Games Library, and [[Video game console emulator|Game Console Emulator]] API into XBMC. The code for all was being developed in a separate branch to be incorporated into the mainline tree.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTQ3MTI |title=XBMC Prepares Support For Running Emulated Games - Phoronix |date=27 September 2013 |website=Phoronix |access-date=29 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212010237/https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTQ3MTI |archive-date=12 February 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Games Manager, once integrated into Kodi, provides a unified [[Video game|games]] manager library and GUI front-end launcher with online metadata web scraping support for information about the games. It also introduces Game Addons as new type of addon with just-in-time emulator installation. Adding a Games Library for Game Metadata, exposing info (current level, number of lives, number of coins earned, etc.) to GUI, as well as extending the Addon API to support Game Client Addons, supporting Kodi's VFS (Virtual File System). It also provides a joystick and gamepad abstraction layer for common joystick API and input clients.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tech2.in.com/video/dell-inspiron-one-2320/278112/tomszNJjmqenwKqGuoe1ppeJvK7JorSXuKi5pbiqqISlh9qr/xbmc-integrated-emulation-with-libretro-retroplayer-wip |title=XBMC: Integrated Emulation with libretro RetroPlayer wip - Dell Inspiron One 2320 Videos |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131206122800/http://tech2.in.com/video/dell-inspiron-one-2320/278112/tomszNJjmqenwKqGuoe1ppeJvK7JorSXuKi5pbiqqISlh9qr/xbmc-integrated-emulation-with-libretro-retroplayer-wip |archive-date=6 December 2013 |access-date=6 December 2013 }} Xbmc: Integrated Emulation with libretro RetroPlayer wip]</ref>

====RetroPlayer====
Also under development is the RetroPlayer [[video game console emulator]] ([[ROM image|ROMs]]) interface, supporting the libretro API and emulator cores (from the RetroArch project, which is its reference front-end). Libretro itself is a modular multi-system game/emulator system designed to be fast, lightweight, and portable.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://xbmcnightlybuilds.com/now-building-openelec-retroplayer-build-images/ |title=Now Building OpenELEC-RetroPlayer Build Images |last=Paul Rae |date=3 December 2013 |website=XBMC Nightly Builds |access-date=29 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809225111/http://xbmcnightlybuilds.com/now-building-openelec-retroplayer-build-images |archive-date=9 August 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

RetroPlayer supports emulators for popular retro game consoles, including [[Atari 2600]], [[Atari Lynx|Lynx]], [[Atari Jaguar|Jaguar]], [[Nintendo Entertainment System]], [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super NES]], [[Nintendo 64]], [[Game Boy]], [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]], [[Master System]], [[Sega Genesis|Genesis]], [[Sega CD]], and [[Game Gear]], plus multiple [[arcade video game]]s via [[MAME]] and Final Burn Alpha, as well as [[ScummVM]] and [[MS-DOS]] based games.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.patreon.com/libretro |title=The Libretro Team is creating RetroArch and Lakka |website=Patreon.com |access-date=29 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128023924/https://www.patreon.com/libretro |archive-date=28 November 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

From version 18 Kodi supports a player core, Retroplayer, to play games using game emulator addons available for libretro.<ref>{{cite web| title=[Guide] Getting Started with Kodi Retroplayer| author=zachmorris| website=Kodi Community Forum| date=6 December 2019| url=https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=340684| access-date=18 September 2022| archive-date=20 September 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920171420/https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=340684| url-status=live}}</ref>

===Audio, video, and pictures media formats===
Kodi can play media from CD/DVD media using an internal [[DVD-ROM]] drive. It can play media from an internal built-in [[hard disk drive]] and [[Server Message Block|SMB/SAMBA/CIFS]] shares (Windows File-Sharing), [[Network File System|NFS]], or stream them over [[ReplayTV]] DVRs/PVRs, [[Universal Plug and Play]] (UPnP) or [[Digital Living Network Alliance]] (DLNA) shares, or stream [[iTunes]]-shares via [[Digital Audio Access Protocol]] (DAAP). Kodi can take advantage of a broadband Internet connection if available to stream Internet-video-streams like YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, and Veoh, and play Internet-radio-stations (such as [[Pandora Radio]]). Kodi includes the option to submit music usage statistics to [[Last.fm]] and [[Libre.fm]]. It has music/video-playlist features, picture/image-slideshow functions, an MP3+CDG [[karaoke]] function and many [[Music visualization|audio-visualizations]] and [[screensaver]]s. Kodi can [[Upscaling DVD|upscale/upconvert]] all [[SDTV|standard-definition]] resolution videos and output them to [[HDTV|720p, 1080i, and 1080p high-definition]] resolutions.<ref name="XBMC is the best media center application. Period." /><ref name="Turbo Charge Your New XBMC Installation">{{Cite web |url=http://lifehacker.com/5393227/turbo-charge-your-new-xbmc-installation |title=Turbo Charge Your New XBMC Installation |last=Jason Fitzpatrick |date=30 October 2009 |website=Lifehacker |access-date=15 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115110900/http://lifehacker.com/5393227/turbo-charge-your-new-xbmc-installation |archive-date=15 January 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Under Microsoft Windows, Kodi supports Directsound and WASAPI; since [[WASAPI]] performs no mixing or resampling, it provides best audio quality.

====Format support====
Kodi can be used to play/view all common multimedia formats through its native clients and parsers. It can decode these audio and video formats in software or hardware, and optionally pass-through [[Dolby Digital|AC3]]/[[DTS Coherent Acoustics|DTS]] audio, or encode to AC3 in real time from movies directly to [[S/PDIF]] digital output to an external audio-[[Audio amplifier|amplifier]]/[[Audio receiver#Hi-Fi / Home theater|receiver]] for decoding.<ref name="XBMC is the best media center application. Period." />

===Addons Manager, addons and plugins===
Kodi features several open [[Application programming interface|APIs]] to enable [[third-party developer]]s to create capabilities which extend Kodi with a multitude of [[Plug-in (computing)|addons]], such as audio and video streaming plugins for online sources, screensavers, skins and themes, visualizations, weather forecasts, web interfaces, web scrapers, widget scripts, and more. Kodi developers encourage users to make and submit their own addons to expand media content and [[value-added service]]s accessible from within Kodi.

Kodi/XBMC features, since version 10.0 (codename: "Dharma"), an Addons Framework architecture and an Addons Manager GUI client that connects to a [[decentralized]] [[digital distribution]] service [[Platform (computing)|platform]] that serves add-on apps and [[Plug-in (computing)|plug-ins]] which among other things provide online content to Kodi, the "Addons Manager" (or "Addons Browser") inside Kodi allows users to browse and download new addons directly from Kodi's GUI.

Many of these online content sources are in [[over-the-top content]] high definition services and use video streaming site as sources for the media content that is offered. Kodi has extensibility and integration with online sources for free and premium streaming content, and offers content from everything from commercial video to free educational programming, and media from individuals and small businesses. Not all content sources on add-ons are available in every country, however. Due to rights agreements, many content sources are geo-restricted to prevent users in outside countries from accessing content, although some have taken to bypassing the regional restrictions in order to unblock these sources, disregarding the usage rights.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://wtvpc.com/unblock-kodi-tv-add-ons/ |title=How To Unblock Kodi TV Add-Ons {{!}} wTVPC |website=wtvpc.com |access-date=6 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160912074402/http://wtvpc.com/unblock-kodi-tv-add-ons/ |archive-date=12 September 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Plugins and scripts====
Kodi features an integrated Python Scripts interpreter for addon extensions, and WindowXML [[application framework]] (a XML-based [[widget toolkit]] engine for creating a GUI for apps and [[widget (computing)|widgets]]) in a similar fashion to Apple macOS [[Dashboard (macOS)|Dashboard Widgets]] and [[Microsoft Gadgets]]. Python widget scripts allow normal users to add new functionality to Kodi themselves, using Python scripting language. Current [[plug-in (computing)|plugin]] scripts include functions like [[Internet television|Internet-TV]] and [[trailer (film)|movie-trailer]] browsers, cinemaguides, weather forecast, [[over-the-top content]] video streaming services like YouTube, [[BBC iPlayer]], [[Hulu]], [[Netflix]], [[Veoh]], [[MLB.tv]], Internet-radio-station browsers such as Pandora Radio, online picture sharing sites like [[Flickr]], TV guides such as [[TVShow Time]], e-mail clients, [[instant messaging]], different timetables, [[home automation]] scripts to [[Front-end and back-end|front-end]] control PVR software and hardware, [[Peer-to-peer|P2P]] file-sharing downloaders ([[BitTorrent]]), [[Internet Relay Chat|IRC]], also [[casual game]]s such as ''[[Tetris]]''.<ref name="XBMC is the best media center application. Period." /><ref name="XBMC 9.04 delivers impressive media center experience" />

====Metadata extraction and web scrapers====
Kodi has the built-in optional function to automatically download [[metadata]] information, [[cover art]] and other related media artwork online through its [[web scraping|web scrapers]] that looks for media in the user's audio and video folders and their sub-directories. These "scrapers" are used as [[Importer (computing)|importers]] to obtain detailed information from various Internet resources about movies and television shows. It can get synopses, reviews, movie posters, titles, genre classification, and other similar data. XBMCGUI then provides a rich display for audio and video files that the scrapers have identified.

Scrapers use sites like The Movie Database (TMDb) or [[IMDb.com]] to obtain [[thumbnails]] and information on movies, [[TheTVDB|thetvdb.com]] for TV show posters and episode plots, [[CDDB]] for audio CD track listings, and [[Allmusic|Allmusic (AMG)]] and [[MusicBrainz]] for album [[thumbnails]], reviews, and metadata.

Fanart.tv has been added to the list of information sources and XBMC can use it to retrieve logos, backgrounds, CDs with transparent backgrounds, album covers and banners among other image types for music artists, TV shows and movies, the popularity of which contributed to XBMC being able to handle new image types.

===Skins and themes===
Like the majority of applications that originated from a '[[homebrew (video games)|homebrew]]' scene, modification and customization of the interface using [[skin (computing)|skin]]s is very popular among Kodi users and hundreds of skins and themes are available for users to install. The Kodi skinning engine's flexibility is also advantageous to third parties wanting to create derivative works, as it facilitates rebranding the environment and making deeper changes to the look and feel of the user interface.

As of Kodi version 17, the official default skins for new installs are "Estuary", for typical [[Home theater PC|home-theater]] usage, and "Estouchy" for [[touchscreen]]s.  These newly designed skins replace the longtime default skin "Confluence", and are intended to present more content on the homescreen, be easier for new users, and bring "Kodi into the present day of UI design."

Users can also create their own skin (or simply modify an existing skin) and share it with others via public websites that are used for Kodi skin trading and development. Many such third-party skins exist that are well maintained by the community, and while some skins are originals with unique designs, most begin as a clone or an exact replica of other multimedia software interfaces, such as [[Apple Front Row]], [[Windows XP Media Center Edition|Windows Media Center Edition]] (MCE), MediaPortal, [[Wii Menu|Wii Channel Menu (Xii)]], [[Xbox 360#Software|Xbox 360 interface]], and others.<ref name="Customize XBMC with These Five Awesome Skins">{{Cite web |url=http://lifehacker.com/5198009/customize-xbmc-with-these-five-awesome-skins |title=Customize XBMC with These Five Awesome Skins |last=Jason Fitzpatrick |date=5 April 2009 |website=Lifehacker |access-date=15 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204125706/https://lifehacker.com/5198009/customize-xbmc-with-these-five-awesome-skins |archive-date=4 December 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In addition to skins and themes users can create a themed package called a 'build'. Within this package homebrew developers are able to distribute a skin and multiple addons. The delivery mechanism used within the Kodi scene is called a wizard with the Replicant Wizard<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://replicant.run/signup |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190714220633/http://replicant.run/signup |url-status=dead |archive-date=2019-07-14 |title=Replicant Wizard - Register}}</ref> being the most prominent.

===Web Interfaces===
Web Interface addons for Kodi normally allow browsing a media library remotely, to handle music playlists from a computer instead of television. Others allow remotely controlling the navigation of XBMC like a remote for [[Touchscreen remote control|remote controlling]] of an installed and concurrently active Kodi session running on a computer if it runs on an internet tablet or similar device with a touch interface. Others act like a media manager to allow modifying metadata and artwork in XBMC's video and music libraries.

===Application launcher===
Kodi has a "My Programs" section which is meant to function as an application launcher for third-party [[application software|software]] such as computer games and [[List of emulators|video game emulator]]s, all from a [[GUI]] with [[thumbnail]] and different listings options. However, while this feature was fully functioning on the Xbox version of XBMC, it is still in its infant stage on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows, thus requiring third-party launcher plugins to function properly.<ref name="Review of XBMC in Hardcore Gamer Magazine" />