How to install and use Kodi on Android: our complete guide

Before attacking the tutorial, we will see together what Kodi is and what it allows.

Kodi, what is it?

kodi (on time XBMC) is a free media player. Created for the first Xbox, it is the successor to the Xbox media player. However, the development team later ported the software to run natively on GNU/Linux, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows. android and iOS. As a media center, Kodi can play most audio and video file formats and display images from any source. It also gives you the opportunity to: play video streams or podcasts thanks to the inclusion of the add-on.

Here is the list of formats Kodi can read (and yes, there are many):

• physical environment : CD, DVD, Video CD (including DVD-Video, VCD/SVCD and Audio-CD/CDDA)
• Extension formats : AVI, MPEG, WMV, ASF, FLV, MKV, MOV, MP4, M4A, AAC, NUT, Ogg, OGM, RealMediaRAM/RM/RV/RA/RMVB, 3gp, VIVO, PVA, NUV, NSV, NSA, FLI , FLC and DVR-MS (beta support)
• video size : MPEG-1, MPEG-2, H.263, MPEG-4 SP and ASP, MPEG-4 AVC (H.264), HuffYUV, Indeo, MJPEG, RealVideo, QuickTime, Sorenson, WMV, Cinepak
• Audio formats : AIFF, WAV/WAVE, MP2, MP3, AAC, AACplus, AC3, DTS, ALAC, AMR, FLAC, Monkey’s Audio (APE), RealAudio, SHN, WavPack, MPC/Musepack/Mpeg+, Speech, Vorbis and WMA.
• Photo/image formats : BMP, JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, MNG, ICO, PCX and Targa/TGA
• Subtitle formats : AQTitle, ASS/SSA, CC, JACOsub, MicroDVD, MPsub, OGM, PJS, RT, SMI, SRT, SUB, VOBsub, VPlayer

However, Kodi is not the easiest software to use, so we present this tutorial to teach you the basics.

How to Install Kodi on Android

There is nothing too complicated here, just use your Android smartphone, tablet or box, all you have to do is go to Play Store and install the app. For example, if you are using it on a computer, there is also a remote control app to manage Kodi from your smartphone.

There you have Kodi installed on your Android device, now let’s move on to using it.

How to use Kodi to play videos?

When launching the app for the first time, it will be in English, here is the procedure to follow to change language.

• press on”gear icon, System”, “interface views”

• Then go to “local”, “language, french”. You will probably have to wait a few seconds and then you will realize that the interface is now in French.

Great for playing a video various formats what can kodi play. Not only can you save a video on the device, but also remotely, SMB, FTP, etc. It is worth noting that you can play. This is a strong point of the app, plus you don’t have to store your videos on your smartphone. . That said, streaming playback is ideal, especially if you have good bandwidth when uploading (sending) and watching videos stored on the go on a NAS or on a computer at home.

• In the main menu: select the type of videos (for example movies), then “add source”.
• If local, i.e. in “browse” on smartphone
• You must select the “Root” or “External Storage” option.
• You can also add a remote resource, such as a NAS or computer.

• When you come back “movies” you will have the source to appear to view the available content
• Here you can access all your videos

Of course there will be manipulation. same for images and music. We will move on to the most interesting topic of Kodi, the possibility of adding add-ons or extensions. This allows many things like adding themes, streaming directoriesradio stations or podcasts, image banks and even youtube videos.

How to Install Addons on Kodi

• Go to “Extensions”

• Select one from the list and click on it to install and “To upload”.
• The download will start automatically, then you just have to wait.
• Note that you can also install a .zip extension manually, to do this you have to go up in the tree structure by clicking on “…”.
• Then “Install From Zip”. Need to be aware of”system / extensionsThe ” unknown source box is checked.

• Click on one of the downloaded extensions and Kodi will install the extension

If the extension is made for playing a stream, you will find it under “Videos” and then “Extensions”. For those related to images or music, it will be in the “Extensions” tab of the respective categories. Others, those related to the appearance or addition of the weather, are found in “Programs” and then “Add-ons”.

To avoid having to download and install extensions one by one, warehouse or warehouse.

How to install a repository on Kodi?

Best known of all is SuperRepo, which has nothing less than that. 2400 extensions, We will take an example. To install you need the address of the repository, here it is ““.

• Go to “System” and then “File Management”
• Press “Add source”
• Add address: where it says “none” write the resource name here “SuperRepo”
• Press OK”

• Now let’s set up the repository. Go to “System”, then “Settings” and “Extensions”.
• As before, press “Install from a zip file”
• Next you will find the “SuperRepo” file, then select “Krypton” which is the current version of Kodi.
• Select the “All” file and then the corresponding zip file, the installation starts
• To access your extensions go to “System”>”Setting”>”Extensions”>”Install from repository”.

• Select “Super Repo All” and you can now access all extensions in the repository sorted by category.

I’m leaving you now browse all extensions and get what you need. For example, if you are interested in a streaming extension, you have to install it through the repository, and then you will find your extension in the main menu in the “Videos” tab, then in “Extensions”. If you don’t know what an extension stands for, I invite you. do a google search before installing.

Kodi: connect to a NAS or a computer

We were able to see how to recover files from your own Android smartphone or tablet. Usage is already the same in all media. We will consider an example of a NAS when you are connected to the local network, here is the procedure to follow.

• For example, “TV series”

• Then direction: “files section“at that time”add a resource” and “browse”

• The most classic way to get through the local network, the network “Windows SMB”, “choose the right network” is “Diskstation” in my case for Synology NAS. In this way, we can of course consider connecting to a computer or another device on the network.

• Next, you must select the directory where the videos are stored. Once selected, confirm by pressing the “ button.Alright“top right.

• Then we find the screen where we can change the name of the resource, by clicking on the “Add” option in the upper right it is possible to add some that will allow us to put other folders to be used for the resource.

• After confirming we find ourselves in new content and a new section opens as we will recover the information of the content we have on the NAS. Connect to a database and type MovieDB.

Kodi: Scraper, content information and images (movies, series, etc.)

Its content is good to see, but better to organize it properly ensuring we have all the information. we will see how to connect a database to receive all information associated with our media, i.e. summaries, images of illustrations, names of actors, etc. This can be especially important for some users, in order to organize the library in the best possible way.

If you haven’t watched the previous episode, it doesn’t matter because you can also go to the source and click “Edit source” after a long press. Then confirm by clicking “OK” at the bottom left. We then find ourselves on a page titled “New content”.

• We go to the “Folder Category”, in my example I will select “TV Series”.

• It seems that we have an information provider, “TVDB” is selected by default. It’s possible to change it, in my example I’ll keep it. Direction then”Settings”.

• It is possible to change some parameters, in my case I am changing the language”cum” and “fan art”. Confirm by pressing “Alright” top right. And press ” againAlright” in the next window.

• Kodi will ask you if you want to change the Analysis mode, you will need to confirm by selecting the “ option.Yes”.

You’ll probably have to wait a bit, depending on the size of your library, the process may take some time. Finally, all the information will be visible whenever you want to watch an episode of your favorite TV show or movie. You will be given the possibility to filter by genres, actors, directors, year… your different content.

Solution

At first glance, Kodi can be relatively easy to use. However, some basic configurations are required to fully use the software. We regret that the publisher did not initially provide a small configuration wizard, at least even mildly to change the language of Anglophobics. Media Center in any case very strong and it’s nice to use every day. On your side, feel free to tell us about Kodi in the comments by sharing your experience.