Kodi - Setup and do's and don'ts...?

[rhinoman]

I hope this is the appropriate place to put this now that Kodi Openelec VM is now included in the latest beta.

 

I've just had a play with the  new beta and installed the Kodi VM to my server. Its a number of firsts for me, my first VM and my first play with Kodi.

 

I've used Plex for years. I had Plex server as a plugin on my old server and have moved to a docker on the new one and its all working wuite well, whether its the move to Docker or x64 or something else it all seems snappier. Plex in my home catalogues and serves 3 Samsung TV's with the app, a Roku2 and a Dune in the "Cinema" (lounge with a projector) and in general most of it works well. Offline sync to the kids ipads and a mate that uses a remote connection etc. the weak link is the Dune in the cinema. While it plays all the HD audio formats thats about as good as it gets. The unsupported plugin lacks... I used to have a HTPC in there running media browser which was a great interface but stable it wasn't, the Dune seemed the best non HTPC solution at the time.

 

Now Kodi...was XBMC, never touched it. Didn't like the fact it created a database per machine and was still a pc solution.

 

Added Kodi to my Unraid this afternoon and installed the plexbmc plugin to see the Plex server and the Amber skin, controlled via an iphone app and I'm running. (Ater some help elsewhere on the forum ) And I'm liking the look. I do have a few questions if anyone is still listening after my ramble...

 

The iphone remote gets "left behind" stalling occasionally is this common? Resources or something else?

 

Is the plexbmc the best performing solution? Would I be better off setting up a dedicated Kodi Server?

 

How much resources do I need to give to the Kodi VM for the best performance? i do have a large video collection (as I expect many of us here have).

 

Is there a video card of choice that supports HD audio or will my old ATI one with HD audio do, its a 5450?

 

Any other tips or recommends?

 

 

 

[steve1977]

The iphone remote gets "left behind" stalling occaisionally is this common? Resources or something else?

 

Is the plexbmc the best performing solution? Would I be better off setting up a dedicated Kodi Server?

 

How much resources do I need to give to the Kodi VM for the best performance? i do have a large video collection (as I expect many of us here have).

 

Is there a video card of choice that supports HD audio or will my old ATI one with HD audio do, its a 5450?

 

Any other tips or recommends?

 

I am a long-term XBMC/Kodi user and prefer it over Plex. It really depends on your needs though. See answers below:

 

1) I agree with your observation on the iphone remote app. The developer is active though and the broader developer community does not feel that there is anything missing. Just post on the Kodi board in the section of the board what you see missing or to be improved and you will get fast replies.

 

2) There is no Kodi server yet unless you count the UPNP solution as server. Kodi cannot transcode If that's what you need, you are stuck with Plex. What I do is a mysql database, which allows me to keep all clients in sync. I don't like transcoding anyways as it reduces video and audio quality.

 

3) Depends what you want to do with Kodi on VM. In general, Kodi is not resource hungry and you should be able to run it on almost any device by now.

 

4) I am not a GPU expert, but would assume yours will work.

[METDeath]

If you don't need transcoding, there are two options for a Kodi "server" a headless server that shares via UPNP (ick), or you use a MySQL/mariaDB docker and stick an advancedsettings.xml file onto each Kodi client on any platform. There are only two drawbacks to a MySQL server that I've found, one is that if your computer boots into Kodi before it pulls an IP and has connection it will show no movies/TV shows, and two you need to be on the same version of Kodi on all your devices, so you can't upgrade super fast if you use an OE machine and are waiting on a stable build.

 

If you need transcoding you can use Plex or Emby, both of which have dockers for unRAID as well as apps for various devices.

 

Not sure if you need transcoding? If you want any of the following, then you do:

Playback of Hi10P H.264 video on a low power device (ARM CPU, typically)

Want to stream your library out to yourself or friends over the internet

Want to easily playback your library on tablets and phones

 

As for your video card question, I use a 5450 in my actual HTPC and my VM in unRAID.

[CHBMB]

There are only two drawbacks to a MySQL server that I've found, one is that if your computer boots into Kodi before it pulls an IP and has connection it will show no movies/TV shows

 

I know that for Openelec there's a setting to delay start until the network is up that solves this issue.  This was in response to this issue that I originally had with a few others a couple of years ago..

[METDeath]

There are only two drawbacks to a MySQL server that I've found, one is that if your computer boots into Kodi before it pulls an IP and has connection it will show no movies/TV shows

 

I know that for Openelec there's a setting to delay start until the network is up that solves this issue.  This was in response to this issue that I originally had with a few others a couple of years ago..

 

Yes, which is why I like it, I run one Windows HTPC (WMC/Kodi), one OE machine, and one that used to be OE got turned into a VM... which once I get it working, is fine.

[Dave001]

I'm using Unraid 6.01, running Emby in a docker, and using Emby for Kodi on all the Kodi clients, so far it's excellent. I had four clients ( 3xHTPC's and a Laptop) streaming 1080p video earlier, smooth as playback, with all the great Kodi features.

[HellDiverUK]

Plex Home Theater is a fork of XBMC, so I see no real reason to use XBMC.  Plex Server and Plex Home Theater is a great combination, and works really well. 

 

I used to run XBMC with the shared database nonsense.  It was unreliable at best. Since I moved to Plex I've never been happier.  I love being able to view my videos over the internet via plex.tv too, that's a really useful feature.

[lionelhutz]

I'm using Unraid 6.01, running Emby in a docker, and using Emby for Kodi on all the Kodi clients, so far it's excellent. I had four clients ( 3xHTPC's and a Laptop) streaming 1080p video earlier, smooth as playback, with all the great Kodi features.

 

I've been running the Emby server and it works quite well. I'd try the Emby docker and use the Emby add-on for your Kodi installs to connect to the server.

[scytherbladez]

I see no real reason to use XBMC Kodi.

 

Live TV & customisation

[BRiT]

I see no real reason to use XBMC Kodi.

 

Live TV & customisation

 

Emby TV seems to be improving exponentially for having LiveTV inside Emby.

[scytherbladez]

Emby TV seems to be improving exponentially for having LiveTV inside Emby.

 

I briefly used it when deciding between mythtv and tvheadend docker. I went with mythtv (tvheadend had issues), but emby don't have a plugin for that.

 

I use a combination of Kodi, Emby and Plex. If only I could combine elements of all 3 together I would be satisfied