If we have a good collection of movies and music on the PC, it could be a really good idea to install Kodi, a very popular program that allows you to manage all the contents in a very comfortable way.
We have already written in another article on how with Kodi every PC becomes a media player even for TV, also pointing out the fact that Kodi can access live web TV and streaming content thanks to its numerous add-ons.
If, therefore, you like the idea of having a unique program to manage the entire collection of films and music, which is also optimized for use by connecting the PC to the TV, perhaps with a wireless keyboard or a remote control and which is also in able to see streaming content, then you need to read this basic Kodi guide, to know how to install the software, how to navigate through the menus and folders, how to do the initial configuration and how to solve any problems.
What is Kodi "> Media Center for PC, initially known as Xbox Media Center or XBMC.
The most significant strength of Kodi is the fact that it is open source and that it is not a profit-making software for some companies.
Kodi development is kept active by a community of programmers and developers who make changes to the code and add new features every time through add-ons.
Kodi does not provide content, but is a video and audio file manager.
This is important to know because if you don't have videos and music on your computer, Kodi remains an empty box, especially if you don't add content repositories and add-ons.
In addition, the customization and initial configuration of Kodi requires some effort, which will still be well rewarded by the enormous functionality of this software.
Keep in mind that if you wanted an easier program to use and had no interest in adding repositories and streaming content, there are several very valid alternatives to Kodi such as Plex.
How to install Kodi
Kodi is available for free on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android (mobile and TV), iOS and Raspberry Pi.
You can download Kodi from the official website where all the download links are located.
On Windows you can install it both as a program and as an app, Kodi for Android can be downloaded from the store while on iPhone and iPad the installation is more complicated because it is not available on the Apple Store (you need to follow a separate guide).
First start of Kodi
The first start of Kodi may leave you banned, because there is no guided configuration menu and no suggestions on how to use it.
On the left side of the screen, there are shortcuts for all the different categories of multimedia content: movies, TV series, music, music videos, TV, radio, add-ons, images, videos, favorites, weather.
If you see Kodi in English, you must set the Italian language by pressing the gear button to enter the settings, then go to Interface Settings and change the language in the regional settings.
In Settings> Skin Settings you can instead change and remove the category items on the home page, to make the list shorter.
In addition, the program starts full screen by default, if you want it to open in a window instead, you have to go to Settings> System settings and change the Display mode by putting " in window ".
Check Kodi
You can control Kodi with the mouse or with the keyboard which is simpler.
With the mouse you just have to take into account that the right mouse button has the "go back" function.
There are more than 100 different keyboard shortcuts that can be used and the main rods are:
- F9 or -: volume down
- F10 or +: volume up
- Space bar or P: play / pause
- X: Stop
- F: Fast forward
- A: Rewind
- Left arrow: jump back 30 seconds
- Right arrow: jump forward 30 seconds
- I: shows information about the video currently playing
- T: activate or deactivate the subtitles
These combinations can also be modified with an add-on "Keymap Editor" or, for the more experienced, by editing the userdata file.
Adding content to Kodi: Videos, Music and Photos.
- Adding videos to Kodi
Although Kodi is an extremely powerful app on which expert users can enjoy special and very varied tricks and functions, for the vast majority of people, Kodi is mainly used to watch videos.
To enjoy Kodi as a Media Player, first of all, prepare the video files and let Kodi automatically download the metadata to describe them: illustrations, posters, summaries, descriptions and other information on the season number, number of episodes, actors, directors and so on.
Organizing video files means placing them in a specific folder structure on the PC and renaming the files in a certain way.
So, for a TV series, the files for each episode must be in the Series / Season X Title folder.
Each episode must have a name like S05E02 to say season 5 episode 2.
The specials should be placed in the following folder structure: / Series Name / Specials / .
Movie files can be saved as standalone files or saved in a folder called Movies with the name Movie Name (Year) .
In Kodi, press on the Movie or TV Series section and then select File and Add Video to add the video source, that is the folder where the movies or TV series are.
When adding the source, press on Set content and tell Kodi if it is a film or TV series or other, so that you can give it an input to search for information and metadata.
After the scan, the main page of Kodi in the Film section is populated with the posters of the various contents and a sort of really convenient video library will be created for choosing what you want to see.
- Add music to Kodi
Also for the music you have to select the folder that acts as the source and let Kodi create the metadata to find the songs according to the artist or genre.
However, the music files should be organized on the PC with a folder structure of this type: Artist> Album> title .
If we weren't organized yet, you can use programs to rename MP3, manage music tags on PCs like Musicbrainz.
Adding the music collection to Kodi, if organized by artist and album, will be like leafing through the CD covers and it becomes very easy to create Playlists.
- Add photo collection
Adding photos and images to Kodi requires much less preparation and you just need to add the folder with photos on your PC as a source.
Kodi offers some features to make viewing images more enjoyable, viewing them with a random scrolling presentation or in other ways.
Use Add-ons and Repositories
The functions of Kodi can be increased dramatically through the Add-ons, the add-ons.
To install an add-on you must first add the repository, which is a list of addons.
Kodi offers an official repository, already included in the installation, but there are many others around the internet with add-ons of all kinds.
Of these some are legal, others are not at all because they enable Kodi to display copyrighted content and are often removed by the authorities.
However, to explore the official repository from the Kodi app, you have to go to the left side of the main screen, press on Add-on and then on Download, always on the left side.
In the list of categories, you can click on each of them to see what is available.
By clicking on an add-on you will see the card with the description and the button to install.
In the Video section, for example, there are add-ons to watch different TV channels that are freely available for viewing via the web.
If you find a new repository other than the official one, with other add-ons to add, you must first of all open the Kodi settings, in the System Settings> Addon section and activate Unknown Sources.
The repositories are downloaded as ZIP files that can be installed in Kodi by going to the Addon screen, then pressing the box icon in the upper left.
You must then press Install from Zip file that will be selected using Windows Explorer.
You can also install a single addon inside a repository, choosing to install from Repository instead of from ZIP file.
In the next screen you will see the list of addons and you can select the one to add to Kodi.
This guide should be enough to make everyone able to run the Kodi program and make the initial configuration, then leaving the user the search for more advanced guides, especially in the search for repositories and addons, which are constantly evolving.
READ ALSO: Control Kodi remotely with your smartphone
We have already written in another article on how with Kodi every PC becomes a media player even for TV, also pointing out the fact that Kodi can access live web TV and streaming content thanks to its numerous add-ons.
If, therefore, you like the idea of having a unique program to manage the entire collection of films and music, which is also optimized for use by connecting the PC to the TV, perhaps with a wireless keyboard or a remote control and which is also in able to see streaming content, then you need to read this basic Kodi guide, to know how to install the software, how to navigate through the menus and folders, how to do the initial configuration and how to solve any problems.
What is Kodi "> Media Center for PC, initially known as Xbox Media Center or XBMC.
The most significant strength of Kodi is the fact that it is open source and that it is not a profit-making software for some companies.
Kodi development is kept active by a community of programmers and developers who make changes to the code and add new features every time through add-ons.
Kodi does not provide content, but is a video and audio file manager.
This is important to know because if you don't have videos and music on your computer, Kodi remains an empty box, especially if you don't add content repositories and add-ons.
In addition, the customization and initial configuration of Kodi requires some effort, which will still be well rewarded by the enormous functionality of this software.
Keep in mind that if you wanted an easier program to use and had no interest in adding repositories and streaming content, there are several very valid alternatives to Kodi such as Plex.
How to install Kodi
Kodi is available for free on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android (mobile and TV), iOS and Raspberry Pi.
You can download Kodi from the official website where all the download links are located.
On Windows you can install it both as a program and as an app, Kodi for Android can be downloaded from the store while on iPhone and iPad the installation is more complicated because it is not available on the Apple Store (you need to follow a separate guide).
First start of Kodi
The first start of Kodi may leave you banned, because there is no guided configuration menu and no suggestions on how to use it.
On the left side of the screen, there are shortcuts for all the different categories of multimedia content: movies, TV series, music, music videos, TV, radio, add-ons, images, videos, favorites, weather.
If you see Kodi in English, you must set the Italian language by pressing the gear button to enter the settings, then go to Interface Settings and change the language in the regional settings.
In Settings> Skin Settings you can instead change and remove the category items on the home page, to make the list shorter.
In addition, the program starts full screen by default, if you want it to open in a window instead, you have to go to Settings> System settings and change the Display mode by putting " in window ".
Check Kodi
You can control Kodi with the mouse or with the keyboard which is simpler.
With the mouse you just have to take into account that the right mouse button has the "go back" function.
There are more than 100 different keyboard shortcuts that can be used and the main rods are:
- F9 or -: volume down
- F10 or +: volume up
- Space bar or P: play / pause
- X: Stop
- F: Fast forward
- A: Rewind
- Left arrow: jump back 30 seconds
- Right arrow: jump forward 30 seconds
- I: shows information about the video currently playing
- T: activate or deactivate the subtitles
These combinations can also be modified with an add-on "Keymap Editor" or, for the more experienced, by editing the userdata file.
Adding content to Kodi: Videos, Music and Photos.
- Adding videos to Kodi
Although Kodi is an extremely powerful app on which expert users can enjoy special and very varied tricks and functions, for the vast majority of people, Kodi is mainly used to watch videos.
To enjoy Kodi as a Media Player, first of all, prepare the video files and let Kodi automatically download the metadata to describe them: illustrations, posters, summaries, descriptions and other information on the season number, number of episodes, actors, directors and so on.
Organizing video files means placing them in a specific folder structure on the PC and renaming the files in a certain way.
So, for a TV series, the files for each episode must be in the Series / Season X Title folder.
Each episode must have a name like S05E02 to say season 5 episode 2.
The specials should be placed in the following folder structure: / Series Name / Specials / .
Movie files can be saved as standalone files or saved in a folder called Movies with the name Movie Name (Year) .
In Kodi, press on the Movie or TV Series section and then select File and Add Video to add the video source, that is the folder where the movies or TV series are.
When adding the source, press on Set content and tell Kodi if it is a film or TV series or other, so that you can give it an input to search for information and metadata.
After the scan, the main page of Kodi in the Film section is populated with the posters of the various contents and a sort of really convenient video library will be created for choosing what you want to see.
- Add music to Kodi
Also for the music you have to select the folder that acts as the source and let Kodi create the metadata to find the songs according to the artist or genre.
However, the music files should be organized on the PC with a folder structure of this type: Artist> Album> title .
If we weren't organized yet, you can use programs to rename MP3, manage music tags on PCs like Musicbrainz.
Adding the music collection to Kodi, if organized by artist and album, will be like leafing through the CD covers and it becomes very easy to create Playlists.
- Add photo collection
Adding photos and images to Kodi requires much less preparation and you just need to add the folder with photos on your PC as a source.
Kodi offers some features to make viewing images more enjoyable, viewing them with a random scrolling presentation or in other ways.
Use Add-ons and Repositories
The functions of Kodi can be increased dramatically through the Add-ons, the add-ons.
To install an add-on you must first add the repository, which is a list of addons.
Kodi offers an official repository, already included in the installation, but there are many others around the internet with add-ons of all kinds.
Of these some are legal, others are not at all because they enable Kodi to display copyrighted content and are often removed by the authorities.
However, to explore the official repository from the Kodi app, you have to go to the left side of the main screen, press on Add-on and then on Download, always on the left side.
In the list of categories, you can click on each of them to see what is available.
By clicking on an add-on you will see the card with the description and the button to install.
In the Video section, for example, there are add-ons to watch different TV channels that are freely available for viewing via the web.
If you find a new repository other than the official one, with other add-ons to add, you must first of all open the Kodi settings, in the System Settings> Addon section and activate Unknown Sources.
The repositories are downloaded as ZIP files that can be installed in Kodi by going to the Addon screen, then pressing the box icon in the upper left.
You must then press Install from Zip file that will be selected using Windows Explorer.
You can also install a single addon inside a repository, choosing to install from Repository instead of from ZIP file.
In the next screen you will see the list of addons and you can select the one to add to Kodi.
This guide should be enough to make everyone able to run the Kodi program and make the initial configuration, then leaving the user the search for more advanced guides, especially in the search for repositories and addons, which are constantly evolving.
READ ALSO: Control Kodi remotely with your smartphone
