View for Linux?

[averyfreeman]

Hi, I just wanted to chime in with a couple other questions / observations:

(using) Linux Mint 19.1.

If you're using Cinnamon, are you using hardware or software rendering? The software rendering mode is a lot slower and could be responsible for your choppiness/image load time issues.

It's also worth mentioning that Mint is kind of a franken-buntu, and neither Mint nor Cinnamon (by extension) have very many contributors or much financial backing.

The big 3 distros that have major corporate backing and share a codebase with enterprise solutions are Debian (Google, Ubuntu, et. al.), Fedora (RedHat) and OpenSUSE (SUSE). KDE and Gnome are the two most mature desktop environments, which consequently have the most contributors (although KDE has more in common with its original codebase than does Gnome, and requires far less memory).

With more money and contributors any of these 3 communities will achieve their development goals more expediently than a small project like Mint. This generally translates into a more reliable platform. Here's some good reading on these subjects:

https://wiki.debian.org/DontBreakDebian

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/companies ... x-distros/

https://www.zdnet.com/article/google-mo ... x-desktop/

I would attach images...but your primitive web forum system does not support it???

You can attach images using a URL, the forum just doesn't support image hosting AFAIK (kind of like Reddit). I usually upload images to my website and link to them, but you could use dropbox, onedrive, google drive, imgur, imgbb, etc.

The tag is [Image]url[/image] or you can use the little picture-looking icon in the bar on top of the editor.

Hope that helps.

[NedS]

so then no company should bother making their own forums then its all on google by someone else?
that page IS the first thing that came up on google and btw, i prefer to stick to the manufactures or software developer sources.
I DID look at other videos and they were years old and looked nothing like what i am using.
u cant just say go to youtube and watch vids and assume that what u see is what the user will see and is the correct usefull vid....every users search results will be different.
there is not other kodi pacakge listed in the list....do i need to add a special repository?

second, does NOT change the fact that SD own instructions were incomplete and inaccurate. SOmehting that was not known to them until now.

After reviewing the situation I can tell you that our instructions are still 100% correct. If you follow Kodi's official installation instructions then you won't get a broken version of Kodi: https://kodi.wiki/view/HOW-TO:Install_Kodi_for_Linux

The Debian package version of Kodi is broken and entirely unsupported. It shouldn't be used by anyone, ever.

I will update our instructions to note that people must install official versions of Kodi.

That is the official version a user will see. It has the logo and all the right things. it is not a fork or anything
There is one other version...Flathub, but it requires 2.5GB of HDD space due to a crap ton of things it downloads to run this flathub thing. and has 0 reviews
This is what Mint users see:

https://imgur.com/YGB7gqo
https://imgur.com/tRBbYtZ
https://imgur.com/KH4pHtb

i did try the steps i that page linked to to install from the "official" PPA and it completely broke things, gave a crap ton of errors and broken packages. least it was a clean install on a test comptuer so easy to wipe and reinstall image.

In the not too distant past I used to be a member of Team Kodi (it's a volunteer organization and no one ever got paid, so I don't consider this a COI). I can assure you, just because a distro packages Kodi, or any given software title, doesn't mean the package maintainers are following the best practices for compiling that software. If the default installation of Kodi on any system results in not even seeing basic python add-ons (at least, the ability to connect to the default kodi.tv add-on repository), then they are breaking core functionality. Even using the built-in library features will likely have problems, as the scraper services (that download all of the metadata for TV shows and movies) are updated as add-ons.

It should be noted that binary add-ons are different than the typical python-based add-ons that most video, service, and other types of add-ons use, and those binary add-ons (PVR, audio encoders, decoders, virtual file systems, and a few others) are installed differently on linux-based systems. However, that shouldn't matter in this case.

All that being said, I apologize for being so harsh and defensive. Regardless of if something is an official version or not, you are correct that this is what a user sees, and what they will expect to work. That is the end result.

I really like the idea of us making a basic "fork" of our own where we simply offer a prepared version of Kodi, using an HDHR icon, with the add-on already installed and all of the other parts of Kodi hidden. For people who have no interest in using the other features of Kodi, and to make it easier for the other platforms out there that are supported via the HDHR Kodi add-on, it might be worth exploring. I might be biased in some ways towards Kodi, due to volunteering there in the past, but I really do believe we can set it up in such a way that most people would find acceptable and easy to use.

For the meantime, I will expand on the instructions for installing the Kodi PPA and double check all of the major distros to make sure they are working with the Kodi PPA. There should be no conflict, as Kodi will often use internal libraries instead of system libraries to avoid such conflicts.

[averyfreeman]

The Debian package version of Kodi is broken and entirely unsupported. It shouldn't be used by anyone, ever.

Good to know, thanks. [s]Do you recommend installing via downloaded release package?[/s]

Edits: Sorry hadn't seen the post above yet.

I'm surprised to hear this, personally. Debian maintainers recommend against installing packages outside what is curated specifically for the OS. That's part of that whole 'don't break Debian' mantra.

Do you have any more information why, or what specifically is broken?

More edits: I just tried the curated package in buster and it worked fine for me. Is there a specific reason you can identify why I should be going against Debian's philosophy?

[averyfreeman]

I really like the idea of us making a basic "fork" of our own where we simply offer a prepared version of Kodi, using an HDHR icon, with the add-on already installed and all of the other parts of Kodi hidden.

Cool idea. What do you think of forking LibreElec and testing a version for Raspberri Pi 3b+? $35 HDHR boxes (that don't inundate users with Amazon ads).

[averyfreeman]

In the not too distant past I used to be a member of Team Kodi (it's a volunteer organization and no one ever got paid, so I don't consider this a COI). I can assure you, just because a distro packages Kodi, or any given software title, doesn't mean the package maintainers are following the best practices for compiling that software. If the default installation of Kodi on any system results in not even seeing basic python add-ons (at least, the ability to connect to the default kodi.tv add-on repository), then they are breaking core functionality. Even using the built-in library features will likely have problems, as the scraper services (that download all of the metadata for TV shows and movies) are updated as add-ons.

I am not sure how long ago you last tried Debian package maintainer's release of Kodi, but I just tried it yesterday in Buster and the default add-on repo connected by default. It was pre-configured.

Setup was so trivial, it was just a matter of
1) install Debian from Netinstall iso (I used KDE)
2) install Kodi from package manager (no additional repo added - not an 'extra', backports, etc. nothing)
3) Enter Kodi and find hdhomerun add-on, click install
4) Watch TV/DVR.

I literally hadn't installed Kodi in over 3 years and I did it without having to consult a single how-to guide or forum thread.

I'm using a VMware Fusion VM on a Hackintoshed Thinkpad T460s w/ 2 cores and 2048MB memory allocated and about 20 Chromium tabs + Libreoffice Calc + Filezilla open in the host OS. Playback not choppy, transport functional and playback smooth, sound worked properly, etc. even in VM.

There might be some addl. codecs (e.g. mpeg2, h.264) that were unavailable since Debian defaults to free-only AFAIK. I will check on this and report back. I was trying to perform the test by implementing as few steps as possible.

[nickk]

[removed - replied to old post]

[averyfreeman]

I use both Mint and Ubuntu myself.

Can you shed some light on why PPA preferable to default maintainer's package? Were the package maintainer's releases broken in the past?

Debian fan, and this: https://wiki.debian.org/DontBreakDebian ... nkenDebian

[NedS]

In the not too distant past I used to be a member of Team Kodi (it's a volunteer organization and no one ever got paid, so I don't consider this a COI). I can assure you, just because a distro packages Kodi, or any given software title, doesn't mean the package maintainers are following the best practices for compiling that software. If the default installation of Kodi on any system results in not even seeing basic python add-ons (at least, the ability to connect to the default kodi.tv add-on repository), then they are breaking core functionality. Even using the built-in library features will likely have problems, as the scraper services (that download all of the metadata for TV shows and movies) are updated as add-ons.

I am not sure how long ago you last tried Debian package maintainer's release of Kodi, but I just tried it yesterday in Buster and the default add-on repo connected by default. It was pre-configured.

Setup was so trivial, it was just a matter of
1) install Debian from Netinstall iso (I used KDE)
2) install Kodi from package manager (no additional repo added - not an 'extra', backports, etc. nothing)
3) Enter Kodi and find hdhomerun add-on, click install
4) Watch TV/DVR.

I literally hadn't installed Kodi in over 3 years and I did it without having to consult a single how-to guide or forum thread.

I'm using a VMware Fusion VM on a Hackintoshed Thinkpad T460s w/ 2 cores and 2048MB memory allocated and about 20 Chromium tabs + Libreoffice Calc + Filezilla open in the host OS. Playback not choppy, transport functional and playback smooth, sound worked properly, etc. even in VM.

There might be some addl. codecs (e.g. mpeg2, h.264) that were unavailable since Debian defaults to free-only AFAIK. I will check on this and report back. I was trying to perform the test by implementing as few steps as possible.

That's fantastic news.

[speedingcheetah]

Yes I agree, I had the same problem when I set up kodi on Linux mint.. No add-ons present. so I went to youtube and searched kodi on Linux mint. that's when I discovered you had to install the kodi repositories, then it showed up..

my point was that there are thousands of resources at your fingertips. when one instruction doesn't work search for another. between youtube and google search you can probably learn as much as someone with a degree.

my job is basic IT for a company that is heavily managed at HQ level and only gives my basic permissions. When a problem comes up in the network or on a computer that I cannot figure out, I go to google. when I cant find it there, then I escalate higher to HQ level. 90% of fixes can be found on Google.

so then no company should bother making their own forums then its all on google by someone else?
that page IS the first thing that came up on google and btw, i prefer to stick to the manufactures or software developer sources.
I DID look at other videos and they were years old and looked nothing like what i am using.
u cant just say go to youtube and watch vids and assume that what u see is what the user will see and is the correct usefull vid....every users search results will be different.
there is not other kodi pacakge listed in the list....do i need to add a special repository?

Edit: NEver mind. I switched to beta?nighlty build PPA and that install a version that shows the Install from Repository option.

second, does NOT change the fact that SD own instructions were incomplete and inaccurate. SOmehting that was not known to them until now.

After reviewing the situation I can tell you that our instructions are still 100% correct. If you follow Kodi's official installation instructions then you won't get a broken version of Kodi: https://kodi.wiki/view/HOW-TO:Install_Kodi_for_Linux

The Debian package version of Kodi is broken and entirely unsupported. It shouldn't be used by anyone, ever.

Fresh install of Mint 19.2. I installed Kodi via the instructions on the kodi site.....it has installed the Debian version i have noticed as it says Debian after the logo on the main page......and there is NO button in settings like in your video on how to install the HDHOMERUN app. I followed the instructions exactly ...and this is what I have.

I cant post screen shots to show u..

How do i purge this version of Kodi, and install the correct version that has the web add on browser?

[averyfreeman]

I cant post screen shots to show u..

FAQ How to use imgur for forums - BBCode info at bottom:

https://help.imgur.com/hc/en-us/article ... rum-Users-

[thomasj]

I am getting so disgusted with the HD viewer for Kodi. This is all I have to view my programs on my android TV device. The HD app for Kodi v17 Is an old design and almost worthless. The reason I'm stuck with Kodi v17 is because for some reason, the Kodi repository doesn't have the v18 upgrade for me and reports that I am on the current version. The Guide for the Kodi version only shows the channel list on the side of the on-air view is very inaccurate, recording the wrong shows, and is an hour off and sometimes even shows the wrong day's line-up, This is what I had to pay $35 for? There is no grid view for channel lineup and the show deletion function is buggy. So when they say use Codi for the HD app, Don't bother. There is no reason that they can't be programming their app for different computer OSes in a language like Java that is across platform capable. The only thing left to say is that I'm glad I am running Plex also as backup.

[rpcameron]

I am getting so disgusted with the HD viewer for Kodi. This is all I have to view my programs on my android TV device. The HD app for Kodi v17 Is an old design and almost worthless. The reason I'm stuck with Kodi v17 is because for some reason, the Kodi repository doesn't have the v18 upgrade for me and reports that I am on the current version. The Guide for the Kodi version only shows the channel list on the side of the on-air view is very inaccurate, recording the wrong shows, and is an hour off and sometimes even shows the wrong day's line-up, This is what I had to pay $35 for? There is no grid view for channel lineup and the show deletion function is buggy. So when they say use Codi for the HD app, Don't bother. There is no reason that they can't be programming their app for different computer OSes in a language like Java that is across platform capable. The only thing left to say is that I'm glad I am running Plex also as backup.

Kodi upgrades aren't kept in Kodi's repositories accessible in the app. For Linux installations, Kodi is managed through your distro's package manager. If you do not like the Kodi HDHomeRun video plugin, then you can use one of the PVR clients for HDHomeRun (which are also installed from your distro's package manager).

If you are not using a full Linux distro (like Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, etc.), but rather an appliance-like image such OpenELEC, then you should check your provider's website for updated images that include Kodi 18.

Also, Kodi does maintain previous and current versions pre-compiled for other supported platforms (other than Linux) at https://mirrors.kodi.tv/releases/ . The current version for all platforms with pre-compiled binaries can be found at https://kodi.tv/download .

[nickk]

I am getting so disgusted with the HD viewer for Kodi. This is all I have to view my programs on my android TV device.

On Android you can use the HDHomeRun app.

No problem running Kodi on Linux and the HDHomeRun app on Android - they will both control the DVR and reflect changes made by either app.

The Guide for the Kodi version only shows the channel list on the side of the on-air view is very inaccurate, recording the wrong shows, and is an hour off and sometimes even shows the wrong day's line-up

That suggests a problem with the TV guide - happy to help. We have a support forum for any guide issues here:
viewforum.php?f=127

If the problem is the wrong channel mapping we can usually fix it right away. If the problem is with our guide provider will ask them to fix it.

There is no reason that they can't be programming their app for different computer OSes in a language like Java that is across platform capable.

Most of the client is cross platform, using cross-platform React for UI operations and cross-platform C for low level player operations. The layer that connects the two is custom for each platform in order to support hardware acceleration of video decode, digital audio passthrough, and any platform unique quirks. Open to interesting technical solutions however using Java wouldn't help with any of the three layers.

Nick