Live TV on Kodi

Watch live television with Kodi

1. Installing Kodi

You are about to download and install Kodi. On this web page you will find most operating systems download links. For example, versions are available for Windows, Linux, MacOS, Android and even Raspberry Pi. Version 17 of Kodi is just a few days off. In this workshop we still use Kodi 17.4 on Android, but the differences are not very big. First, go to kodi apk download for android page. Choose the desired version and complete the installation. Via Next you accept the license terms. Choose Back Select the type of install for Full. You can complete the installation wizard through Next / Next / Install.

Do you only use a computer as a disguised media player? In that case, the use of OpenELEC is ideal. This is a modest Linux distribution that gives you exclusive access to Kodi. Once you turn on the system, the user interface of this popular media program is ready for you. OpenELEC has low system requirements, so on older systems you can get rid of it. There are also ready-to-use media players with OpenELEC, such as the Eminent EM7580.

2. Language

By default, Kodi always launches in English. Fortunately, a Dutch translation is also available. As we go to the Dutch institutions for the remaining steps in this workshop, you first change the language. For operation, use the mouse, keyboard or appropriate remote control. Go to SYSTEM / Settings / Appearance / International and select Language for Dutch. If it's ok, you'll see that Kodi makes this change straight away.

3. TV Tuner

After you change the language, you can review the remaining settings. For example, you choose Skin for a different theme, so Kodi gets a different touch. Return to the settings menu using the down arrow in the lower right. Does your system have a TV tuner, such as a DVB-T receiver? You can then directly retrieve channels, even if you want to adjust some settings. Navigate to TV / General and highlight Activated. Kodi checks whether pvr services (pvr stands for 'personal video recorder') are activated. That is not the case yet. Click OK to close the window. A list of about twenty pv services will appear that you can use. Here we come back in step 7.

4. NextPVR

You need appropriate software to receive live TV from your TV tuner. Kodi can not do that independently. Instead, Kodi uses add-ons that transfer television channels from a suitable Pvr program to their own interface. So your first concern is to pick up the channels with suitable pvr software. A program that works fine is NextPVR. In the installation wizard, click Next, after which you accept the license terms. Finally, click Install and wait until the installation is complete.

5. Audio and video codecs

For proper operation of NextPVR, you first dive into the settings. Start the pvr program and open the configuration menu. If the settings do not appear automatically, right-click first on the NextPVR icon in the system tray. Then choose Show settings. You first go to the Decoders section. Here you indicate which audio and video codecs you want to watch the broadcasts. In the case of a DVB-t tuner, MainConcept (Broadcast) AVC / H.264 Video Decoder works fine. If you do not know which decoders work for you, try using the default settings first. You can always switch again later.

6. Scan channels

You now bring NextPVR to all available TV channels of the TV tuner. In the settings menu, go to Devices and select your TV tuner. Device Setup opens the device settings. At Country, select Netherlands, so NextPVR traces the correct frequencies when scanning television channels. Then click Scan to start the search. In the case of a DVB-T tuner, all known Dutch television and radio stations will be displayed. For many channels, the term Encrypted is mentioned. For these stations, you need a suitable smartcard from Digitenne. There are also some free channels, namely NPO 1/2/3 and a regional channel. Close all settings windows with OK.

7. NextPVR add-on

You are now using Kodi to watch the television channels. To do this, you need to activate NextPVR's add-on. Go to SYSTEM / Settings / Add-ons / My Add-ons / PVR Clients / NextPVR PVR Client and choose Configure. It is now necessary to establish a link between the NextPVR and Kodi programs. At NextPVR Hostname, enter 127.0.0.1. Confirm with Done. Make sure that the next port number 8866 is filled in with NextPVR Port. The NextPVR PIN will leave you at 0000. Click OK, then click Enable