KODI MEDIA CENTER GUIDE

Transcription

1 KODI MEDIA CENTER GUIDE FOR KANGAROO USERS

2 Table of Contents 1. Disclaimer Introduction to Kodi Installing and Uninstalling Kodi on Your Kangaroo... 3 Installing Kodi on your Kangaroo... 3 Uninstalling Kodi Setting up Kodi to Start Automatically with Windows... 4 Bypassing the Windows login screen... 4 Configuring Kodi to Launch Automatically at Startup Using Task Scheduler... 4 Using Launcehr4Kodi Application... 5 Disabling Automatic Launch at Startup Using Task Scheduler Using Launcher4Kodi Using a Smartphone to Remotely Control Kodi... 7 Setting up Kangaroo for remote control access Installing the Bonjour Print Service Setting up Kodi for remote control Using an ios device as remote control for Kodi Using an Android device as the remote control Using a Hardware Remote Control Microsoft MCE compatible remote Flirc Universal Remote Receiver Installing the Receiver and Driver Configuring Flirc for Your Remote Control Using Add-ons Installing the TED Talks Add-On Installing YouTube Add-on Sign-in to YouTube Using Third-party Add-ons Installing Addon Installer How to use Addon Installer Disclaimer Kodi (formerly XBMC) is the sole trademark of XBMC foundation. The publication of this guide is intended for entertainment purposes only, and has no commercial value. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by InFocus. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of InFocus, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. 2

3 2. Introduction to Kodi Kodi is an award-winning free and open source (GPL) software media center for playing videos, music, pictures, games, and more. Kodi runs on Linux, OS X, Windows, ios, and Android, featuring a 10-foot user interface for use with televisions and remote controls. It allows users to play and view most videos, music, podcasts, and other digital media files from local and network storage media and the internet. Kodi also has its own designated user forums and Wiki, which are bursting with knowledge and help for new users and application developers. 3. Installing and Uninstalling Kodi on Your Kangaroo Installing Kodi on your Kangaroo a) Download the Windows Installer package from the Kodi website: as below: b) Upon completion of the download (~80MB), launch the installation package and follow instructions the onscreen instructions. Uninstalling Kodi a) Click Start > Settings > System > Apps & features. b) Locate and select the Kodi application and click Uninstall. Please Note: Section 4.2 of this guide describes procedures for configuring Kodi to launch automatically at computer startup. If you ve configured Kodi to launch automatically, you must first disable this feature before uninstalling. 3

4 4. Setting up Kodi to Start Automatically with Windows Kangaroo with Kodi is an excellent tool for enjoying media content on large screens, but configuring certain features can sometimes be challenging. In this section we explain how to launch the application automatically at startup. The default method is to launch the application manually after logging into Windows. However, if your using your Kangaroo system primarily for the purpose of delivering media content, then you may benefit from one of these options. Please Note: If you configure your system launch Kodi automatically at startup and later have a need to uninstall the application, then you must first disable this feature before uninstalling. Bypassing the Windows login screen a) Right-click on the Start menu and click Run. b) Type NETPLWIZ and press [ENTER] c) At the User Accounts dialog, select the account you wish to use, and uncheck Users must enter a username and password to use this computer, and click OK. d) You will be prompted to enter and confirm the password for the selected account. Configuring Kodi to Launch Automatically at Startup. There are two methods which may be used to launch Kodi automatically at system startup. The first method, and the simplest of the two, is by using Task Scheduler; the other method would be to use the launcher tool, Launcher4Kodi, designed specifically for Kodi, as your Windows shell. Using Task Scheduler a) Right-click on the Start menu and select Run. b) Type TASKSCHD.MSC and press [ENTER]. c) From within the Task Scheduler application, click Create Basic Task. d) Enter a name for the task (such as Kodi or Kodi startup) then click Next. 4

5 e) Define the desired trigger by selecting When I log on and click Next. f) In the Action dialog, select Start a program and click Next to proceed. g) Click Browse button to show Open File dialog. h) Then navigate to This PC > C:\ > Program Files (x86) > Kodi, select Kodi.exe, and click Open. i) Clicking Next will bring you to the task summary, then click Finish. j) The Task Scheduler will display your newly created task; close the task scheduler and you re done. Using Launcher4Kodi Application Launcher4Kodi is powerful shell tool Windows Explorer as the default Windows Shell, so that you can use Kodi more seamlessly. Setting up this tool is somewhat tricky, but if you intend to use your Kangaroo system primarily for delivering entertainment content, then it s well worth it. a) Open Web browser and visit b) Download Launch4Kodi_V1.1.exe from dropbox.com, as below. 5

6 c) Once the file is downloaded, execute the file and complete setup. d) No special customizations required during setup, so just click Next and select the default installation options. e) Upon completion allow Kodi to launch automatically and you ll be presented with the screen below: f) In Lancher4Kodi Settings GUI window, check the two options to start Kodi when Windows starts and windows resumes from Sleep. g) Click Shell tab and select Launcher4Kodi. This designates Kodi as the shell for Windows. h) Close the Launcher4Kodi Settings GUI window. i) Restart Windows and verify Launcher4Kodi is your default shell program. Disabling Automatic Launch at Startup Using Task Scheduler 6

7 a) Open Task Scheduler as described in the previous section. b) Choose task to delete, then click Delete from Actions in the right. c) Click Yes from the dialog Using Launcher4Kodi a) Go to Windows home screen (if you are in Kodi screen, exit from Kodi). b) In the Tray icons click icon (to Show hidden icons). c) Locate the Launcher4Kodi icon, right-click and select Exit. d) To complete the operation, you will need to uninstall the Launcher4Kodi app. e) Click Start > Settings > System > Apps & Features. f) Locate the Launcher4Kodi application and click Uninstall. 5. Using a Smartphone to Remotely Control Kodi To use Kangaroo with your TV, you need a means by which to control Kodi from a distance. A wireless or Bluetooth mouse can be used, but you may use also your (ios or Android) smartphone as a remote as well. There are several smartphone apps work with Kodi over Wi-Fi, however, for the purposes of this guide we ve chosen an app which is known and supported by the Kodi Development Community. 7

8 Note: Controlling Kodi over WiFi requires that both Host and Remote systems (i.e., your Kangaroo PC running Kodi, and your smartphone/tablet) be connected to the same Wi-Fi router. Setting up Kangaroo for remote control access To use Kodi remote app, you ll first need install the Bonjour Print Service on your Kangaroo PC. Note: If you have installed Apple itunes in your Kangaroo PC, you can skip this step Installing the Bonjour Print Service a) Open your Web browser and download the Bonjour Print Service from b) After downloading is complete, launch the file and follow the onscreen installation instructions Setting up Kodi for remote control a) Launch Kodi and select the SYSTEM menu, and select Services. b) Under the Web server settings, turn on Allow remote control via HTTP option. c) In Remote control settings, turn on two options, Allow remote control by programs on this system and Allow remote control by programs on other systems. d) In Zeroconf settings, turn on Announce services to other systems. 8

9 Using an ios device as remote control for Kodi Note: Kodi must be actively running on your Kangaroo PC and attached to the same Wireless network as your IOS device prior to commencing the below procedure. a) Open App Store in your ios device, search for and install Kore, Official remote app for Kodi. a) Open the app, and tap Add Host at the bottom of the screen. b) Tap Find Kodi to search for your Kangaroo PC. Once displayed in Description area, tap Save and you re done. c) Tap the name of your Kangaroo PC host and the main menu will be displayed as below Using an Android device as the remote control Note: Kodi must be actively running on your Kangaroo PC and attached to the same Wireless network as your Android device prior to commencing the below procedure. b) Open the Google Play Store on your Android device, search for and install Kore, Official remote app for Kodi. c) Tap Next> to search for your Kangaroo PC. Once displayed, tap it to connect. 9

10 d) Upon successfully connecting to Kodi on your Kangaroo PC it will display the message, All Done. e) Tap Finish to see the main menu of the app. 6. Using a Hardware Remote Control Kodi was originally developed as a multimedia application for Microsoft XBox (its original name, XBMC, stands for XBox Media Center). Thus it was naturally designed for control by hardware remote. When running Kodi on a Windows PC such as Kangaroo, you need a hardware remote control receiver. Most of remote control for Kodi is using infrared (IR) technology, but there are remote controls using RF (wireless) or Bluetooth technology. An extensive list of remote controls for Kodi can be found in this Wiki page. We ll describe two of them here. Microsoft MCE compatible remote These remote controls are compatible with Microsoft Media Center Edition (MCE). MCE itself has been discontinued, however there remains a large number of remote controls and receivers on the market which are compatible with MCE. Flirc Universal Remote Receiver Flirc is a IR based remote control receiver. It s capable of receiving signals from most IR remote controls can be configured to map a remote control s buttons to control functions within a variety of applications, including Kodi. With that in mind, if you already own an IR based remote control, you may consider using Flirc to control Kodi on your Kangaroo PC. If you do not own an IR remote control and would like more information, you can visit the Flirc website for details on products and availability. (Note, the average costs of Flirc remote controls is approximately USD $22.00). 10

11 Installing the Receiver and Driver a) Download the installer file from b) Upon completion, run the installer and follow on-screen instructions Configuring Flirc for Your Remote Control a) Execute Flirc app. From the Controllers menu select Kodi. b) Choose the remote control button you wish to configure (in the example below, the Up Arrow button is selected) c) Press desired button on your remote control; as each button is pressed and registered, the application will display a notification to indicate the button was Recorded successfully. d) Continue to map the buttons on your remote control to the functions in the screen. 11

12 e) If you have configured a button with incorrect function by mistake, you can clear it by clicking Erase. 7. Using Add-ons Probably the most powerful feature of Kodi is Add-Ons. Add-Ons are modules that can be installed to Kodi, which add additional media functions to Kodi (audio, video, pictures and other functions, such as games, weather forecast, screen savers, skins, and many others). In this section we ll briefly cover two add-ons, TED Talks and YouTube Video. For a more extensive list of add-ons, refer to Kodi add-ons page: Installing the TED Talks Add-On a) From Kodi home screen, select VIDEO > Add-ons. b) From the list of add-ons, select Get more. then select Ted Talks c) From the TED Talks Add-On Information page, click Install. d) The screen will display installation progress percentage. e) On completion you will receive a notification message at the lower right corner of the screen, indicating the Add on has been enabled. 12

13 Installing YouTube Add-on Note: While the initial installation procedure is the same as Section 6.1 above, getting YouTube to work on Kodi requires a bit of configuration. Before k) your start You need a YouTube account to use this add-on. Configuring this add-on requires temporary use of your web browser, a keyboard and mouse. a) From Kodi home screen, select VIDEO > Add-ons. b) From the list of add-ons, select Get more. then select YouTube. c) From the YouTube Add-On Information page, click Install. d) The screen will display installation progress percentage. e) On completion you will receive a notification message at the lower right corner of the screen, indicating the Add on has been enabled. 13

14 Sign-in to YouTube a) From Kodi Home, select Video > Add-Ons, and select YouTube from the list of video add-ons. b) At the YouTube login page select Sign-In. c) After clicking Sign-In you will receive a notification, prompting for dual login, click OK to continue. d) The YouTube add-on displays a message with an 8-digit activation code; make note of this code. e) Open your Web browser and navigate to If you have not already signed in to YouTube using your Google account, you will be requested to sign in first. f) At the Connect a device page you will be prompted to enter a code. Type the 8-character code (noted in prior steps) and click Next. g) Click Allow to allow YouTube TV to manage your YouTube account. 14

15 h) Return to Kodi and you ll see that Kodi screen displays a second activation code in the same format. i) Return to enter the new activation code and click Next > Allow and you re done. j) When you return to Kodi you will notice the menus of your YouTube add-on now include more functions. 8. Using Third-party Add-ons You can install many add-ons using Kodi s built-in add-on list, however, there are far more add-ons, with a greater variety of features, available through other sources on the Internet. One of the popular sources is the Addon Installer. The Addon Installer is a very useful add-on that provides easy access to a wide variety of add-ons. Installing Addon Installer a) From the Kodi Home, select SYSTEM > File manager. b) Select Add source from the File manager menu. c) When the Add Files source dialog appears, move to the first input field d) Using the onscreen keyboard, enter and click Done. e) Move to the second input field and enter fusion as the name for the source, then select OK. f) Return to Kodi Home, and select the SYSTEM menu. g) Select Add-ons from Settings menu, then click Install from zip file. 15

16 h) From the Install from zip file screen, select fusion. i) There are three items in the fusion directory; select the start-here item. j) From the list of plugins, select plugin.program.addoninstaller-x.x.x.zip and click OK (Note, if there s more than one zip file with this name, choose one with the highest version number). 16

17 The screen will return to the Add-ons menu, and although it seems as if nothing has happened, the add-on is being silently installed in the background. Wait several moments and you ll receive a notification at the lower right corner of the screen, as illustrated above (bottom-right). How to use Addon Installer a) From Kodi Home, select PROGRAMS. b) From the list of installed add-ons, select Addon Installer. c) You ll be presented with a list of add-on categories, such as Video, Audio, Service and many others. d) Select the desired category to locate available add-ons. E.g., The below screen illustrates available add-ons in the Video category. Selecting any of these addons will enable the video under the respective addon title. 17