Looks like Kodi (formerly XBMC) is finally available on Xbox One. It's finally come full circle.
It has long been asked for by so many and now it finally happened. Kodi for Xbox One is available worldwide through Windows and Xbox Store. Do note it's not finished yet and may contain missing features and bugs which will be mentioned later in this article.
Around July 2017 the first faint life signs became visible of starting Kodi as a UWP application on regular Windows 10. From there on work slowly progressed on getting all bits and pieces into place getting Kodi grown up and getting it ready for the Xbox. Somewhere around November 2017 the UWP code was merged into the master Kodi code base and final stages could begin. That also meant that the idea of Kodi running on the Xbox was full out in the open though somehow it remained under the radar. From there on we could easily create test builds that we could install on our Windows devices and continued to improve the UWP version to were we are today.
There are a few limitations to consider though.
As of this writing there’s limited access to only what’s part of your Video and Music folders. Network support is limited to only NFS:// shares. No access to the Blu-ray drive to start the disc or even an attached storage drive.
I'm super excited to see Kodi come to Xbox One. My Xbox One is mostly a media player/Netflix machine these days and Kodi is the best media center app I've used so I'm stoked that this is happening. Hopefully they'll add support for external drives and other kinds of network shares in the future but overall this is a big step forward.
tbh I dont see the point.
i use the og Xbox cause it was fun to do and cheap, but if i could afford an Xbox one over here (its expensive) Id probably get a better pc.
Also limitations are an issue
To I think Kodi is returning as souvenir Kodi is returning back to Xbox One as it coming back from where it all started. But the purpose of bringning Kodi in XboxOne is that People who own console won't need a separate TV or Android or A Kodi Box now. Its like they are making XboxOne an ALL IN ONE Solution. Gaming Entertainment and fun packed in a single box. I hope we can access all the best kodi addons like Covenant Kodi, Exodus, etc.
Last edited by DonaldS on Thu Feb 08, 2018 2:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The thing is Microsoft bent over backwards to get kodi onto the app store, they approached the team and helped convert it to a uwp application for cross platform support.
You cant deny the user base of xbmc/kodi and it really promoted sales of andriod tv boxes even though it may be related to piracy reasons, maybe they are hoping it will promote xbox sales.
I'm surprised all the big video streaming sites have not made python plugins for kodi to make it easier for people to join up.
PhobosDevourer wrote: ↑Mon Jan 01, 2018 12:56 am
tbh I dont see the point.
i use the og Xbox cause it was fun to do and cheap, but if i could afford an Xbox one over here (its expensive) Id probably get a better pc.
Also limitations are an issue
For me, I have an Xbox One and a newer Android box and that handles pretty much all of my media needs. X1 has all the internet streaming services and the Android box runs Kodi with an external drive connected for local stuff. MSFT pushing for Kodi is just another step forward in Xbox's goal to have the X1 be a one-stop-shop for media and entertainment (kind of like what DonaldS said). It keeps their machine relevant as it competes with cheaper and cheaper media PCs. For someone who might not already have a media center device (PC/X1/etc), it's just another box that can be ticked in the X1's favor which might sway buyers.
Now, I'm kind of basing that off of the assumption that the X1 version of Kodi will eventually have all the features of other platforms.
Personally, I'm excited. Kodi blows away anything the X1 can do in terms of organizing local media. Their apps are so basic and boring. They work, but it's just barebones.
Update - they added support for external drives! I got my 4TB external plugged in and it's recognizing and playing all my media as expected with library/scraping support. No more relying on NFS shares.
Yes it's still in Alpha (beta?) so there's still several features don't work just yet. I've also noticed problems in decoding certain types of video formats that work fine on the Android version. You can see what they're still working on in this forum post.
Looks like audio pass-through might not happen unless MS adds support for it.