Kodi Now Available For Xbox One



Alright, so, please don't crucify me for using the C word, but Kodi is now available for the Xbox One through Windows and the Xbox Store. The software is still in a beta version, so it could have some features missing or a bug or two.
Kodi, previously known as XBMP (Xbox Media Player) and later on XBMC (Xbox Media Center) was predominantly used on hacked Xbox consoles. The support for the original Xbox stopped in 2010, and in 2014 XBMC was eventually renamed Kodi, which makes your console an awesome media player.
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.
How does it look?
Well that’s the fun part about the Kodi environment. It actually looks all the same on any platform so the UWP version is no exception. Most bits and pieces, look and feel are there that you will find on any other platform. Sorry that we can not make it more exciting than that. It is what it is. Just another Kodi platform that looks exactly the same but only on a different device. So we will just redirect you to our about page here https://kodi.tv/about
What are the current limits?
What you should really understand and keep remembering is that it is still in early stages of development and has very rough edges, might not be as stable as the regular version and may even be missing some functions. Due to the nature of how UWP works our hands are tied in some areas. Some parts are not even finished yet and our developers are still working on getting it up to the regular standard. 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. There might still be problems with certain general python modules that are used by add-ons and we are finding and reporting them to the developers as testing progresses. I’m sure there’s more that might not work as intended yet as there are so many features it just will take a while to go over them. We cannot promise to what extend we can get every feature working as it all depends on what is available to us developers.
Senior Member
Posts: 3811
Joined: 2014-12-09
While I'm shocked that Microsoft allowed this, it's a nice addition since the console was marketed as an all-in-one media center.
Still I'll stick with the Shield console as my Kodi player until they support UHD disc playback.
+1.
I stick to Shield TV as Kodi player.
If you read the article in the Kodi blog announcing this release it says they are (obvious) UWP restrictions related to python and addons.
It's not possible to playback media from blu ray player or attached storage and network shares access is limited to NFS (?!¿) protocol. MS don't allow his own SMB protocol (?!¿).
I installed this Kodi 18 (pre) Alpha in my unused Xbox One S since the last "free" games with gold download.I was able to enable the DVBviewer (Live TV PVR) addon and watch live TV streamed from my dedicated NAS (former HTPC/PVR server with 2 dual DVB-T2/S2 cards) .
At least Kodi Live TV PVR addons works and it does better than official Xbox One USB tv tuners.
Just don't expect too much from walled garden UWP apps...
Senior Member
Posts: 4187
Joined: 2003-04-05
This no doubt appeared on the XBO console because it used the W10 Universal Apps store, so i suspect MS will remove this as soon as it comes to their attention a bit like the Nintendo emulator that appeared briefly because of the same thing, and i assume MS will do the same as i can't see them wanting to have one of their consoles linked to, shall we say, being able to stream questionable media in all it's forms from a app from their store and onto one of their consoles. lol
Junior Member
Posts: 6
Joined: 2015-08-04
i'll ask the question everyone is probably wanting to know: Does Neptune Rising work on it?
Junior Member
Posts: 7
Joined: 2015-05-19
This will only help MS sell even more consoles to the everyday Joe's. Imagine Joe getting a demo of Kodi on my Xbox One X, regardless what sources you link to your KODI (another topic altogether), he'll be damn impressed with the value of picking up an Xbox One that can play games, 4K Blu-Rays, Stream local and remote media all for the price of a Xbox One S (X).
I see MS passing this as a green light to penetrate the mainstream consumers further.
Keep in mind you can already stream content to your Xbox One with PLEX which is a more refined KODI minus all the open box tinkering. It's readily available with limited functionality for free and a premium build for more features with a cost. This makes KODI that much more enticing for free.
You can also use VLC Player to stream local content on your network, but that's clunky as hell on console.
With that said I don't see MS doing anything negative with KODI. I just hope we can get SMB network access in the next Xbox One build (It's broken on the Windows 10 UWP app also)
Junior Member
Posts: 20391
Joined: 2008-07-14
I'll stick with my Mibox.... Kodi works perfectly fine on it.
Senior Member
Posts: 18029
Joined: 2009-01-06
I've been using the "UWP" Kodi from the store for a while now and it's been pretty flawless for everything we use it for in my household. I mostly use Mediaportal, but my wife uses Kodi a lot and would be the first to moan if something was problematic.
Might be handy for my brother who has a One S and a Android box for Kodi, the chance to get rid of an extra box at the TV and it will probably be faster as well.
While i'm not sure the market for people who are into UHD discs and streaming is that huge, the Kodi part alone will definitely make the console more attractive to many people.
Junior Member
Posts: 1
Joined: 2018-02-03
Alright, so, please don't crucify me for using the C word, but Kodi is now available for the Xbox One through Windows and the Xbox Store. The software is still in a beta version, so it could have ...
Kodi Now Available For Xbox One
Nice I was also wondering on google it shows too many results but this articles are helpful for me. http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/kodi-now-available-for-xbox-one.html
Senior Member
Posts: 6216
Joined: 2012-07-20
I wonder...
Kodi is not only open source, but addon/extension friendly/based.
That means it can be used as base application for running any custom code.
Senior Member
Posts: 3811
Joined: 2014-12-09
I wonder...
Kodi is not only open source, but addon/extension friendly/based.
That means it can be used as base application for running any custom code.
UWP is a VERY limiting factor a few thing that will not be implemented:
Passthrough audio not working - Not supported by Microsoft for 3rd party apps
Playback of VIDEO_TS folders due to UWP limitation. Only ISO playback is supported so you need to convert VIDEO_TS into an ISO file
Python _subprocess module is not available on UWP, so an author of the add-on must work around or not use it for UWP
NOF / XML will probably not be read by our scraper from attached storage devices
https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=326228
So no audio passthrough (PCM at best) and no Python (only a few addons will work).
Senior Member
Posts: 18029
Joined: 2009-01-06
That's not an UWP thing, just an Xbox thing as pasthrough works on the UWP version for the PC.
Unlikely they would loosen the restrictions in the future on the Xbox though. The PC version is probably better with passthrough disabled, but it's likely the Xbox would not have the same refresh rate issues.
Senior Member
Posts: 3811
Joined: 2014-12-09
Yes, passthrough is an Xbox thing and like the UWP restrictions it's a MS decision.
In Windows the best version is still the non UWP: no restrictions for Phyton.
As media player Xbox one S felt short: the only good thing it has is his 4K blu-ray player.As gaming console...better change topic.
LOL
Senior Member
Posts: 10627
Joined: 2011-12-31
Kodi 18 is expected to be able to play old console games too, right? Pretty sure we won't see that on the store and xbox versions lol.
Senior Member
Posts: 18029
Joined: 2009-01-06
I run the UWP and normal version of Kodi, and with all the plugins i use, so far there are no differences between the two.
It might be different with Kodi 18 though, as far as i know the rom downloader is built in rather than a separate plugin. It will probably depend on whether anyone (possibly Nintendo) takes legal action, and if they do that would likely affect all versions of Kodi.
Senior Member
Posts: 8328
Joined: 2003-05-24
While I'm shocked that Microsoft allowed this, it's a nice addition since the console was marketed as an all-in-one media center.
Still I'll stick with the Shield console as my Kodi player until they support UHD disc playback.
shocked is not the word i would use
Senior Member
Posts: 7285
Joined: 2005-12-06
While I'm shocked that Microsoft allowed this, it's a nice addition since the console was marketed as an all-in-one media center.
Still I'll stick with the Shield console as my Kodi player until they support UHD disc playback.